Bobby Womack vs. K-Ci | Head 2 Head

In the 48^th edition of Head 2 Head (2024), Bobby Womack and K-Ci contend for the best rendition of “If You Think You’re Lonely Now.”

Welcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 2 Head, we pit at least two musicians performing the same song and compare their performances.  After deliberation, we decide which performance is the best or moves us more subjectively.  In the 48^th edition of Head 2 Head (2024), Bobby Womack and K-Ci contend for the best rendition of “If You Think You’re Lonely Now”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!  

1. Bobby Womack, “If You Think You’re Lonely Now”

The Poet // ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. // 1981

“If you think you’re lonely now, huh / Wait until tonight, girl.” Why Bobby Womack? “I’ll be long gone / …And you’ll never find another man that’ll treat you right.” Noted – loud and clear.  The late, great soul musician dropped a gem in the early 80s with “If You Think You’re Lonely Now”.  The seventh track from his 1981 LP, The Poet, was a hit on the R&B charts.   However, sadly, it didn’t impact the pop charts.  Nonetheless, the Womack, Patrick Moten, and Sandra Sully penned track is one of the gems of Bobby’s awesome musical catalog. First and foremost, Womack ‘brings the heat’ vocally.  He has the perfect topic to sing about: love.  Both lyrics and melodies are memorable.  The songwriting is relatable, given that ‘matters of the heart’ are universal.

Womack feels unloved by a woman he characterizes as ‘high maintenance’: “She’s always complaining ‘bout me never being at home / But when I’m home, I’m broke / She’s telling me ‘bout the things that her girlfriend’s got / What she ain’t got.”  In the second and third verses, there are elements of karma.  “When I ain’t there to rub your back /… Just remember I made it a known fact,” he sings in the second, adding in the third, “Girl, ain’t it funny how the tables turn? / When things aren’t going your way.” By the fifth verse, he’s completely done with her shenanigans: “‘Cause I’ve done my time / And it’s your turn now (Wait until tonight, girl).” Womack also gets a lift from fantastic background vocals that sing titular lyrics and the recurrent, “Wait until tonight, girl.” Aside from sweet, nuanced vocals and unforgettable lyrics, the musical accompaniment is swell. Ultimately, Womack shines on this ‘late-career’ hit. It was famously covered by K-Ci and has been sampled many times.

Appears in 🔻:

• Bobby Womack, If You Think You’re Lonely Now: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 186 (2024)
• 13 More Irresistible YOU Songs (2024)
• 11 Lovely, Lonely Songs, Part 1 (2024)

2. K-Ci, “If You Think You’re Lonely Now”

All My Life: Their Greatest Hits // Geffen // 2005

K-Ci (Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey), best known as one half of K-Ci & JoJo, covered a popular Bobby Womack classic, “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” in 1994.  One of Womack’s later hits, arriving in the 80s, K-Ci delivers a modernized take.  Even with more contemporary touches of the 1990s, “Lonely” in his hands retains the soulfulness of the original. If anything, K-Ci builds on the soulfulness.  Gracing the 1994 soundtrack to the film Jason’s Lyric, the late great James Mtume produced this cover that could be mistaken as the original recording.  The production is sleek – guitars, strings, drum programming, and sweet background vocals.

As awesome as the musical accompaniment is, it is K-Ci that steals the show.  He provides gritty vocals.  He knew the assignment, as they say! I love how dynamic he is, giving his all in his performance.  His marvelous ad-libs and riffs only add to the excellence.  The growls are EVERYTHING.  To reiterate, had Bobby Womack not originally recorded “If You Think You’re Lonely Now”, it could have been mistaken for a K-Ci original.  “Now” performed superbly on the pop charts, peaking at no. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Amazingly, the original didn’t chart on the pop charts. Folks, sometimes it takes a cover, and K-Ci delivers a superb one.

Appears in 🔻:

• K-Ci, If You Think You’re Lonely Now: Covers No. 49 (2024)

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️ 

So, who gave the best rendition of “If You Think You’re Lonely Now?” Was it the stirring original by the late, great Bobby Womack or the dynamic cover by K-Ci? This should be a no-brainer, shouldn’t it? Womack was ‘the man’ – one of the greatest soul musicians of all time.  Could a cover by K-Ci ever hope to challenge him?  The answer is a resounding Y-E-S.  K-Ci delivers a marvelous, leaning into the emotion conveyed by the lyrics and preserving, if not expanding the soulfulness of the original.  Furthermore, Hailey was able to do something Womack wasn’t – make “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” a pop hit.  So, deciding between both top-notch performances is arduous.  Rather than decide between two stellar performances, I’m going with a draw.

Bobby Womack vs. K-Ci: Head 2 Head No. 48 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., Geffen; Hernán Toro, Los Muertos Crew, RDNE Stock project, Thomas Ronveaux from Pexels]