“I Wouldn’t Change a Thing About You” (Johnny Wyatt)

I love picking out little-known tracks from the 1960s and 1970s and giving them a little wider exposure. That leads us to your totally forgotten classic soul song of the day, “I Wouldn’t Change a Thing About You” by Johnny Wyatt. Released in August of 1963 on Challenge Records, this track was the B-side of a single; a tune called “One, Two, Three” was the A-side. Unfortunately, neither side received much airplay, although this B-side track is definitely worth a listen.

“I Wouldn’t Change a Thing About You” was written by Joy Kennedy and Miriam Lewis. Challenge Records was distributed by Warner Brothers Records but they didn’t press a lot of this one. The single got a second life when it was picked up by England’s Northern Soul crowd. It’s a decent single what would have fit right in on Top 40 radio before the British Invasion, but obviously the label either didn’t have much clout or chose not to promote it.

Johnny Wyatt was a vocalist who previously sang lead with a doo wop group called Rochell and the Candles. He released a number of solo singles in the early ’60s but none of them made a big splash; his last single was released in 1967, on Bronco Records. Mr. Wyatt was born in 1938, which made him just 25 years old when he released “I Wouldn’t Change a Thing About You.” He passed away in 1983.