"Everybody Needs Love" is a 1964

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

song by Norman Whitfield and

Edward Holland, Jr. Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...

The first version released was by The Temptations for their album ''

The Temptin' Temptations ''The Temptin' Temptations'' is the third studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy ( Motown) label released in 1965. The album includes several of the group's hits from 1965, and also includes a handful of singles that were not included on ...

'' in 1965 (it also got airplay on some radio stations in the U.S.), but the most successful version was on a single by Gladys Knight & the Pips, which peaked at #39 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and #3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

R&B singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart, in 1967. Other Motown acts that recorded this song were Mary Wells (who was the first to record it, though it was not released until after she left the company), which featured Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations in the background, Jimmy Ruffin, The Velvelettes, and The Miracles. All versions of the song were produced by Whitfield.

Personnel

Mary Wells version

* Lead vocals by Mary Wells * Background vocals by The Love Tones: Joe Miles, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Stan Bracely, with Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Jimmy Ruffin version

* Lead vocals by Jimmy Ruffin * Background vocals by The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Temptations version

* Lead vocals by Eddie Kendricks and Melvin Franklin * Background vocals by Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, David Ruffin, and Otis Williams * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Gladys Knight & the Pips version

* Lead Vocals by Gladys Knight * Background Vocals by

Merald "Bubba" Knight Merald Woodlow "Bubba" Knight, Jr. (born September 4, 1942) is an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. The older brother of lead singer Gladys Knight, Bubba Knight served as the unofficial leader of the ...

Edward Patten Edward Roy "Eddie" Patten (August 27, 1939 – February 25, 2005) was an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. He was a cousin of Gladys Knight. Patten was a member of the group from 1959 until its disband ...

and William Guest * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

The Miracles version

* Lead Vocals by William "Smokey" Robinson * Background Vocals by

Claudette Robinson Claudette Annette Rogers Robinson ( Rogers; born June 20, 1938) is an American singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Miracles from 1957 to 1972. Her brother Emerson "Sonny" Rogers was a founding member of the group, which befor ...

, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Bobby Rogers * Guitar by Marv Tarplin ` * Other instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

The Velvelettes version

* Lead Vocals by Carolyn Gill * Background Vocals by The Andantes: Louvain Demps, Marlene Barrow, and Jackie Hicks *Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

References

1964 songs 1967 singles The Temptations songs Gladys Knight & the Pips songs Jimmy Ruffin songs Mary Wells songs The Miracles songs Songs written by Eddie Holland Gordy Records singles Songs written by Norman Whitfield Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield {{1960s-R&B-song-stub