Dandy Classic Track of the Day #30 – The Stylistics

You Are Everything – The Stylistics (The Stylistics, 1971)

This R & B slow jam classic showcases everything that was awesome about 1970’s soul music. First we’ve got the great production work of Thom Bell and that Philadelphia Sound. Second, you’ve got the unmistakable falsetto of Rusell Thompkins, Jr.. Thirdly, you’ve got a song that’s as timeless as “Amazing Grace”.

Starting with the weird, feed-backy guitar that could only be the 1970’s, we get to the heart of the matter quickly as Thompkins starts setting the scene he sings “Today I saw somebody who looked just like you, she walked like you, I thought it was you…” Turns out it wasn’t her.  Before long our lovelorn protagonist is exclaiming “You are everything, and everything is you!” and right away a new soul standard is born.

This tune has the best chorus that is so fun and, dare I say, classic to just belt out. It has a perfect momentum that just encapsulates the feeling that the Stylistics were trying to convey. The song ends with a cascading falsetto that is hard to quantify other than to say pop exquisiteness. Off of the group’s first, self-titled album this one went to #9 on the Billboard chart and gave the world a glimpse of a what they could expect going forward as they had 12 consecutive R & B hits.