Nothing Takes The Place of You

Today's post is a slight continunce of yesterday's post concerning the 1967 song "The Dark End of The Street" as we discuss another song entitled "Nothing Takes The Place of You." For a couple of years in the mid-sixties, it was common for reggae music to sound more like R&B than modern reggae. Geographically, there was a steady flow of musicians from Chicago to New Orleans and from New Orleans to Jamaica. Here is an interesting example of how the different styles influenced the music they played.

Toussaint McCall had his only hit in 1967 when his version of "Nothing Takes The Place of You" hit #1 on the R&B charts. It is easy to assume that McCall had a great influence on The Righteous Brothers after listening to his arrangment. Little is known of McCall after the song was published. He would record one more album in 1976 and then fade away.



Experiencing slightly more longevity than Toussaint McCall was the next artist to record our featured song, Prince Buster. While McCall epitomized Chicago style R&B (even though he hailed from New Orleans), Prince added an early reggae element to the song which makes it easier to allow the sad lyrics to go unnoticed. Prince even added and changed the last verse of the song, completely changing the significance of the relationship the two lovers have.

Here are the original lyrics...

NOTHING TAKES THE PLACE OF YOU
(McCall / Robinson)
Toussaint McCall - 1967


I moved your picture
From my walls
And I replaced them
Both large and small
And each new day
Finds me so blue
Nothing
Takes the place of you

I read your letters one by one
And I still love you
When it's all said and done
And oh, my darling, I'm so blue
Because nothing
Oh nothing
Takes the place of you

I, I write this letter
It's raining on my window pane
I, I feel the need of you
Because without you
Nothing seems the same

So I'll wait
Until you're home
Again I love you
But I'm all alone
And oh my darling
I'm so blue
Because nothing
Oh, but nothing takes the place of you.

Listen to Prince Buster's version and note the line he adds...

So I wait until we meet
at the dark end of the street
and oh my darling
I'm so blue
Because nothing takes the place of you

Yesterday we discovered that this line had become synonomous with an affair and not a normal romance. One wonders is Prince changed the lyric in order to take on a more autobiographical meaning or if he was simply giving omage to James Carr.