A song that'll put you right

Now when you're feelin' low and the fish won't bite
You need a little bit o' soul to put you right
You gotta make like you wanna kneel and pray
And then a little bit o' soul will come your way

When SoulMan reminded us of all the great songs from 1967 we decided to go back and take a closer look. It was indeed an amazing year for music.  One of the memorable songs, "Little Bit o' Soul" by the Music Explosion, was the Mansfield, Ohio group's only Top 40 hit.  It topped out at No. 2 in July and finished No. 13 on Billboard's year-ending Hot 100.

The song has been covered by many artists, even the Ramones, and today we share a live encore clip by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. (BTW, does that girl who stormed the stage get felt up by security, or what?)

"Little Bit o' Soul" is more pop than soul, but you get the idea.  And the song's message was supported up and down the Hot 100 with some great soul and R&B hits like Gladys Knight & the Pips' "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (No. 9), Aretha Franklin's "Respect" (No. 14), Smoky Robinson's "I Second That Emotion" (No. 21) and the quintessential Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" (No. 29).

Now when your girl is gone and you're broke in two
You need a little bit o' soul to see you through
And when you raise the roof with your rock 'n' roll
You'll get a lot more kicks with a little bit o' soul