"It Takes Two" is a hit single recorded in late 1965 by Marvin Gaye and

Kim Weston Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)", and with her duet with Marvin Gaye ...

for Motown's Tamla label. Produced by Weston's then-husband, longtime Gaye collaborator

William "Mickey" Stevenson William "Mickey" Stevenson (born January 4, 1937) is an American former songwriter and record producer for the Motown group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967. Life and career He was born William Stevenson and, a ...

, and co-written by Stevenson and Sylvia Moy, "It Takes Two" centered on a romantic lyric that depicted many things in life (dreams, love, wishes, etc.) being better with two people instead of one. The single became Gaye's most successful duet single to date, later outperformed by Gaye's duets with

Tammi Terrell Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. ...

. Gaye and Weston's duet peaked at 14 on the '' Billboard'' Pop charts and No. 4 on ''Billboard''′s Soul Singles chart in January 1967. "It Takes Two" was also Gaye's first major hit in the UK, where it peaked at No. 16 on the British singles charts in the spring of that same year. '' Cash Box'' said the single is a "rhythmic, infectious romancer that superbly matches the two fine voices." The song was played over the closing credits of the 1995 film '' It Takes Two'' and 2002

TV adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...

novel '' Double Act''.

Personnel

*All vocals by Marvin Gaye and

*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 ...

and The Detroit Symphony Orchestra *Produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson

Charts

Certifications

Rod Stewart and Tina Turner version

British singer Rod Stewart and American singer

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

released a cover of "It Takes Two" in 1990, which was also featured in a television advertising campaign for

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

. It was the lead single from Stewart's album ''

Vagabond Heart ''Vagabond Heart'' is the sixteenth studio album by British recording artist Rod Stewart, released on 26 March 1991 by Warner Bros. Records. The album reached No. 10 in the US, and reached No. 2 in the UK. The album features five singles, amon ...

'', produced by Bernard Edwards. The duet was a European hit, peaking at No. 1 in Denmark. It also reached No. 5 in the UK and was a Top 10 single in several European countries. The song later appeared on both artists' greatest hits albums: Turner's '' Simply the Best'' (1991), and Stewart's ''

The Very Best of Rod Stewart ''The Story So Far: The Very Best of Rod Stewart'' is Rod Stewart's career-retrospective compilation album released in 2001. The album summarises his solo work beginning with material from his 1971 breakthrough album '' Every Picture Tells a S ...

'' (2001).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other cover versions

* In 1989 a Children In Need charity single was released (retitled "It Takes Two, Baby") featuring

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

DJs

Liz Kershaw Elizabeth Marguerita Mary Kershaw (born 30 July 1958) is an English radio broadcaster. She is the second longest serving female national radio DJ in the UK (after Annie Nightingale), celebrating 30 years on national BBC Radio in 2017. Career Af ...

and

Bruno Brookes Trevor Neil "Bruno" Brookes (born 1959 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) is an English former radio presenter who became prominent on British radio in the 1980s. He was CEO of in-store radio company Immedia from 2000–2020. Early life and care ...

with

Jive Bunny Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers were a British novelty pop music act from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The face of the group was Jive Bunny, a cartoon rabbit who appeared in the videos, and also (as a human being in a costume) did pro ...

and

Londonbeat Londonbeat is a British dance-pop band who scored a number of pop and dance hits in the early 1990s. Band members are American Jimmy Helms (who also had a successful solo career and sang radio jingles for Radio Hallam and Hereward Radio in the ...

. It charted at #53 in the UK Singles chart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:It Takes Two (Song) 1966 singles 1967 singles Marvin Gaye songs Rod Stewart songs Tina Turner songs Songs written by Sylvia Moy Songs written by William "Mickey" Stevenson Tamla Records singles Warner Records singles 1966 songs Song recordings produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson Male–female vocal duets Number-one singles in Denmark