If You Don't Know Me By Now - Simply Red - MP3 instrumental karaoke

Originally recorded and released by R&B vocal group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes on September 11, 1972, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" was Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's first major hit on the American charts. The architects of the Philly Soul sound had initially written the song for the girl band Labelle, but it was later offered to Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, whose version peaked at Number 1 on the R&B and pop charts in the United States, also reaching the Top 10 in the UK. Its heartbreaking lyrics are sung from the point of view of a man who feels misunderstood by his partner. Voted as one of the "Songs of the Century" by the Recording Industry Association of America, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" returned to the charts once again in 1989 after British soul-pop band Simply Red recorded a cover for their third studio album, A New Flame. Released as a single on March 27, 1989, Simply Red's rendition stayed faithful to the original instrumentation but opted for simpler vocal harmonies. It was the group's second chart-topping single in the US after 1986's "Holding Back the Years."