The O’Jays, “You Got Your Hooks in Me” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 45^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “You Got Your Hooks in Me” by “You Got Your Hooks in Me.”

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! In the 45^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “You Got Your Hooks in Me”, performed by 🎙 The O’Jays. 

Theme & Lyrics ✍ 

Somehow, Ohio-born soul collective, 🎙 The O’Jays, NEVER WON A 🏆 GRAMMY. Blasphemy, I say! Perhaps most famously comprised of 🎙 Walter Williams, Sr., 🎙 Eddie Levert, and the late William Powell, The O’Jays ranks among the greatest R&B groups – and groups regardless of musical style – of all time. As stated when analyzing their classic, 🎵 “Stairway To Heaven” previously, the hits are endless for this Philadelphia soul proponent. Years before releasing “Stairway to Heaven,” The O’Jays worked with legendary, dynamic duo 🎼✍ 🎛 Kenneth Gamble and 🎼✍ 🎛 Leon Huff on the five-and-a-half-minute gem, 🎵 “You Got Your Hooks In Me”. “You Got Your Hooks In Me” appears on the collective’s 1973 album, 💿 Ship Ahoy.

As is always the case, Gamble & Huff provide an awesome backdrop. It’s dynamic, smooth, and of course, lushly orchestrated. Eddie Levert handles the lead, bringing his assertive, energetic, and gritty vocals.  What I heart about Eddie is the personality and drama he brings when he performs, something that is perceptive from the start of “You Got Your Hooks In Me.” “I just can’t understand for the life of me / What I see you in you,” Levert sings in the first verse, continuing, “Yet, every time you talk of leavin’ me / I get so shook up, I don’t know what to do.” Woo! That’s a complicated situation right there.

In the second verse, Eddie sings about telling his friends he’s leaving, but of course, when confronting ‘her,’ he proclaims it’s not true.  My, my, my! Of course, the centerpiece is none other than the chorus, were joined by the rest of The O’Jays, Levert asserts, “Oh, oh, baby, I guess you’ve got your hooks in me / And, I, oh, oh, I’m caught like a fish, y’all.” Beyond the verses and chorus, the bridge, which adds Walter Williams, Sr. in a more prominent role, is exceptional too. Again, there’s emphasis on contradiction: “I’ll be goin’ around tellin’ all my friends that I’m leaavin’ / No, and I ain’t goin’ nowhere, no, no.” Worth noting, Eddie Levert would cover “You Got Your Hooks In Me” with his son, late 🏆 Grammy-winning artist, 🎙 Gerald Levert on their collaborative 1995 album, 💿 Father And Son.

Final Thoughts 💭

I can’t tout the sheer excellence of 🎙 The O’Jays enough – they are iconic to the n^th degree.  🎵 “You Got Your Hooks In Me” is another surefire classic.  It’s a gem not named 🎵 “Back Stabbers” or 🎵 “Love Train” that represents just how awesome they are.

🎙 The O’Jays • 💿 Ship Ahoy • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 🗓 1973

The O’Jays, “You Got Your Hooks in Me”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 45 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Gerhard G., JL G via Pixabay,  Karl Hörnfeldt via Unsplash,  The Musical Hype, Sony Music Entertainment]