"Your Old Standby" is a song written by Motown songwriters

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

and

Janie Bradford Janie Bradford (born June 2, 1939 in Charleston, Missouri, United States) is an American songwriter, most known for her tenure with Motown. With Berry Gordy, she co-wrote "Money (That's What I Want)", originally recorded by Barrett Strong, and t ...

and released as a single by Motown star

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...

in 1963. The record marked her third top forty pop single to come out in 1963.

Song information

In the song, the narrator opens up about a man who is still in a troubling relationship with one woman while having a relationship with another woman. The other woman struggles to comprehend why her lover refuses to leave his past flame so she could "be with him permanently" as she puts it in the end.

Chart performance

After the successful but modest response to " Laughing Boy", this song was rushed trying to compete with that record's top 15 peak. However, this song got as high as number 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (it did however reached number 8 on the U.S. R&B chart). Wells' next Robinson-penned hit, "What's So Easy for Two is Hard for One" would fare better for Wells.

Personnel

*Lead vocal by

*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, Louvain Demps, and Marlene Barrow) *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 ...

References

{{Mary Wells 1963 singles Mary Wells songs Songs written by Smokey Robinson Songs written by Janie Bradford Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson 1963 songs Motown singles