Classic Pop Icons

Jackie Wilson’s 1967 hit “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons. Wilson released the track on single in August 1967, backed with “I’m the One to Do It” and it became one of his best loved hits.

“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” has one of the great intros in 60s pop, with a catchy bassline, intricate percussion and infectious guitar chords. From the start, the song has a feel good mood, which Jackie only adds to with his enthusiastic and energetic vocals.

Here’s a live version, which is slightly faster than the original and features Jackie in good vocal form, although a little less polished than in the studio due to the lively dance moves.

Jackie Wilson – “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”

Authorship

“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” was written by Gary Jackson, Carl Smith, Billy Davis and Raynard Miner. The song was originally credited to Jackson and Smith only, but Davis and Miner successfully sued on the grounds that it was their composition which Jackson and Smith had simply amended.

Recording date/location

The backing track for “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” was recorded on July 6, 1967 at Columbia Studios, Chicago, Illinois. Wilson’s vocal was added shortly afterwards in New York.

Musicians

Jackie Wilson was expertly backed by the following musicians on “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”:

• James Jamerson – bass
• Richard “Pistol” Allen – drums
• Robert White – guitar
• Johnny Griffith – keyboards.

The musicians were members of Motown’s legendary Funk Brothers house band and were moonlighting for Columbia producer Carl Davis.

Backing vocals were provided by Pat Lewis, as well as two members of the Motown house session singers, the Adantes, namely Jackie Hicks and Marlene Barrow.

Chart performance

“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 1, 1967. This was Wilson’s sixth and final top ten hit on the Hot 100. The song also reached number one on Billboard’s R&B chart.

The track reached number 11 when released on single in the UK in 1969 and number 15 when re-released in 1987. The latter appearance was during a popular period for the late star on the UK charts, with “Reet Petite” and “Get The Sweetest Feeling” reaching number one and three, respectively.

Covers

Rita Coolidge – “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”

Rita Coolidge had her first hit for years with a cover of “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” in 1977. Her version was a bigger hit than Wilson’s, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The production is typical of the disco era, but remains appealing with the slower tempo and heartfelt vocals.

Rita’s cover was also the opening track on her 1977 album “Anytime…Anywhere.”

Bruce Springsteen – “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”

Springsteen has been performing “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” on and off for decades. Bruce really embraced the spirit of the song and delivered a fun, singalong version during his appearance at the Spectrum on the “Working on a Dream” tour in 2009.

There will be a new Song of the Week on May 2.

Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” is available on many compilation albums, including the two-CD collection “Best of the Original Soul Brother.”

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