"Somebody Needs You" is a song written by

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

Frank Wilson. It was originally released as a non-album track by R&B duo

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

Loma Records Loma Records was an American subsidiary record label of Warner Bros. Records managed by Bob Krasnow, and later by Russ Regan. Its name was derived from Eloma, a cleared copyright Warner owned. History In March 1964, Warner Bros. president Mik ...

in May 1965. In 1966,

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 ...

singer Darrell Banks reached the ''Billboard'' charts with his rendition.

Release and critical reception

"Somebody Needs You" was released on Loma Records in May 1965. Characterized by a "driving rock" melody, ''Cash Box'' described the single as a "Detroit styled throbber." The single "Somebody (Somewhere) Needs You" was released in the UK in December 1966. A live version was included on the album '' The Ike & Tina Turner Show Vol. 2'' (Loma Records, 1967). The song later appeared on the compilation ''Finger Poppin'…The Warner Brothers Years'' ( Edsel Records, 1988). It became very popular on the UK Northern Soul scene in the mid 1970’s (up to the present day) and original vinyl copies on the Loma label are sought after by Northern Soul record collectors.

Darrell Banks version

Darrell Banks released a version titled "Somebody (Somewhere) Needs You" on Revilot Records in September 1966. His record reached No. 55 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 34 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. Reviewing the single, ''Billboard'' (October 1, 1966) wrote: "Moving is the word for the new Darrell Banks disk and there's no holding it back. Should be his second smash!" The song appeared on his debut album ''Darrell Banks Is Here!'', released by

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the com ...

in 1967.

Chart performance

References

1965 songs 1965 singles Ike & Tina Turner songs Songs written by Frank Wilson (musician) 1966 singles Northern soul songs Warner Records singles {{Ike & Tina Turner