SATURDAY'S SINGLES : THE ENGLISH CONGREGATION and DAVE EDMUNDS

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Good morning gang and welcome to the return of Saturday's Singles. First up, turning on our table is the 1971 ATCO release, "Softly Whispering I Love You" by The English Congregation. It peaked at #29 in America and #4 in the UK. They were known as The Congregation in the UK and to avoid confusion with the Mike Curb Congregation who had also just covered the track, The English Congregation in the US and Canada. The choir was the vehicle for songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway and even if those names don't jump off the page at you, chances are you've heard some of their many compositions, such as "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". Fascinatingly enough the "Softly Whispering I Love You" was a cover of the two Rogers previous outfit, David and Jonathan. That version (1967) reached #23 in Australia. The Congregation version features "When Susie Takes the Plane" on the B-side.

Roger Cook - vocals, songwriting, guitar, producer

Roger Greenaway - vocals, songwriting, guitar, producer

Brian Keith - lead vocals

Alan Parker - lead guitar

Victor Brox - horns, keyboards, guitar

Here is a couple of links about this interesting duo, if you'd like to delve deeper into their story :

https://vancouversignaturesounds.com/hits/softly-whispering-love-en...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_written_by_Roger_Cook_a...

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Our second Saturday's Singles selection is "I Hear You Knocking" by Welsh  singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, Dave Edmunds. It was released in 1972 on the MAM label and peaked at #1 in Ireland, South Africa, and the UK. In America it reached #4 on both the Hot 100 charts and the Cash Box. The tune was written by Dave Bartholomew and first recorded by  Smiley Lewis in 1955. His version went to #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Edmunds version features a great instrumental on the flip side titled "Black Bill".

Dave Edmunds – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums
John Williams – bass, backing vocals

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