Carol Douglas - Doctor's Orders (Unidisc Records 1974)

Описание: "Doctor's Orders" is a song written by Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway and Geoff Stephens which in 1974 was a hit in the UK for Sunny of Sue and Sunny; in the US the song was a hit for Carol Douglas.

Douglas recalled when she first auditioned she was told "I sounded great, but too black. [The track's] producers wanted to capture my more melodic Pop/commercial tones which undeniably made me sound white on the radio." Although Douglas admitted to reservations about the song itself - (quote) "I really [would have] wanted a more soulful song" - she'd also recall "I felt the minute I heard the music that it was going to be something, and after hearing my voice on the track it was even more amazing...[It] did throw me off when they played me the [Sunny] version. So I had to approach [singing the song] in my own way."

Douglas' version, recorded at Groove Sound Studio in New York City, was produced by Meco Monardo but because of contractual complications the production credit was assigned to Midland International vice-president Ed O'Loughlin. One of the players on the session was guitarist Jerry Friedman who according to Monardo invented the "bubble guitar" effect of "playing on a single muffled note" which would become a trademark of disco music as did the "gallop" effect provided by Carlos Martin pounding the conga with his fists.

In the autumn of 1974, Midland International issued test pressings of Douglas' "Doctor's Orders" to New York City discos where the positive response led to the track's rush release that November, with 100,000 units being sold the first week—mostly in the New York City area—and sales of 200,000 reported by 30 November 1974, the date of the Billboard Hot 100 chart on which Douglas' single debuted at number 79 to debut on the Top 40 that December on its way to a number 11 peak (9 R&B) in February 1975.1 "Doctor's Orders" also reached number 2 on the disco chart which Billboard had recently launched. The eventual U.S. sales tally for "Doctor's Orders" was cited as 900,000 units — 300,000 in the New York City area.

Also in February 1975, Douglas' "Doctor's Orders" hit number 1 on Canada's RPM chart and number 4 in France. The UK success of the Sunny original did not preclude a January 1975 UK release of Douglas' version: this was not a success, but "Doctor's Orders" would afford Douglas a top ten hit in Belgium (#10 in Flanders), Italy (#8), New Zealand (#6) and Spain (#2), with her version also charting in Australia (#31) and Germany (#37). In June 1975, Midland International reported that global sales of the Carol Douglas single "Doctor's Orders" totaled one million units.

Carol Douglas is an American singer whose hit "Doctor's Orders" (1974) was a pioneer track in the disco genre. Carol Douglas was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City. She is the daughter of Minnie Newsome, a jazz performer who has been cited as the inspiration for the Cab Calloway classic "Minnie the Moocher"; her father was a mortician. Sam Cooke was her cousin. At 10, Douglas was a contestant and winner on the game show Name That Tune and says "Ebony followed my career for the next three years."

In 1974, Douglas was recruited by Midland International Records via an ad in Showbiz magazine: label vice president/record producer Eddie O'Loughlin had heard the UK hit single "Doctor's Orders" by Sunny and was seeking a female vocalist to cut the track for the U.S. market. Douglas's audition led to a five-year contract and her version of "Doctor's Orders" became a hit.

(Hello)
Hi, honey, it's me
I went to see the doctor today
'Cause ever since you've been gone
I had a pain deep down inside
He says there's nothing wrong with me
I'm just missin' my man
So honey, please
Come on home as soon as you can

Doctor's orders say
There's only one thing for me
Nothing he can do
'Cause only you can cure me

Says in my condition
Love's the best physician
He's prescribed a potion
Full of warm emotion

Every day
A lovin' spoonful to be taken
It's the only thing
To stop this empty heart of mine from breaking

Won't get better
Till you're back again, he told me
Doctor's orders
Need your lovin' arms to hold me

Darling, now I know
There ain't no doubt about it
I'm so hooked on your love
I can't live without it

You're away
But please don't treat me like a stranger
'Cause doctor's orders say
One kiss for me and I am out of danger

Please say understand how I feel, honey
I know you got a lot of things on your mind
Oh, but I'm missin' you so bad
Please, oh, please come on home

Doctor's orders say
There's only one thing for me
Nothing he can do
'Cause only you can cure me

Says in my condition
Love's the best physician
He's prescribed a potion
Full of warm emotion
(Repeat)