(You) Got What I Need

This soul groover is about a girl who makes everything better. Packed into the 2:42 run time are a number of metaphors to make this point: You're like medicine to me You brought sunshine to my life I was drowning in the sea of love

Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote and produced this song. Three years later, they founded Philadelphia International Records, home to The O'Jays, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and many other acts that defined the Philadelphia soul sound of the '70s.

The rapper Biz Markie used many elements of this song on his 1989 hit "Just A Friend," where he changed: Oh, baby, you, you got what I need You got everything I need to Oh, baby, you, you got what I need But you say he's just a friend This comic interpretation changed the meaning of the song completely, but incorporated the piano line and vocal melody. It was one of the first cases of a hit rap song thoroughly pillaging a relatively obscure R&B number from decades earlier. Biz Markie didn't clear the rights, and three years later became a test case for plagiarism in songs when Gilbert O'Sullivan sued him for transforming "Alone Again (Naturally)" into a rap song called "Alone Again." Presumably, Markie reached an agreement with Gamble and Huff (writers of "(You) Got What I Need"), but they are not credited as composers of the track.