"What" is a song and single written by H. B. Barnum, performed by Melinda Marx and released in 1965. Marx, daughter of

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...

was a reluctant pop singer and the

high notes ''High Notes'' is the thirty-fourth studio album by American musician Hank Williams Jr. It was released by Elektra Records, Elektra/Curb Records in April 1982, making it Williams' eighth studio album for Elektra/Curb and his ninth overall for the ...

on "What" found her straining. She recorded only one further single before leaving musical performing which had been foist upon her by her father.

Judy Street cover

In 1968 in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Judy Street recorded "What", on the Strider label, as a

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 ...

of "You Turn Me On". The record was exported to England and it was picked up by DJs at Wigan Casino, a major nightclub in the

northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

music scene. However, "What" became the track most played, going on to be a hit on the northern soul nightclub circuit and be ranked 23 of 500 northern soul singles. Following a resurgence of popularity for northern soul music in England in 1977, the song was re-released, and again in 1982 with a B-side by Hi-Fly. Street was unaware of the popularity of the song and did not tour the UK and from 1970 until 1990 she toured with her own bands, including The Swinging Society, in the US, singing and drumming. Finally, in 2005 the popularity of "What" was acknowledged when Street did several interviews for radio, magazines and books.

Soft Cell cover

English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

/ new wave duo

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball (electronic musician), David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit versio ...

released a cover of the song in July 1982 as the only single from their remix album '' Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing''. It became their fifth UK top five chart hit, peaking at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listings

7" # "What!" – 2:52 # "....So" – 3:45 7" (US) # "What!" – 2:52 # "Memorabilia" – 5:22 7" (Canada) # "What!" – 2:52 # "A Man Could Get Lost" – 4:05 12" # "What!" – 6:15 # "....So" – 8:45

Personnel

Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...

– vocals * Dave Ball – backing vocals, synthesizers, producer ( only "....So") * Don Wershba – engineering (on "What!") * Harvey Goldberg – mixing (on "What!") * Bill Clarke – engineering (on "....So") *Mike Thorne – producer (only "What!") * Huw Feather – sleeve design and hand colouring * Eugene Adebari – cover photography *"What" recorded at The Camden Cell, London *"....So" recorded in The Box,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

Charts

References

{{Soft Cell 1965 songs 1965 singles 1968 singles 1982 singles Songs written by H. B. Barnum Vee-Jay Records singles American soul songs Northern soul songs Soft Cell songs Some Bizzare Records singles