You’ve surely noticed by now that Sixties soul is one of my favorite musical genres; the grittier the better. It doesn’t get grittier than the music produced by Stax Records in Memphis. Sam & Dave were among that label’s signature artists. Hold On, I’m Coming is one of that duo’s signature songs.
Hold On, I’m Coming was written 1966 by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. It was originally titled Hold On, I’m A Comin’. The A was dropped and a G added over the years. I dislike G dropping almost as much as exclamation points.
We begin with the smash hit OG version by Sam Moore & Dave Prater:
Next up, Aretha Franklin’s big sister, Erma:
George Benson. Say no more.
Bryan Ferry’s version added parenthesis to the title for some reason. What is it with this song and punctuation?
A 21st Century version of the Hayes-Porter classic from two 20th Century guitar greats.
What would the Friday Cocktail Hour be without instrumental versions of the week’s tune? This time, Art Blakey and King Curtis:
That’s it for this week. Let’s drink to punctuation. It helps make the world go round. It’s what Isaac would want. Never argue with a man wearing chains.
What? Didn’t include the origin story, per the Wiki?
“It was written by the songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, who came up with the title of the song spontaneously when Hayes was trying to get Porter to hurry out of the Stax Studios restroom and get back to songwriting.”
I flushed that story.