"I Promise to Wait My Love" is a 1968 single recorded by girl group

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

(credited as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas), released on the Gordy label.

Background

The third release from the group's '' Ridin' High'', it was another single given to them by producer Richard Morris. Produced under a Memphis

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

sound similar to soul singer

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, the song has the narrator (lead singer Martha Reeves) promising to wait for her love as he fights in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, although the song does not overtly reference the war, disguising it as the war being another woman saying that she will love him "even though (he does her) wrong".

Personnel

*Lead vocals by Martha Reeves *Background vocals by Rosalind Ashford and Lois Reeves *Produced by Richard Morris *Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

Chart performance

"I Promise to Wait My Love" peaked at #62 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The song also went to #36 on the

Hot Rhythm & Blues 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.

References

1968 songs 1968 singles Martha and the Vandellas songs Songs written by Sylvia Moy Gordy Records singles Songs written by George Gordy {{1960s-R&B-song-stub