You Make Me Feel Brand New

This was written by the Philadelphia songwriters Linda Creed and Thom Bell. Both songwriters made huge contributions to the Philadelphia Soul sound, writing many hits for The Stylistics and The Spinners. Bell also produced this track.

Linda Creed really did feel brand new when she wrote the song's lyric - she was engaged and giddy with love. "I was so happy while I was writing that song," she told Bruce Pollack. "Each line I was jumping up and down saying 'I love it!'" Creed got married in 1972, and the following year, "You Make Me Feel Brand New" gave her a nice wedding present, climbing to #2 in the US and going Gold.

This romantic ballad finds the singer looking back on all the good things his partner has done for him. He feels blessed and rejuvenated by her, and wants her to know how much she means to him. It was one of the first very popular soul love songs that led to the emergence of the "Quiet Storm" format, where artists would combine very emotional lyrics with slow, sensuous arrangements to create very seductive music. Variations on the style continue to this day, as artists like Atlantic Starr, Boyz II Men, R. Kelly and John Legend picking up where The Stylistics left off.