"Going in Circles" is a song written by

Jerry Peters Jerry Peters is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, conductor and arranger. He is best known for writing the hit songs "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely" and "Going In Circles" by The Friends of Distinction. Career Peters w ...

and Anita Poree, and originally performed by

The Friends of Distinction The Friends of Distinction were an American vocal group founded by Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, best known for their late 1960s hits, "Grazing in the Grass", "Love or Let Me Be Lonely", and " Going in Circles". Career The Friends of Distincti ...

on their 1969 album ''

Grazin' ''Grazin is the debut studio album by music group The Friends of Distinction, released in 1969 on RCA Victor. Commercial performance The album peaked at No. 10 on the R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 35 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album f ...

'', reaching number 15 on the U.S. Hot 100, and number three on the R&B chart. The song has since been covered numerous times by other artists, including

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

and

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

. In addition, the song's co-composer, Jerry Peters released his own version of the tune on his 1972 solo album ''

Blueprint for Discovery ''Blueprint for Discovery'' is the only album recorded by producer and arranger Jerry Peters. It was released in 1972 and co-produced by Peters, Keg Johnson and Richard Aaron for Organic Sound Productions. Track listing :''All tracks composed by ...

''. The Friends of Distinction's original version is an R.I.A.A. Certified Million-Seller.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* Dwight T. Ross (1968). Sampled in "ManyFacedGod" by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

featuring James Blake from his album '' 4:44''. *

Carolyn Franklin Carolyn Ann Franklin (May 13, 1944 – April 25, 1988) was an American singer-songwriter. Besides her own musical success, Franklin was best known as the daughter of prominent Detroit preacher and civil rights activist C. L. Franklin and the youn ...

, on ''Chain Reaction'' (1970) *

, on '' Black Moses'' (1971) *

The Gap Band The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, an ...

, on ''

Gap Band VII ''Gap Band VII'' is the ninth album by the Gap Band, released in 1985 on Total Experience Records. The album includes the single from original Jerry Peters's song " Going in Circles". As AllMusic's Amy Hanson said in her review of the album, "Th ...

'' (1985) *

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of B ...

, on '' Funk Overload'' (1998) *

Crime Mob Crime Mob is an American hip hop group from Atlanta consisting of six members: M.I.G., Cyco Black, Princess, Lil' Jay, Diamond, and Killa C. The group is best known for their songs "Knuck If You Buck" and " Rock Yo Hips". After an arrest in 2003, ...

, on "

Circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

" (2007)

Luther Vandross version

Several cover versions have been done; the most popularized version is R&B/soul singer Luther Vandross' cover. Vandross recorded a version that appears on his 1994

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

album ''

Songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

''. In 1995, his cover version was released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

single to "

Love The One You're With "Love the One You're With" is a song by folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, beca ...

". The song received heavy radio-rotation and became a top thirty hit on both ''Billboard's 'Hot R&B Singles' and 'Hot Adult Contemporary Songs'.

Track list

;US CD SingleVandross-"Going in Circles"/"Love The One You're With" - (US CD Single)
discogs.com #"Going In Circles" (Radio Edit) - 4:00 #"Going In Circles" (Album Version) - 5:12 #"Going In Circles" (Instrumental) - 4:00 #"Love The One You're With" (Edit) - 3:43 #"Love The One You're With" (Remix Edit) - 3:59

Charts

References

External links

* * 1969 songs 1969 singles 1994 singles The Friends of Distinction songs The Gap Band songs Isaac Hayes songs Luther Vandross songs Songs written by Jerry Peters Songs written by Anita Poree RCA Records singles 1960s ballads Rhythm and blues ballads Soul ballads {{1960s-R&B-song-stub