"Don't Make Me Over" by Sybil

        Good evening, friends! Thanks for setting aside some time to tune your receivers to the Dial! Tonight we’ve pulled an overlooked and unfairly abandoned hit from the top 40 charts of yesteryear because that’s what we do best! Settle back for Sybil’s new jack swing treatment of a classic Hal David/Burt Bacharach composition, “Don’t Make Me Over”.

“Don't pick on the things I say, the things I do… Just love me with all my faults, the way I love you.  I'm begging you…” 

Marrying Hal and Burt’s classic lyrics describing a woman’s plea for acceptance following her confession of devotion to her lover, with the growing musical genre of new jack swing, “Don’t…” was the lead single from New Jersey based Sybil’s self-titled second LP, released in September of 1989.

New jack swing’s heyday was the late-80s through the mid-90s, and while it was firmly steeped in hip-hop, it also combined elements of classic R&B, contemporary dance pop, funk, jazz, and occasionally, electronica. Sybil’s cover is a mellow example of the genre, far removed from the more aggressive party anthem styles normally associated with the movement, such as Bell Biv Devoe's “Poison”, Color Me Badd’s “I Wanna Sex You Up”, or Bobby Brown's “My Prerogative”.

“Just take me inside your arms, and hold me tight. I'll always be by your side, whenever you're wrong or right... I'm begging you…"

“Don’t” is perhaps best known through its first recording, a slow R&B ballad rendition by soul legend Dionne Warwick, which peaked at US #21 pop and R&B #5 in 1963, however, other acts attempted to scale the Hot 100 with their own covers of the song as well. The first remake to chart was a doo-wop inspired version from 1970 by Brenda and the Tabulations, reaching #77 pop and #15 R&B. A decade later, Jennifer Warnes reached #67 pop with her 1980 soft rock remake. Sybil's interpretation was the fourth charting version of this venerable classic, and the highest charting one as well, at US #20 pop and #2 R&B, besting even Dionne’s classic oldie.

Sybil (full name: Sybil Lynch) ended up releasing mainly classic soul covers during her career, including her takes on Bill Withers' “Lovely Day”, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' “The Love I Lost”, Al Green's “Tired of Being Alone”, and another David/Bacharach composition, also originally recorded by Warwick, “Walk on By”.

Why don’cha click on the window below and give Miss Lynch’s forgotten hit cover a spin? You may just discover a new favorite take on an old classic! And keep it tuned to the Dial for more great tunes that just don’t get played on current radio stations anymore. Kyle’s Radio Dial… The more you listen, the MORE you remember!

“Don't make me over, (Don't make me over)... Now that I'd do anything for you."