"These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" is a

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 written by

Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of th ...

Johnny Bristol John William Bristol (February 3, 1939 – March 21, 2004) was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which ...

and

Sylvia Moy Sylvia Rose Moy (September 15, 1938 – April 15, 2017) was an American songwriter and record producer, formerly associated with the Motown Records group. The first woman at the Detroit-based music label to write and produce for Motown acts, she ...

, and recorded, most notably, by

The Velvelettes The Velvelettes were an American singing girl group, signed to Motown in the 1960s. Their biggest chart success occurred in 1964, when Norman Whitfield produced "Needle in a Haystack", which peaked at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, an ...

and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Details

, a minor act signed to

's V.I.P. subsidiary, recorded the first version of the song in May 1966. The group had found some success with their first two (official) Motown singles, "Needle In A Haystack" and "

He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' is a soul song written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. in 1964. The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group the Velvelett ...

", but their last two releases had failed to chart. Although "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" was scheduled for release on V.I.P. (V.I.P. 25034), the song was instead released on Motown's Soul imprint (as S 35025), in August 1966. It became a minor R&B hit in America, peaking at number 43 on the US R&B Charts in late 1966. It nearly made it onto the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as well, bubbling under at number 102. A Velvelettes album project was also started, ''The Velvelettes'', and scheduled for release as V.I.P. 401. The LP was scrapped and the group disbanded shortly after. "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" proved to be their last Motown single. In 1971, however, a British (Tamla Motown) reissue of the song became a hit, making number 34 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in August of that year. Despite the newfound success, The Velvelettes did not reunite until the 1980s; they would go on to record (with all four original members) for

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...

Motorcity Records Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists. History Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to recor ...

as well. Their next single was a rerecorded version of their hit "Needle In A Haystack", released on Levine's Nightmare label some 21 years after this song.

, who had been the lead singer of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

, left the group for a solo career in early 1970. She recorded "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" in January that year for her self-titled debut solo album, ''

.'' The LP was a success and is widely regarded as some of Ross' finest solo work. Motown singer-songwriters

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

produced all of its tracks, except "These Things", which was produced by Bristol. Motown musician

Junior Walker Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr. (June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995), known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist (primarily saxophonist and vocalist) who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a ses ...

and his All-Stars also recorded the song in early 1971. That version was included on their ''Rainbow Funk'' album, released in July of the same year.

Personnel

Velvelettes version

*Lead vocals by Carolyn "Cal" Gill *Background vocals by

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Mar ...

*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 ...

Diana Ross version

*Lead vocals by Diana Ross *Background vocals by Merry Clayton, Julia Waters, and Maxine Waters and Johnny Bristol

Junior Walker version

*Lead vocals and tenor sax solo by Junior Walker *Background vocals by The Andantes (Louvain Demps, Marlene Barrow and Jackie Hicks)

Chart Positions

Velvelettes version

References

{{The Velvelettes 1966 songs 1970 songs Motown singles Songs written by Johnny Bristol Songs written by Sylvia Moy Songs written by Harvey Fuqua Song recordings produced by Johnny Bristol