THE VALENTINOS - I CAN UNDERSTAND IT

Hailing from Cleveland, OH, The Valentinos were made up of the Womack brothers (Bobby, Curtis, Harry, Friendly Jr, and Cecil). Curtis and Bobby were discovered as young teenagers in 1956 by Sam Cooke while the brothers were singing gospel music. Four years later, Cooke had the group travel to California where he signed them to his SAR record label. The group initially wanted to record only gospel material, but their gospel debut flopped. Thanks to an arrangement with Cooke, the group agreed to branch out into the world of secular music, although their powerhouse singing never lost its roots in the church.

During the sixties, the group released a string of excellent singles, but never achieved the massive success they deserved as a group; however, the Womack brothers' composition "It's All Over Now" became a massive hit for the Rolling Stones.

The group grieved the turmoil of Cooke's death, the drama of Bobby Womack's marriage to Cooke's widow, and, shortly after the release of this record, Harry Womack's murder.

"I Can Understand It" had been cut a few years earlier in an incredible solo take by Bobby Womack, yet this group version (minus Bobby, who was not working with the group due to his solo success) somehow surpasses it (or at the very least equals it). An incredibly intense, powerful record capped off with those incredible vocals from the Womack brothers.

from 1973...

THE VALENTINOS - I CAN UNDERSTAND IT