53 Interesting Facts About the Number 53 #19: 1953 B.B. King’s “Please Love Me” #1

In May 1953, BB King released his single “Please Love Me” with “Highway Bound” on the flip side. By July 4, the song with BB King’s distinctive mournful and plaintive singing was  a number  one hit on the R & B charts where it stayed at number one for three weeks. 

In 1986, I learned to swing dance from Bill Tinsley; we worked together at Stanford Hospital in the mid 80s.. Bill had an extensive collection of 45s and even some 78s. To help me get a better feel for the music we were dancing to, Bill made me many mixed tapes using records from his collection.

“Please Love Me” was on one of the dance tapes Bill made me. It wasn’t fast enough to do a lot of flips and other high energy moves, but it has a sweet groove and I could really get my skirt moving.

In light of BB King’s death a few days ago,  this week’s Interesting Fact About the Number 53 pays  tribute to BB King, and this song:

53 Interesting Facts About the Number 53 #18: In 1953 B.B. King’s song “Please Love Me” Hit #1

Read more interesting facts about the number 53 here.

In 1956, RPM Records gathered five hit singles including “Please Love Me” for BB King’s debut album Singin’ the Blues. On “Please Love Me”, King isn’t playing his signature guitar sound or his famous guitar “Lucille” –in fact his guitar didn’t even have a name yet.

Instead  T-Bone Walker provides the hard-picking, distorted guitar style.

The lyrics are credited to B.B King and Jules Traub, however, the song was most likely written by B.B. King with Jules Traub (aka Jules Bihari) getting credit in order to secure the royalty income. He and his brothers owned the record label that BB KIng was on in the first part of his career, and  the Bihari brothers often purchased or claimed co-authorship of songs that appeared on their own labels. B.B. King said they did this often to him without his knowledge, however, B.B. King felt the small family owned company and the brothers who ran it “were accessible: “The company was never bigger than the artist. I could always talk to them.”^[5]

I’ve been in love with you baby
Honey before I learned to call your name
Yes, I was in love with you baby
Honey before I learned to call your name
Yeah, the way you treatin’ me baby
Honey you gonna drive old me insane

Yeah, you know I love you
I’ll do anything you tell me to
Yeah, you know I love you baby
And I’ll do anything you tell me to
Well there’s nothing in this world baby
Honey that I wouldn’t do for you

Well if you love me baby
Honey do everything I say
Yeah, if you love me baby
Honey do everything I say
Yes, if you don’t do what I tell you
You better get on your knees and pray

Well, I want you to be my girlfriend
Baby I’m gonna be your boy
Yes, be my girlfriend baby
Honey and I’m gonna be your boy
Yeah, I’m gonna buy you a Cadillac car
Just to drive me where ever you are…