“Cousins Melvin Hardin and Tim McPherson were from Mississippi, but they eventually moved to Chicago, where they were discovered by Gene Chandler,” (Popdose). “He … co-produced the smash hit ‘Backfield in Motion’ for them. Stax Records, as they often did, sent (Mel + Tim) to Muscle Shoals to record with the Swampers, two of whom, Barry Beckett and Roger Hawkins, produced the next Mel + Tim hit. ‘Starting All Over Again’ was written by Phillip Mitchell and released on Stax in 1972. The record, with its production modeled on the Chi-Lites hit ‘Have You Seen Her’ (including the use of the electric sitar), was a Top 20 hit on the Pop chart and reached #4 on the R&B chart. It remained on the charts for 20 weeks, and became Mel & Tim’s second million-seller.
It’s hard to know why some talented artists have long lasting careers while others fade away. Mel + Tim performed at the fabled Wattstax concert in 1972, but even that highly visible appearance didn’t help them find any real chart success with their subsequent releases. ‘I May Not Be What You Want’ (1973), ‘That’s the Way I Want to Live My Life’ (1974), and ‘Forever and a Day’ (1974) all found a place in the Top 100 on the R&B chart, but unlike Mel + Tim’s earlier hits, did not have much in the way of crossover success … ” In 1991, a nearly note-for-note cover of ‘Starting All Over Again’ by Daryl Hall and John Oates “became a Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart.”
At 2:41, an unprepared half-step key change hits during an instrumental section leading into the extended outro.
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