Album: Love Is All We Have To Give (1969)
Charted: 13
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  • Ooh-ooh
    Hey, hey, my-my-my-my
    Black pearl, precious little girl
    Let me put you up where you belong
    Black pearl, pretty little girl
    You've been in the background much too long

    You've been workin' so hard your whole life through
    Tending other peoples houses, raising up their children too
    Hey, how bout something for me and you?
    Here in my arms you're gonna reign supreme
    No more serving, baby, they're gonna serve my queen
    It's our turn for happiness and our day has come
    Living for each other and answering to no one

    Black pearl, precious little girl
    Let me put you up where you belong because I love you
    Black pearl, pretty little girl
    You've been in the background much too long
    Together we'll stand so straight and so tall
    Created by love to love one and all, hey
    Heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul
    No other one could ever take your place
    My world is built around the very smile that's on your face
    You'll never win a beauty show, no, they won't pick you
    But you're my Miss America and I love you

    Black pearl, precious little girl
    Let me put you up where you belong, I will lead you
    Black pearl, pretty little girl
    You've been in the background much too long

    Ooh-ooh, yeah-yeah-yeah, my-my-my-my-my baby
    You know I need you, you know I want you, want you for myself
    I don't want nobody else, oh babe I love you, you know I need you
    You know I got to-got to-got to have you
    Come on baby, come on, come on and be my baby
    You know I love you, ooh-ooh
    Be mine, nobody else have you, come on baby love
    Ah, I love you, and I need you and I want you, want you for myself
    Come on baby, I love you, hey-hey-hey
    I really need you baby love and I want you Writer/s: IRWIN LEVINE, PHILLIP SPECTOR, TONI WINE
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 8

  • Steve from South GeorgiaLove this song. It says so much about the times back then. I was told back then it was banned from playing in a lot of southern radio stations. I was just a teenager when I first heard it on the radio. Took me several years to find the 45rpm at Sam Goody Records in Raleigh, NC when passing through. I still have that 45rpm!
  • Black Pearl from Saint Charles, MoMy sister said when she goes to heaven, play this at her funeral.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn March 12, 1983, Sonny Charles performed "Put It In A Magazine" on the ABC-TV Saturday-afternoon program, 'American Bandstand'...
    Seven weeks earlier it had peaked at #40 {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's Top 100 chart and it spent fourteen weeks on the Top 100...
    And on January 9th, 1983 it peaked at #2 {for 3 weeks} on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, for the three weeks it was a #2, the #1 record for those three weeks was "The Girl Is Mine" by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney...
    Sonny Charles, born Charles Hemphill, will celebrate his 79th birthday this coming September 4th, 2019...
  • F-ew from Malmö, SeI wasn't very long back from Vietnam. 1969: "Black Pearl". It's one of those tunes that means a lot to me.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn May 4th 1969, "Black Pearl" by the Checkmates, Ltd featuring Sonny Charles entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #75; and on June 29th, 1969 it peaked at #13 (for 1 week) and also spent 13 weeks on the Top 100...
    The group had two other records make the Top 100 and both also charted in 1969; "Love Is All I Have To Give" (#65) and a covered version of CCR's "Proud Mary" (#69)...
    The the group was discovered by three-time Grammy Award winner Nancy Wilson; in 1964 she reached #11 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart with "How Glad I Am".
  • Mark from Houston, TxI thought this was just another one of those forgotten great songs from the past golden age of soul music. While driving Yesterday I heard this song on XM Sattelite Radio's Soul Town channel. It brought back so many, many memories of that day and time. This song would be inspiring to a lot of people today if it were played more often. Such a powerful message here, even for todays time.
  • Doug from Oakland, CaThis song is a magnificent ode to Black women,coming out at the height of the Black Power movement in early 1969.
    It almost seems ancient history now.Sadly,thats not how young Black men see their female counterparts today.Listen to most any rap song to tune into the current view.
    When this song was out,I was marching through campus buildings at Berkeley and SF State College with Black men and women who did not come to play.Whenever I hear Black Pearl,I think of this sister with a big afro and black leather coat at Berkeley trying to swack the crap out of this cop with her wicked umbrella!
  • Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumI love this song very much; you can find it on Phil Spector's cd-box "Back to Mono". If you are a Spector's fan, just buy it, it's GREAT.
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