Why this tune?
I was reacquainted with this week’s tune last week when vocalist Venus Dodson included it in the set list we’re performing this month on St. Croix. “People Make The World Go Round” is a classic of the 1970s Philadelphia soul scene written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed. It was a top-30 hit for the Stylistics when they released it in 1972, and has continued to be a staple of the soul and jazz repertoire. Marc Dorsey’s cover for Spike Lee’s 1994 film “Crooklyn” brought the tune back to the charts for a short spell.
It makes perfect sense to me to include songs like this in jazz shows. Jazz artists have always interpreted the pop music of the time. There’s no reason why that had to stop with the pop songs of the 1940s and 1950s.
I recorded a short version of the song, based on the Stylistics original, including some of the extended ending vamp that makes up about half of their original album track.
Tunes On Tuesday Reel
Check it out!
Stylistics
Marc Dorsey
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 