"This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" is a

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. During ...

song that was a hit for American musical group

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

in January 1966 during their brief tenure on

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 ...

's Tamla label. Featuring

Ronald Isley Ronald Isley (; born May 21, 1941) is an American recording artist, songwriter, record producer, and occasional actor. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers. Early life Born in 1941 to Sally ...

on lead vocal, "This Old Heart of Mine" peaked at number twelve on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and at number six on the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles chart. In the UK, the song originally reached number 47 in April 1966, but it re-charted in late 1968 and reached number three for two weeks in November, making it the group's highest charting UK single. Written by Motown's main songwriting team

alongside

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 ...

, "This Old Heart of Mine", produced by

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit ...

and

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

, was originally intended for

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 ...

(who later recorded their own version for their 1966 album '' The Supremes A' Go-Go''). The single was the group's only major hit while on Motown, whom they left in 1969 to restart their own T-Neck label.

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. ...

also recorded and released the song as a part of her '' Irresistible'' album released in January, 1969. The song was prominently featured in an episode of the hit 1980s show ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

'' and was one of the tunes included on the show's hit soundtrack.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by

O'Kelly Isley Jr. O'Kelly "Kelly" Isley Jr. (December 25, 1937 – March 31, 1986) was an American singer and one of the founding members of the family group the Isley Brothers. Biography The eldest of the Isley Brothers, Kelly started singing with his brothe ...

and

Rudolph Isley Rudolph Bernard Isley (born April 1, 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers. Life and career Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rudy began singing in church at a youn ...

*Additional 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 ...

: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps *Written by

and Sylvia Moy *Produced by

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 ...

**Baritone saxophone by Mike Terry

Certifications

Rod Stewart versions

In 1975, English singer

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

released a remake of this song that charted in several markets. In 1989, he released another version—this time a duet of the song with

that reached number two on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart, number 10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number one on the Adult Contemporary charts of both ''Billboard'' and ''RPM''. The later version was produced by

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

and

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

and was released on Warner Records.

Charts

1975 solo version

1989 version with Ronald Isley

Weekly charts Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:This Old Heart Of Mine Is Weak For You 1965 songs 1966 singles 1976 singles 1989 singles 1992 singles The Isley Brothers songs Rod Stewart songs Tammi Terrell songs Luv' songs Male vocal duets Tamla Records singles Riva Records singles Warner Records singles Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Songs written by Sylvia Moy Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Song recordings produced by Tom Dowd Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards