"(I Wanna) Testify" is the first hit single by the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singing group

The Parliaments The Parliaments were an American vocal quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, United States. Originally formed in the back room of a barbershop in 1956, the quintet was named after the cigarette brand. The Parliaments initially performed doo-wo ...

Background

The single was released at the beginning of the summer of 1967 by Revilot Records. It would be the only major hit for the group for the entire decade. The only member of the Parliaments to actually appear on the recording was group leader George Clinton, as the group was based in New Jersey at the time and only Clinton was able to travel to Detroit for the session. The recording was rounded off by session singers and musicians. "(I Wanna) Testify" was reissued in 1969 on the Soultown label (Soultown 502-A). It was issued in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

on the Transworld label (TW-1677) and on the Track label (Track 604032) in the UK. The first time that the single appeared on an album was the Track Records release ''Backtrack 6'' in 1970 (Track 2407 006). Group leader George Clinton later produced covers of both "(I Wanna) Testify" and its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

"I Can Feel The Ice Melting". The former appeared on the 1974

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

album '' Up For The Down Stroke'' under the abbreviated title " Testify". Both "(I Wanna) Testify" and "I Can Feel The Ice Melting" were re-done by

Otis Day and the Knights Otis Day and the Knights was a fictional R&B band shown performing in the 1978 movie ''National Lampoon's Animal House''. Following the success of the film the actor portraying the group's lead singer acquired the rights to the name and created ...

in 1989 (produced by George Clinton). Another

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

spin-off act, the

Brides Of Funkenstein The Brides of Funkenstein were an American soul and funk girl band, originally composed of singers Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry. History Previously background singers for Sly Stone, singer of Sly and the Family Stone, Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva jo ...

recorded a version of "I Can Feel The Ice Melting" in 1978, but the track wasn't released until the 1993 archival release " A Fifth Of Funk". That recording was produced by P-Funk production assistant

Ron Dunbar Ronald Dunbar (April 15, 1939 – April 3, 2018) was an American songwriter, A&R director and record producer who worked closely with Holland–Dozier–Holland, and with George Clinton. His co-writing credits include the hit songs " Give Me Jus ...

Chart performance

The single went to #3 on ''

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'' R&B chart, #20 on the Pop chart, and #23 in

Cover versions

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. He was initially suc ...

remade "(I Wanna Testify)" for his 1969 ''The Johnnie Taylor Philosophy Continues'' album - a Don Davis production - from which it was issued as the lead single in April 1969: Taylor's version rose as high as #4 R&B and crossed over to the Pop

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

at #36, and #35 in

. *George Clinton produced a 1978 remake of "(I Wanna) Testify" by

the Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

: the track was released as a single from the album ''New Beginnings'' but failed to chart. *In 2011,

Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known as the lead singer of the band Noiseworks in 1986–1992, the portrayal of Judas in a 1992 Australian production of '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', and as the lead singer fo ...

recorded and released a version of the song as the lead single from his eighth studio album, '' Testify!''.

Other cover versions

*"(I Wanna) Testify" has also been covered by Roger Taylor,

Noel Paul Stookey Noel Paul Stookey (born December 30, 1937) is an American singer-songwriter and activist who is known for being a member of the 1960s folk music, folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary along with Peter Yarrow and Mary Travers. He has been known by his f ...

and

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

References

The Parliaments songs 1967 songs 2011 singles Jon Stevens songs Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician) {{1960s-R&B-song-stub