Keith Barrow

You Know You Wanna Be Loved

Keith Barrow - Physical Attraction (Columbia JC 35597) 1978

If It's Love You're Looking For; Turn Me Up; You Know You Wanna Be Loved; Physical Attraction; Joyful Music; Overnight Success; Garden Of Love; Free To Be With Me

Produced: Michael Stokes

The featured track today has a wonderful introduction the sort once heard always remembered, a light guitar rif (prob. Bobby Elli) with orchestration that is second-to-none thanks Johnny Allen. The girlie backing vocals are just perfect, of the sort you rarely hear anymore, lots of timpani & polish, it doesn't get any better than this and doesn't everybody need to be loved - just like this. Why it was never a bigger hit I don't understand. The version on a single is a different mix and shorter than the album cut by about 2 minutes - beware!

Keith Barrow born 27 Sept, 1954 in Chicago, the singer and composer was the only son of civil rights and human activist, Rev. Willie Taplin-Barrow of the Operation Push organization. Sometimes known as 'The High Priestess of Protest' His first singing experience was gospel.

Barrow spent some of his teenage years recording gospel on the Jewel label and with The Soul Shakers. A song he composed charted for Blue Magic; Teach Me (It's Something About Love) also wrote Fat Larry's Band Teach Me & That's Love for The Hi'Lites on Invictus . His Jewel work was a rich southern soul production style that's so nice, so tight, and so sweet. Keith sings and plays organ, and on some cuts he's backed by a larger vocal group on the choruses. Prime stuff in the best mode of the Jewel label and with the cuts Everything Is Gonna Be Alright, Oh! Freedom, The Right Road, No One Ever Cared (Like You), and Brighter Days.

Los Angeles based, Keith Barrow signed to CBS records in 1977, where he worked with producers & writers Michael Stokes & Ronn Matlock. Barrow's warm, naturally delicate falsetto was put to remarkable use during the late 70's and early 80's in a small but solid body of music. Turn Me Up is a Northern Soul type production worth a listen also Put A Twinkle In Your Eye and We've Got The Right To Be Wrong on his first self titles CBS album.

His only real hit was You Know You Want To Be Loved (number 26 R & B) in 1978, a sweet soul-style mid-tempo number with a rich soulful instrumentation written by Ronn Matlock & Michael Stokes.

Keith Barrow was an early victim of AIDS. He died on the 22nd. October, 1983 aged 29.

Keith Barrow Discography:

• Alright Now /? Jewel 207 (1973)
• Precious/Precious (ext) Columbia 10394
• We've Got A Right To Be/ Mr Magic Man Columbia 10494
• You Know You Wanna Be Loved Columbia 10722 (1978)
• If It's Live You're looking For/Joyful Music Columbia 10846
• Physical Attraction/Free To Be Me Columbia 10965
• Turn Me Up/Joyful Music Columbia 12-7090
• Running On Empty/Move A Little Closer Capitol 4912
• Why Love Half The World/? Capitol 12'


• Albums:
• Keith Barrow/Freedom Jewel 75 (1973)
• Keith Barrow Columbia 34465 (1977)
• Physical Attraction Columbia (1978)
• Just As I Am Capitol (1980)