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30 Days of Musical Blackness With VSB, Day 16: Gladys Knight & the Pips ‘Daddy Could Swear, I Declare’

Happy Father’s Day! Suggested Reading Plot Twist: MAGA Drags Ex-Rep. Jamaal Bowman for N-Word Claims And They Are … Right Why Nelly Needs to Finally Admit the Real Reason He Voted For Trump Black TikToker Who Sprayed Bug Killer on Walmart Food Learns His Fate Video will return here when scrolled back into view Trump’s…

Happy Father’s Day!

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

You know what’s difficult to find? Positive songs about black fathers. I’m not saying there aren’t any, I’m just saying that the genre, as it were, could stand some more entries. So today, I decided to go with a song by Gladys Knight & the Pips. The song celebrates dads, or Gladys’ dad, by talking about what he could do almost better than anyone else: “Daddy Could Swear, I Declare” from their 1973 album, Neither One Of Us. The song was a top 5 song on the R&B charts. I guess a lot of folks had a daddy who could swear with the best of them.

Gladys Knight & the Pips “Daddy Could Swear, I Declare” (1973)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8dJlvSbAf8

Over some of that solid funk and soul the group was known for, Gladys tells you about her father, all 5’7” inches of him who couldn’t read or write. He did, however, spend most of his time fussin’ and cussin’ when he was talking about something. You see, daddy could swear, she declares.

My own father can do the same but he tends to ration the profanity out a lot more nowadays. Either way, if you’re ever looking for a fun song about dads by a black group to put on your cookout playlist or just to jam out to on Father’s Day, this is a pretty good option.

I declare.

Happy Father’s Day!

Straight From The Root

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