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Some facts about ‘If You Need Me’ by The Rolling Stones (from Songfacts)
This was Pickett’s first single after leaving The Falcons in 1962. He wrote the song with Robert Bateman and Sonny Sanders, who were members of a group called The Satintones. Bateman, who had produced The Falcons, was one of the first staff songwriters at Motown Records, and one of the first to leave. At Motown, he co-wrote and produced the Marvelettes hits “Please Mr. Postman” and “Playboy,” but didn’t feel he was fairly compensated. Along with Pickett, he joined Lloyd Price’s startup label, Double-L Records, for which they wrote and recorded “If You Need Me.”
Pickett didn’t last long at Double-L; he released two more singles, “It’s Too Late” and “I’m Down To My Last Heartbreak,” before heading to Atlantic, where he recorded his most famous songs.
Soul singer Solomon Burke recorded this soon after Pickett’s version was released. On June 1, 1963, both versions reached their peak chart positions, with Pickett at #64 and Burke besting him at #37. Burke’s version got the attention of The Rolling Stones, who recorded it on their 1964 album 12×5. Tom Jones recorded the song the following year.
“If You Need Me” is a song written in 1963 by Wilson Pickett, the producer Robert Bateman (co-writer of the Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman”), and Sonny Sanders. After recording a demo, Pickett sent it to Jerry Wexler, the charismatic producer at Atlantic Records. Wexler instantly fell for the melody and characteristic rhythm of the soul ballad and asked Solomon Burke to record it. The “King of Rock ’n’ Soul,” as he was later nicknamed, transformed it into one of the biggest hits of his career, taking it to number 2 on the R&B charts. There was nothing Wilson Pickett could do but weep. Or almost nothing… what he actually did was record his own version of the song, which was the first release by Lloyd Price’s label, Double L Records, although he was not able to progress beyond number 30 on the R&B charts with his own song!
