In 1966, Otis Redding released his fourth studio album, Complete and Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul.
And it turns out that the first entry in the soul dictionary is Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa.
That’s pronounced faa, mind you, not fah. Faa is the sound that a horn makes, and “Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa (Sad Song)” is basically a duet between Redding and his horn section. There are other lyrics, of course, but they’re sort of beside the point.
“Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa” proved to be one of Redding’s greatest hits, peaking at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s also something of an in-joke, as Redding often taught his arrangements to his horn players by vocalizing their parts. With “Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa,” he actually built a song around it.
But when Bruce Springsteen and Sam Moore covered it at one of Bruce’s holiday benefit shows in 2003, they kind of forgot about the horn part–which is ironic, since they had a pretty great horn section on hand.
We’ll forgive them, though, because holy cow is this a great arrangement! Segueing from a “Hey Bo Diddley” intro into a pretty lengthy “Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa” quote before finally landing on an extended “I Thank You,” Sam and Bruce’s team-up provided the evening with a jolt of electricity and one of my favorite moments from Bruce’s entire run of holiday shows.
And yes, I know that technically this entry breaks my “no snippets” rule (I only feature songs Bruce covers in full), but come on: how great is this clip? Any time you can start your day with Bruce Springsteen, Sam Moore, and a classic Stax track, you’re better off for it.
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)
First performed: December 8, 2003 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: December 8, 2003 (Asbury Park, NJ)
