Barbara Acklin -

Barbara Acklin (1943–1998) was an American soul singer who scored a 1968 hit with “Love Makes a Woman” and co-wrote “Have You Seen Her,” a 1971 hit for The Chi-Lites. She made six albums between 1968 and 1975 on Brunswick and Capitol.

Acklin dueted with Gene Chandler on the hits “Show Me the Way to Go” and “From the Teacher to the Preacher.” Her 1969 single “Am I the Same Girl” (later covered by Swing Out Sister) provided the backing track to “Soul Strut,” an instrumental hit for Young-Holt Unlimited.

Background

She was born Barbara Jean Acklin on February 28, 1943, in Oakland, California. In 1948, her family moved to Chicago. From age eleven, she sang at the New Zion Baptist Church. After her 1961 graduation from Dunbar Vocational High School, she landed an office job at St. Lawrence Records.

Early Activity

Barbara’s cousin, saxophonist Monk Higgins, started Special Agent Records, a Chicago soul-press that issued her 1966 debut single: “I’m Not Mad Anymore” (b/w “Nobody Cares”), written by Pam Sawyer and Lori Burton, the team behind hits by The Young Rascals (“I Ain’t Gonna Eat My Heart Anymore”), Lulu (“Try to Understand”), and Patti LaBelle & The Bluebells (“All or Nothing”). Higgins co-produced the single with trumpeter Burgess Gardner, a Horace Silver sideman.

Meanwhile, Barbara landed a receptionist position at the local office of Brunswick Records and submitted a demo tape of originals to in-house producer Carl Davis. Her tape included “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder),” a co-write with Dave Scott, once of the Five Du-Tones. Davis passed this to his main client, Jackie Wilson, whose August 1966 version reached No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 11 on the Hot 100 — Jackie’s highest-charting single since his 1963 hit “Baby Workout.” The Isley Brothers covered “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)” on their 1967 Tamla release Soul On the Rocks.

1967 Singles

Barbara Acklin made her Brunswick debut with the March 1967 single “Fool, Fool, Fool (Look In The Mirror),” written by Rudy Clark, who wrote Betty Everett’s 1964 hit “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)” (first recorded by Merry Clayton). Billy Butler wrote the b-side, “Your Sweet Loving.”

A. “Fool, Fool, Fool (Look In the Mirror)”
B. “Your Sweet Loving”

Three months later, “Fool, Fool, Fool (Look In the Mirror)” reappeared as an Atlantic b-side by Barbara Lewis (of “Hello Stranger” fame).

In December, Acklin released her second single: “I’ve Got You Baby,” a James Cleveland/Karl Tarleton composition (not the Sonny & Cher hit) backed with “The Old Matchmaker,” an original that Barbara co-wrote with her ongoing partner, Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites, a veteran soul act several years off from their breakthrough.

A. “I’ve Got You Baby”
B. “The Old Matchmaker”

Acklin and Record co-write their first hit, “Two Little Kids,” for the Washington DC soul duo Peaches & Herb, whose December 1967 recording on Date Records reached No. 25 on the R&B chart.

1968 Singles

Barbara Acklin made her Billboard debut with the February 1968 Brunswick single “Show Me the Way to Go,” a duet with “Duke of Earl” singer Gene Chandler that reached No. 30 on the R&B chart.

A. “Show Me the Way to Go”
B. “Love Won’t Start”

Barbara scored her first and biggest solo hit with her May 1968 fifth single, “Love Makes a Woman,” a Record/Davis co-write and production backed with Eugene’s Come and See Me Baby.”

A. “Love Makes a Woman”
B. “Come and See Me Baby”

“Love Makes a Woman” reached No. 3 on the R&B chart and No. 15 on the Hot 100.

Love Makes a Woman

Barbara Acklin released her debut album, Love Makes a Woman, in August 1968 on Brunswick. It features both sides of her recent hit single and three earlier sides (“Your Sweet Loving,” “I’ve Got You Baby,” “The Old Matchmaker”), plus the later b-side “Please Sunrise, Please.”

A1. “What The World Needs Now Is Love” (2:25) Burt Bacharach, Hal David
A2. “The Look of Love” (2:23) Bacharach/David
A3. “The Old Matchmaker” (2:54) Acklin/Record
A4. “Come and See Me Baby” (2:47) Record
A5. “I’ve Got You Baby” (2:14) Tarleton/Cleveland
A6. “Love Makes a Woman” (2:55) Davis/Record/Gerald Sims/William Sanders

B1. “Please Sunrise, Please” (2:50) Acklin/Record
B2. “Your Sweet Loving” (2:37) B. Butler
B3. “Yes I See The Love (I Missed)” (2:34) Record
B4. “To Sir, With Love” (2:24) Don Black/Marc Loudon
B5. “Be By My Side” (2:36) Acklin/Record

In September 1968, Acklin released “From the Teacher to the Preacher,” her second duet with Gene Chandler. It reached No. 16 on the R&B chart.

A. “From the Teacher to the Preacher”
B. “Anywhere But Nowhere”

Acklin and Chandler teamed once more for their March 1969 duet “Little Green Apples,” a recent hit for O.C. Smith.

Seven Days of Night

Barbara Acklin released her second album, Seven Days of Night, in August 1969 on Brunswick. It includes her three recent a-sides: “Just Ain’t No Love” (No. 23 R&B), “Am I the Same Girl” (No. 33 R&B), and “A Raggedy Ride.”

Eugene Record collaborated with songwriter Sonny Sanders on “Am I the Same Girl,” which Barbara recorded in the fall of 1968. However, before its January 1969 release as a single, Carl Davis used the backing track without her vocals for the instrumental “Soul Strut,” released as a November 1968 Brunswick single by Young-Holt Unlimited, a combo formed by Ramsey Lewis sidemen. “Soul Strut” reached No. 1 in Canada and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1992, the British sophisti-pop duo Swing Out Sister scored a hit with their cover of “Am I the Same Girl,” released as the lead single from their third album, Get in Touch with Yourself.

Someone Else’s Arms

Barbara Acklin released her third album, Someone Else’s Arms, in 1970 on Brunswick.

The album divides between original Acklin-Record collaborations and a run of pop and soul covers, with Sonny Sanders arranging the title track, “After You,” “Is It Me,” “He’s Just a Little Guy,” and “You’ve Been in Love Too Long,” and Tom Tom Washington taking “More,” “More Today Than Yesterday,” and “The Spinning Wheel.”

The rhythmic core runs to the brassy Chicago soul style of the Brunswick house band, though several tracks pull toward softer, string-laden territory. Acklin wrote most original material with Eugene Record; “More Ways Than One” is a Carl Davis and Record co-write, and “What’s It Gonna Be” comes from the team of Jerry Ragovoy and Mort Shuman. Covers span the bossa nova standard “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)” by Antonio Carlos Jobim, the film theme “More” from Mondo Cane, Pat Upton’s “More Today Than Yesterday,” D.C. Thomas’s “The Spinning Wheel,” and the Marvelettes-associated Motown track “You’ve Been in Love Too Long.”

“After You” moves at a hand-clapping, brisk soul pace with tight harmonic interplay between Acklin’s lead and the backing arrangement. “Is It Me” takes a more measured tempo with a cleaner orchestral finish. “What’s It Gonna Be” introduces heavily distorted rock guitar against the soul framework. “He’s Just a Little Guy” runs as the album’s longest and most overtly dramatic track — a slow string ballad at nearly five minutes, built around warm-toned orchestration and an emotional vocal delivery. “The Spinning Wheel” pushes toward a funkier rhythmic feel than most of the surrounding material. “More Ways Than One” closes on a sweet, medium-tempo ballad.

A1. “Someone Else’s Arms” (4:10) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record
A2. “After You” (2:26) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record
A3. “Is It Me” (3:37) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record
A4. “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)” (3:35) — Antonio Carlos Jobim/Gene Lees
A5. “What’s It Gonna Be” (3:29) — Jerry Ragovoy/Mort Shuman
A6. “More (Theme from Mondo Cane)” (3:07) — Nino Oliviero/Riz Ortolani

B1. “He’s Just a Little Guy” (4:55) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record
B2. “More Today Than Yesterday” (3:14) — Pat Upton
B3. “The Spinning Wheel” (3:25) — D.C. Thomas
B4. “More Ways Than One” (3:34) — Carl Davis/Eugene Record
B5. “You’ve Been in Love Too Long” (3:02) — Paul Clarence/Ivy Hunter/William Stevenson

Eugene Record produced Someone Else’s Arms, with Carl Davis co-producing tracks A1, A2, and B4. Willie Henderson directed the sessions.

I Did It

Barbara Acklin released her fourth album, I Did It, in 1971 on Brunswick.

I Did It presents four new tracks alongside six recycled from earlier releases — “The Spinning Wheel,” “After You,” “He’s Just a Little Guy,” and “More Ways Than One” from Someone Else’s Arms, and “To Sir, With Love” and “The Look of Love” from her 1968 debut Love Makes a Woman. Tom Washington arranges the new material on side one and the first two tracks of side two; Sonny Sanders handles the reprised ballads and covers.

The four new tracks push harder and further from the soft-pop center of much of Acklin’s Brunswick work. “I Did It,” written by Record alone, moves at a mid-tempo strut with a buoyant, self-assured character. “I Can’t Do My Thing,” co-written by Record and Washington, builds over fuzz guitar in a way that draws on the psychedelic-soul production style Norman Whitfield was developing at Motown at the same period.

“I’m Living With a Memory,” a breezy, jazzy piece co-written by Acklin and Record, skates over a light melodic frame with male backing vocals adding a playful counterweight. “Make the Man Love You,” co-written by Record and E.R. Jones, puts fuzz guitar back at the front of a tougher, more propulsive arrangement. Among the reprised tracks, “To Sir, With Love” replicates the Lulu original with little departure, and “The Look of Love” follows the Bacharach and David template closely, while “He’s Just a Little Guy” and “More Ways Than One” benefit from the contrast with the new material around them.

A1. “I Did It” (2:33) — Eugene Record
A2. “I Can’t Do My Thing” (2:38) — Eugene Record/Thomas Washington
A3. “The Spinning Wheel” (3:25) — D.C. Thomas
A4. “After You” (2:27) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record
A5. “To Sir, With Love” (2:24) — Don Black/Marc London

B1. “I’m Living With a Memory” (2:48) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record
B2. “Make the Man Love You” (2:32) — E.R. Jones/Eugene Record
B3. “He’s Just a Little Guy” (4:55) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record
B4. “More Ways Than One” (3:35) — Carl Davis/Eugene Record
B5. “The Look of Love” (2:23) — Bacharach/David

Eugene Record produced I Did It. Willie Henderson directed the sessions.

Brunswick issued “I Did It” backed with “I’m Living With a Memory” as a 1970 single; it reached number 28 on the R&B chart. “I Can’t Do My Thing” backed with “Make the Man Love You” followed as the album’s second single.

I Call It Trouble

Barbara Acklin released her fifth album, I Call It Trouble, in March 1973 on Brunswick.

The album again mixes new material with reprised tracks — “He’s Just a Little Guy” appears here for a third consecutive album, and “After You” and “More” return as well — but the new originals show a sharper, more varied range than the surrounding filler. Sonny Sanders and Tom Washington again share arranging duties.

“I’ll Bake Me a Man” opens the record with a mid-tempo strut driven by clavinet, punchy horns, and Eugene Record’s backing vocal; it became a chart single. The co-written title track “I Call It Trouble” takes a mid-tempo shape with a polished arrangement that recalls the direct appeal of “Love Makes a Woman.” “Lady, Lady, Lady” moves into a rougher, folkier funk frame built on a repeated guitar figure and a rhythmically emphatic beat. “Portrait of a Broken Heart” shuffles forward on an insistent guitar riff and percussion. “Stop, Look & Listen (To Your Heart)” covers the Stylistics song in a slower, smoother setting. “It’s a Groovy Idea” closes the album on an uptempo note. The reprised “He’s Just a Little Guy” runs slightly longer here at 5:20 than its earlier appearances.

A1. “I’ll Bake Me a Man” (3:20)
A2. “I Call It Trouble” (3:18)
A3. “He’s Just a Little Guy” (5:20) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record
A4. “I Can’t Be Myself” (3:18)
A5. “Lady, Lady, Lady” (3:00)

B1. “Portrait of a Broken Heart” (3:35)
B2. “Stop, Look & Listen (To Your Heart)” (3:55)
B3. “More (Theme from Mondo Cane)” (3:05) — Nino Oliviero/Riz Ortolani
B4. “It’s a Groovy Idea” (3:00)
B5. “After You” (2:40) — Barbara Acklin/Eugene Record

Eugene Record produced I Call It Trouble. Arrangements are credited to Sonny Sanders and Thomas Washington. Brunswick issued “I’ll Bake Me a Man” as a 1973 single.

A Place in the Sun

Barbara Acklin released her sixth album, A Place in the Sun, in April 1975 on Capitol.

Acklin co-wrote or wrote outright five of the ten tracks. “Give Me, Lend Me” pairs her with co-writer L. Simon. “Fire Love” is a co-write with L. Brownlee. “Raindrops” is co-written with F. Flowers. “I Like Your Love” carries a disputed writing credit — C. Allen and B. Bailey are listed, with Acklin credited as an uncredited contributor.

Covers include “A Place in the Sun,” written by E. Dixon and L. Thompson, and “How Can You Lose Something You Never Had,” a Sam Dees song. “You Don’t Have to Beg Me to Stay” comes from R. Haley and R. Parker. “Special Loving” is credited to Q. Joseph, T. Green, and W. Henderson. “Give Me Some of Your Sweet Love” is co-written by L. Brownlee and L. Simon. “Gonna Make You Wish” comes from A.J. Tribble and B. Barksdale.

A1. “A Place in the Sun” (4:45) — E. Dixon/L. Thompson
A2. “Give Me Some of Your Sweet Love” (4:47) — L. Brownlee/L. Simon
A3. “Give Me, Lend Me” (2:49) — B. Acklin/L. Simon
A4. “Gonna Make You Wish” (3:44) — A.J. Tribble/B. Barksdale
A5. “You Don’t Have to Beg Me to Stay” (3:44) — R. Haley/R. Parker

B1. “Special Loving” (3:25) — Q. Joseph/T. Green/W. Henderson
B2. “How Can You Lose Something You Never Had” (3:14) — Sam Dees
B3. “I Like Your Love” (3:02) — C. Allen/B. Bailey
B4. “Fire Love” (2:46) — B. Acklin/L. Brownlee
B5. “Raindrops” (3:15) — B. Acklin/F. Flowers

Barbara Acklin recorded A Place in the Sun with producer Willie Henderson. Larkin Arnold served as executive producer.

Discography: