Pop Rock Music

The song was written by  songwriter and record producer Scott English and  songwriter/musician Larry Weiss. The Outsiders recorded it fist, and it was track on their 1966 album The Outsiders In. The cover by the group The American Breed had charting success with the song in 1967. It went to #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 early in 1968. It also rose to #7 in Canada and #5 in the U.S.

There have been other covers of the song, including versions by The Models, Amen Corner, Storm, and Donna McElroy. The song was featured in the 1997 film Wild America. It has also been  used in a number of TV commercials. This includes Flexon eyeglass frames, Mercedes-Benz station wagons, Gap Stretch Jeans, and Select Comfort’s Sleep Number mattress.

The American Breed formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1962  and were called Gary & The Knight Lites. The original members were Gary Liozzo (vocals), Charles Colbert, Jr., (bass guitar and vocals, Al Ciner (guitar and vocals), and Lee Graziano (drums, trumpet and vocals). They also had charting success with “Step Out of Your Mind”  and “Green Light.” They disbanded in 1970 and some members morphed into Rufus, which featured Chaka Khan.

Here are the lyrics to “Bend Me, Shape Me” by The American Breed:

You are all the woman I need
And baby you know it…
You can make this beggar a king
A clown or a poet…

I’ll give you all that I own
You got me standing in line
Out in the cold
Pay me some mind

Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me
Long as you love me, it’s all right
Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me
You got the power to turn on the light

Everybody tells me
I’m wrong to want you so badly…
But there’s a force driving me on
I follow it gladly…

So let them laugh I don’t care
‘Cause I got nothing to hide
All that I want
Is you by my side

Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me
Long as you love me, it’s all right
Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me
You got the power to turn on the light… Yes

Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me
Long as you love me, it’s all right
Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me
You got the power to turn on the light

Check Out The Groove Pad for More 1960s Music

The Pass the Paisley Groove Pad is a resting stop, a place to chill out and listen to the featured song on the stereo. If the mood strikes you, click on the juke box to access and listen to the 50+ free online songs there. The TV has several channels, with selections updated twice a week. Every now and then, Pass the Paisley hosts an all-request of 1960s and 1970s songs for a Be-In at the juke box in the Groove Pad. Keep on truckin’. Hope you enjoyed “Bend Me, Shape Me” by The American Breed.