“Beside You Babe”: Sylvia’s “Nobody” called — and Blake Shelton answered

Warner Music NashvilleIf you were around in the early eighties, it’s likely you know Sylvia’s biggest hit, “Nobody.”

The catchy cheating song from 1982 went to #1 on the country chart, was a #5 adult contemporary hit, and even cracked the top-15 in the pop world.

Even though that was 35 years ago, “Nobody” made such an impression on Blake Shelton, it inspired a track on his new album.

“The bass line for that song is always one of my favorite bass lines ever and the overall feel of the song,” Blake explains. “And when I heard ‘Beside You Babe’ there was just something about this song that’s unexplainable. I’m sure there must be something a little bit similar that just reminded me of ‘Nobody,’” he admits.

While Sylvia’s hit tells the story of an adulterous partner whose “nobody called today,” Blake’s tune is quite the opposite: he vows to stay “right beside you babe, till the end of time.”

“I just fell in love with this song,” he says. “I thought the track is just not like anything else we’ve ever recorded before. I’m not sure, it’s not anything I’ve ever heard in country music before.  And the message of the song… I love what it stands for about just being there for somebody.”

Blake Shelton’s new album, Texoma Shore, is new in stores and online today.

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.