The Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23 b/w Dancin’ And Prancin’, Right On Time (1977), Look Out For #1 (1976), A&M Records, Kidada Music, Inc., Off The Wall Music, Goulgris Music - BMI

This! Easily in my top five greatest songs ever. When I’m making babies, I want this playing in the background. When I’m dead, I want this playing at my funeral. When my ashes are cast out to the Pacific, I want somebody holding a boombox above their head while blasting Strawberry Letter 23.

The story goes: Shuggie Otis wrote this beautiful ballad for his girl that used to write him on strawberry-scented paper! After hearing Shuggie’s cut, The Brothers Johnson took it and flipped it under the superb production of Quincy Jones. This is the version that has become, in my mind, the standard for poetic love songs recorded thereafter. 

Thanks to Shuggie’s Muse, the lyrics are pure and direct from the heart. Thanks to Quincy’s brilliance, and The Brothers being heavily involved in that moment, the ethereality of this composition transcends funk. 

Two things: 1) I need a girl in my life that will write me strawberry-scented letters. 2) Why is this track called Strawberry Letter 23, when the lyrics say Strawberry Letter 22?

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