"That's What I Want..."

Born today in 1941: Barrett Strong, a Motown soul singer who hit #1 on the charts with his self-penned "Money (That's What I Want)" in 1960. Never a strong singer or vocal talent, he continued with Motown as a staff lyracist, teaming with producer Norman Whitfield. Together, Strong and Whitfield wrote some of the most successful and critically acclaimed soul songs ever to be released by Motown, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"by both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips, "War" by Edwin Starr, "Smiling Faces Sometimes" by The Undisputed Truth, and the long line of "psychedelic soul" records by The Temptations including "Cloud Nine", "I Can't Get Next to You", "Psychedelic Shack", "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", amongst others. Strong received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1973 for co-writing "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone".

So let's celebrate "Money" and Strong's life today, and watch this version by John Lennon from the Peace Festival in Toronto in 1969. Check out Clapton's blistering solo on this song - just wish he'd had time to stretch out and they'd given him a closeup and more camera time! Also in the band: Klaus Voorman on bass and Alan White on drums. Oh, and by the way - that's Yoko in the bag... Thanks as always to www.garylessard.com and www.wikipedia.com for the trivia, and keep on rockin!