Simply Red, If You Don’t Know Me By Now | COVERS

In the 47th edition of COVERS (2024), Simply Red marvelously covers “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” originally performed by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

Ah, it’s time to get cozy and cover up! In COVERS, we highlight a musician or band covering songs by another musician (likely a popular musician). COVERS focuses solely on the musician who covers.  It is open to established musicians and musicians who may not be as well-known. In the 47^th edition of COVERS (2024), Simply Red delivers a compelling rendition of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” originally performed by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

“If you don’t know me by now / You will never, never, never know me.” Those iconic lyrics hail from the beloved soul classic, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”.  “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” was the highest charting hit by soul collective Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, peaking at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Notably, it featured the dynamic, soulful baritone of Teddy Pendergrass (1950 – 2010) and was written and produced by the iconic duo Gamble & Huff (Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff).  Topping this soul landmark is a tall task – “Know” is a once-in-a-lifetime recording.  However,  English soul and pop band Simply Red, led by Mick Hucknall, marvelously covered Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes’ ‘ace-in-the-hole.’ “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” in the hands of Hucknall and company outperformed the original on the pop charts.  The revival cover reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Simply Red was nominated for three Grammys throughout their career. One of those nominations came for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.” While they’d lose the award to Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville at the 32^nd Annual GRAMMY Awards, the nomination was well-deserved. The ninth track from their 1989, A New Flame, is special. Hucknall and company contemporized “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” for a new audience.  While the cover retains soulfulness, the sound is more representative of the 1980s with ‘poppier’ instrumentation.  The keys are key to the musical accompaniment, differentiating it from the Philly soul original.  The sound is more ‘adult contemporary’ pop and R&B – more blue-eyed soul. Hucknall has a starkly different voice than Pendergrass but commands “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” sublimely in his own right.  He sounds clear and smooth, singing expressively without daring to over-sing. His ad-libs tend to be more subtle but highlight the beauty and pureness of his instrument – finesse. Likewise, the harmonized background vocals singing the titular lyrics, originally performed by The Blue Notes, are clean, clear, and sweet.  It is arduous to cover such a big song like “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” but Simply Red was highly successful – an understatement.

Simply Red // A New Flame // Warner Music UK Ltd. / Simplyred.com Ltd. // 1989

Simply Red, If You Don’t Know Me By Now: Covers No. 47 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner /The Musical Hype; Warner Music UK Ltd. / Simplyred.com Ltd.; Alan Cordero, Ba Tik, Kampus Production, Matteo Milan, SHVETS production from Pexels; OpenClipart-Vectors, StockSnap, Vicki Hamilton from Pixabay]