Got to Be Real

This afternoon, I heard "Got to Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn while I was out shopping.  I always find the variety of music in some stores fascinating, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear this tune.  Don't think I've heard it since, well, maybe sometime in the late '70s when I was very young.  Nah, I probably heard it on some television show or movie about the '70s -- maybe even "Boogie Nights" or something.  Anyway, I did a search on YouTube and found a clip of Mariah Carey and Patti LaBelle performing this song on a Patti LaBelle tribute.  I've included the clip just because -- and Patti is truly infused with the groove vibe.  It seems so much more inspiring than Mariah's performance.  No offense to Mariah, because she does have a great voice, but...when you put Mariah next to Patti LaBelle and her contemporaries, it's just really clear who is real!!!!

I realize this song was released in 1978, so it's not an '80s tune by any stretch of the imagination.  The Patti/Mairah version was performed in 1998, so the average date between the two would be 1988.  That counts, right?  It really doesn't matter, because the song is awesome and timeless.  If  you look at the song, it really is quite simple lyrically, "What you think now? (I think I love you, baby) What you feel now? (I think I need you, baby)  What you know now?  To be real!  Ooh, your love's for real now...You know that your love is my love...My love is your love...Our love is here to stay..."  Pretty simple, yet the song has an awesome vibe.  I really think the instrumentals add a ton to the groove.  Just listen to the bass guitar line---it really sets things up.  Drums keep it grooving, and the brass section is out of this world.  As much as I love the songs from the '80s, it is always refreshing to hear these masterful horn sections from the '70s.  Just ads some kick to a tune that you forget about until these songs resurface.  I remember string sections in the songs from this genre, too, and that is always nice, but...the brass sections are for real.  Excellent, excellent playing.