"When Creed broke one of their golden songwriting rules by mentioning religion (“God bless you”) in You Make Me Feel Brand New, Bell tore a strip off her. He then felt like a heel when she told him that she had written the song about him, and the lyric stayed intact."[4]
Stylistics co-founder, baritoneAirrion Love opens the song, then alternates with the falsetto of lead vocalistRussell Thompkins Jr. The song, in a longer five-minute version, had first appeared as a track on the Stylistics' 1973 album,Rockin' Roll Baby, though that version was not released as a single.[3]
Neil Sedaka used the song as inspiration to compose the melody of "The Hungry Years", noting that it contained a three-semitone key change that he found particularly appealing and called a "drop-dead chord."[19]
Swedish singerBjörn Skifs releasedMed varann' (in EnglishTogether), a cover of the song in Swedish on his albumSchiffz! in 1975 as a duet with ABBA memberAnni-Frid Lyngstad.
Jamaican reggae singer Jacob Miller of Inner Circle recorded the song with Augustus Pablo.
Japanese musicianTatsuro Yamashita recorded his version in 1986, included on the albumOn the Street Corner 2.
Italian singerMina included the song on the albumRane supreme, in 1987.
Roberta Flack recorded the song in 1992, reaching No. 50 on the U.S. R&B chart.
In 2003,Lil Mo made her version of the song and named it, Brand Nu. The instruments had also been enhanced and the lyrics are completely different. This song was included in her second album,Meet the Girl Next Door.
The song was recorded byRonnie Milsap on his albumSummer Number 17.
Jazz guitaristNorman Brown recorded the song in 1999.
Filipino R&B singerJay R included the song from his 2008 album,Soul in Love.
It was also used in TV commercials forWoolite in the mid 1980s and in TV advertisements for Australian department storeMyer in the late 1980s.[citation needed] In Britain, a version was used to advertise BioTex stain removing powder.[22]
