He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'

Infobox Single
Name = Really Saying Something


Artist = Bananarama with Fun Boy Three
from Album = Deep Sea Skiving
B-side = "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares
Released = April 1982
Format = 7" single, 12" single
Recorded = November 1981
Genre = Pop/New Wave
Length =
Label = London
Producer = Dave Jordan, Fun Boy Three
Chronology = Bananarama
Last single = "It Ain't What You Do...." (1982)
This single = "Really Saying Something" (1982)
Next single = "Shy Boy" (1982)
Misc = Extra chronology 2
Last single = "If" (2001)
This single = "Really Saying Something (Solasso remix)" (2005)
Next single = "Move in My Direction" (2005)Extra chronology 2
Artist = Fun Boy Three singles
Type = singles
Last single = "It Ain't What You Do...." (1982)
This single = "Really Saying Something" (1982)
Next single = "The Telephone Always Rings" (1982)

"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' is a soul song written by Motown Records songwriters Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. in 1964 (see 1964 in music). The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group The Velvelettes, and a 1982 hit version (with the title altered to "Really Saying Something") by British girl group Bananarama.

Overview

Velvelettes version

The original version of the song was recorded by Motown group The Velvelettes in December 1964. An alternate version recorded in October/November had been discarded. Produced by Norman Whitfield, The Velvelettes' version was released on Motown's V.I.P. label on December 27, 1964, and was a minor hit for the group in early 1965. "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" peaked at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and at number 21 on the then recently reinstated Billboard R&B Singles chart. The single was the second most successful release for The Velvelettes, a minor Motown act which never released a full-length album.

"Throw a Farewell Kiss", composed by Whitfield and Holland and produced by Whitfield, had been recorded in October 1962 and was issued as the b-side of "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'". Six years later, Whitfield would have The Temptations record "Farewell Kiss" for their 1971 album "Sky's the Limit".

Bananarama version

In 1982, the British girl group Bananarama recorded a cover version of the song and released it as the first single from their debut album "Deep Sea Skiving". Providing background vocals is Fun Boy Three, a male vocal trio who had a hit with Bananarama earlier in the year with another cover, "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)".

The 1982 single became the second consecutive top-five hit for both Bananarama and Fun Boy Three, peaking at number five in the UK singles chart. It also received heavy play on the then-young MTV network in America. "Really Saying Something" was both groups' second chart entry in Australia, peaking at number seventy-four. The B-side, "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares", has been issued on CD for the first time. It can be found on the 2007 UK reissue of "Deep Sea Skiving" as one of five bonus tracks.

The song was revived in 2005 by Solasso, who remixed the song and released it as a bootleg remix. It was later included on Bananarama's album "Drama". The Velvelettes' original appears on several Motown compilation albums.

Charts

Velvelettes version

Bananarama version