THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

554-Scritti Politti-Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)

1984-Number 10 single.

Best Bit-At 1.04. ‘The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup,’ (see also best songs 644.)

Scritti Politti were formed in Leeds, England, in 1977, by Green Gartside, his childhood friend Nial Jinks, and Tom Morley, who Gartside had met while studying at Leeds Polytechnic. The name ‘Scritti Politti’ was chosen as a homage to the Italian Marxist writer Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937.) The correct spelling in Italian to refer to ‘Political Writings’ would have produced ‘Scritti Politici,’ but Gartside changed it to ‘Scritti Politti,’ as he thought it sounded more ‘Rock ‘N Roll.’ Scritti Politti originally started out life as a ‘Punk Rock’ group, inspired by the ‘Sex Pistols,’ (see also best songs 576-92 and 27) and ‘The Damned,’ (see also best songs 273) but after the release of their debut studio Album ‘Songs to Remember’ in 1982, Gartside grew tired of their musical style, and was becoming influenced by American ‘Funk/Soul’ acts like ‘Chic,’ (see also best songs 175 and 17) ‘The Jacksons,’ (see also best songs 249 and 137) and Aretha Franklin (see also best songs 644 and 366.) This caused the parting of the ways, with Nial Jinks, and Tom Morley leaving Scritti Politti, and being replaced by David Gamson, and Fred Maher, for the recording, and change in style, on the groups second studio Album ‘Cupid & Psyche 85,’ in 1985. In total there have been 17 different members come and go, with Green Gartside being the groups one constant, and they remain active as a quartet at the time of writing.

The discography of Scritti Politti includes five studio Albums released between 1982-2006, and 21 singles released between 1978-2011, there are also three official compilation Albums, and three extended plays available. In the UK, five of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘The Word Girl’ peaking the highest at Number 6 in 1985. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, their only top 40 charting single remains ‘Perfect Way,’ which reached Number 11 in 1985, while ‘Wood Beez’ stalled at Number 91, incidentally ‘Perfect Way’ which was issued at the groups commercial peak, only made Number 48 in the UK.

Green Gartside was born Paul Julian Strohmeyer, on June 22nd, 1955, in Cardiff, Wales, His father died while he was a child, and his widowed mother married her boss, a solicitor from Newport, Wales, named Gordon Gartside, from whom he adopted his new surname. Gartside has said, ‘The ‘Green’ bit came about because I didn’t like the fact there were two other Paul’s in my class, and I wanted something different. So I just chose something random after listening to a Captain Beefheart Album, where all the musicians were named odd things like Zoot Horn Rollo. I thought having a made-up name was well cool.’ While studying art at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, Gartside formed the ‘Post-Punk’ group ‘Scritti Politti,’ it was after they moved to London, that they secured their first recording contract with ‘Rough Trade Records,’ who released their debut studio Album ‘Songs to Remember’ in September 1982. Away from Scritti Politti, Green Gartside has worked with many of the worlds top artists, including Elvis Costello, Chaka Khan, and Manic Street Preachers. In 1983 he provided guest vocals on the Eurythmics’s cover version of the Sam & Dave song ‘Wrap It Up,’ from their second studio Album ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This.’)

‘Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin’) was the seventh overall single released by Scritti Politti, from February 1984, and later appeared as the first of seven singles released from their second studio Album ‘Cupid & Psyche 85,’ from June 1985. ‘Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin’) was written by Green Gartside, with the production being by the legendary music producer Arif Mardin, (1932-2006) (see also best songs 985-882-881-541-228 and 85) who also produced a further two tracks on the Album. The song’s subtitle is a reference to ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’ which had been an American Billboard Number 10 hit, and a UK Number 4 hit for Aretha Franklin in 1968. Coincidentally Arif Mardin had done the arrangement for that Aretha Franklin song.

‘Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin’) isn’t just a declaration of love, it borders on complete infatuation of someone. The narrator states that there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for this person, stating that he prays every night just like Aretha Franklin, in her 1968 hit ‘I Say a Little Prayer.’

‘There’s nothing I wouldn’t take, oh, even intravenous. There’s nothing I wouldn’t take to get to be approved. There’s nothing I wouldn’t be, oh that’s the gift of schizo. There’s nothing that’s new to me, I’ve seen it all before now sugar, and each time I go to bed I pray like Aretha Franklin.’