What a man
| What a man | |
|---|---|
| Linda Lyndell | |
| publication | 1968 |
| Genre (s) | soul |
| Author (s) | Dave Crawford |
| Cover versions | |
| 1970 | Laura Lee |
| 1993 | Salt 'n' Pepa & En Vogue |
| 2011 | Lena Meyer-Landrut |
What a Man (German: "What a man!" ) Is an English language song written by Dave Crawford . The original recording was made in 1968 by the American soul singer Linda Lyndell , produced by Isaac Hayes and David Porter for the Stax label Volt Records as a 2-track single (B-side "I Don't Know" ). The title peaked at number 50 on the Billboard R&B charts. As a result, the singer was attacked and threatened by racists of the Ku Klux Klan as a white who sings black music and ended her singing career. She first sang the title live again in 2003 at the opening of the Stax Museum in Memphis .
Cover versions
In 1969 there was a new recording by the American soul singer Laura Lee , which was recorded as a 2-track single in 1970 together with the song "Separation Line" (produced by Dave Crawford for the Atlantic sub-label Cotillion Records ) and later on the compilation - Album "Only In America: Atlantic Soul Classics" was released.
In 1993 an adaptation of the song by the American hip-hop band Salt 'n' Pepa appeared together with the R&B band En Vogue under the orthographically modified title Whatta Man on the Salt 'n' Pepa album "Very Necessary" and the en Vogue EP Runaway Love . In this version, the chorus of the original has been used, but the verses have been replaced by rap parts written by Cheryl James ("Salt") and producer Hurby Azor. In 1994 the song was released as a single and reached number 3 on the US Hot 100, number 7 in the UK single charts and number 39 in the German and 27 in the Austrian single charts.
In 2008 a live recording of Jason Miles ' Soul Summit was released with jazz singer Maysa Leak and a saxophone solo by Karl Denson (album: Jason Miles presents Soul Summit Live at the Berks Jazz Fest ).
In 2011, the German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut recorded the original song again as the title track of the feature film What a Man by Matthias Schweighöfer , which premiered on August 10, 2011. The song was released on August 26, 2011 on the soundtrack CD for the film and as a 2-track single on September 2, 2011 (B-side: Good News (live) ). Meyer-Landrut shot the music video, which premiered on August 18, 2011, together with Matthias Schweighöfer and Milan Peschel . In September 2011, this version was placed at number 21 in the German single charts.