"Gigolo" is a dance single written and produced by Fonce and Larry Mizell and released by R&B singer

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...

on the

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

label. It was the former

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 ...

star's first single with the CBS-operated label and brought Wells brief renewed success 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 ...

'' chart.

Overview

Return from retirement

After leaving Motown Records in 1964, Mary Wells struggled to produce hits outside of the label only achieving once with " Use Your Head" on

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

though she continued to score top 40 hits on the R&B chart in the late sixties and early seventies. By 1974, however, after the

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

-produced "If You Can't Give Her Love" single flopped on

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

, Wells reluctantly retired to raise her four children that she had with second husband, musician

Cecil Womack Cecil Dale Womack (September 25, 1947 – January 25, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was one of the musical Womack brothers, and had success both as a songwriter and recording artist, notably with his wife Linda ...

. The couple divorced in 1977 and after being offered a deal with Epic Records in 1981, she returned to the studio to record her first album in thirteen years, '' In and Out of Love''. Among the singles was "Gigolo", a funky dance hit with the then-current sound mixing dance beats with funky riffs. The song talks about a man who only loves a girl for one night before moving to the next woman. The narrator contends she knew that her lover "wasn't going to stay" but assures that the man was "such a gentleman" and trying to explain her affection saying "even Cinderella had her gigolo". The song also featured a clever rap verse also performed by Mary.

Chart status

Released in late 1981, the single generated initial buzz in early 1982 where the song became a smash on the dance floor eventually reaching #2 on the Billboard disco chart and #13 on the

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. It also crossed over to #69 on the R&B singles chart.

Allmusic review AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

/ref> Though the song wasn't a bigger hit as it was initially promoted to be, it motivated Wells to return to performing and recording full-time as she would until she was diagnosed with larynx cancer in 1990.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by Mary Wells *Background vocals by Brenda Gooch,

Lynda Laurence Lynda Laurence (also spelled Lawrence, born Lynda Tucker; February 20, 1949) is an American singer. The youngest daughter of Louise and Ira Tucker, a gospel songwriter, producer, and singer, Laurence's siblings are Sundray Tucker and Ira Tuc ...

and Maxine Green *Rhythm Arrangements by Greg Perry & McKinley Jackson *Bass - Rodney Mizell *Horns - Fred Jackson, Jr., Ron Brown, George Bohanon, Nolan Smith Jr., Walter Johnson *Guitar - Dwight Caroll *Drums - Fonce Mizell *Percussion - Kenny Hudson *Keyboards & Synthesizer - Larry Mizell *Producers - Fonce & Larry Mizell

References

{{authority control 1981 singles Mary Wells songs Epic Records singles Funk songs Disco songs Funk-rap songs 1981 songs Song recordings produced by Mizell Brothers Songs written by Alphonzo Mizell Songs written by Larry Mizell