"A Groovy Kind of Love" is a song written by

Toni Wine Toni Wine (born June 4, 1947 in Washington Heights, New York City, United States) is an American pop music songwriter, who wrote songs for such artists as The Mindbenders (" A Groovy Kind of Love"), Tony Orlando and Dawn (" Candida"), and Checkm ...

and

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...

based on a melody by the classical composer

Muzio Clementi Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly active in England. Encourag ...

. The original rendition was recorded by American singing duo Diane & Annita and released as "Groovey Kind of Love" on the French EP ''One by One'', in 1965. It has since been recorded by numerous artists, with

the Mindbenders The Mindbenders were an English beat group from Manchester, England. Originally the backing group for Wayne Fontana, they were one of several acts that were successful in the mid-1960s British Invasion of the US charts, achieving major chart ...

and

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

releasing successful versions.

Background

"A Groovy Kind of Love" consists of lyrics written by Bayer Sager and Wine, with music by Muzio Clementi. Composition of the song took place at Bayer Sager's home in New York City, only a few blocks away from the

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It was built in 1931 as t ...

and

1650 Broadway The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It was built in 1931 ...

. Those buildings housed numerous music publishing companies and record labels, including Wine and Bayer Sager's label, Allegro Music (later

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

); the buildings also contained facilities for songwriting and composition. However, Bayer Sager's residence was preferred because it was more comfortable, and more private. Wine composed the music, and Bayer Sager wrote the lyrics. The title was an early use of the slang word " groovy", and both women were interested in using the word because they recognized it as new and "happening". Wine said, "Carole came up with 'Groovy kinda… groovy kinda… groovy…' and we're all just saying, 'Kinda groovy, kinda groovy, kinda…' and I don't exactly know who came up with "Love", but it was 'Groovy kind of love'. And we did it. We wrote it in 20 minutes. It was amazing. Just flew out of our mouths, and at the piano, it was a real quick and easy song to write." The melody is from the

Rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

from

's Sonatina, Opus 36, No. 5. Even though Wine and Sager claim full songwriting credits, they mainly wrote the lyrics and just slightly modified Clementi's music. Bayer Sager originally pitched the song to pop star

Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop hit " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She ...

in early 1965, but Gore's producer at the time,

Shelby Singleton Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. (December 16, 1931 – October 7, 2009) was an American record producer and record label owner. Early life He was born Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. in Waskom, Texas. His parents were Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Sr. and ...

, rejected it, as he found the word "groovy" too slangy.

The Mindbenders version

Wayne Fontana and

had enjoyed a cross-atlantic hit with the song " The Game of Love", which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number two in the UK's ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The titl ...

''.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' - However, towards autumn of 1965 Fontana suddenly left the band to embark on a solo career. The trio continued performing however, with guitarist Eric Stewart, later of

10cc 10cc are an English rock music, rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The grou ...

, taking the role of a lead vocalist. In search of new material,

handed the song to the group after rejecting to record it with Lesley Gore. However, in an interview with Keith Altham from ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Mindbenders bassist Bob Lang claimed he found a demo of "A Groovy Kind Of Love" on their manager Danny Betesh's desk. Alternatively, other sources claim Jack McGraw, who ran the

offices in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, discovered the song and thought it was a perfect match for Stewart's voice. Nonetheless, it was recorded together with a lead vocal by Eric Stewart with vocal backing consisting of Lang, drummer Ric Rothwell and a female singer in 1965 with Jack Baverstock producing. The single was released in the United Kingdom by

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a sub ...

on December 10, 1965, as the trio's first single without Wayne Fontana. According to Lang, the single initially failed to take off due to the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

rush, but eventually charted. It entered the ''Record Retailer'' chart on January 19, 1966, at number 34 before peaking at number two on March 16. It was kept from the number one spot by "

These Boots Are Made for Walkin' "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. Su ...

" by

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

. It exited the chart on April 20 at a position of 37 after spending 14 weeks on the chart. In the US, the single entered the ''Billboard Hot'' 100 on April 10 at a position of 78, before reaching its peak of number two on May 28, 1966, a position it would hold for two weeks. " When a Man Loves a Woman" by

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 196 ...

kept the song from reaching the top spot. It exited on July 9 at a position of 44 after spending 13 weeks on the chart. Upon the single reaching the top-ten in the US, Toni Wine phoned her mother, stating that she "was quitting her job" due to the success. Coincidentally, it reached number one on the ''Cashbox'' Top 100 and in ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record W ...

''on the day of her nineteenth birthday, June 4. Pre-orders for the single were estimated to be 250 thousand copies in the UK alone and it would go on to sell over a million copies there in total. It was the trio's only top-fifty single in the US which has led them to getting the label of being a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

there. "A Groovy Kind of Love" is also credited with bringing the word " groovy" back into the mainstream vocabulary of the 1960s; according to Randy McNutt, in the modern day, "many excellent songs are dated just by one reference to the word 'groovy'", a fate he also several other songs, including "

Groovin' "Groovin" is a single released in 1967 by American rock band the Young Rascals that became a number-one hit and one of the group's signature songs. It has been covered by many artists, including the Young Rascals themselves in other languages. ...

" by The Young Rascals. It was favorably reviewed in the press upon release. Writing for ''New Musical Express,'' Derek Johnson states that it was a "commendable first disc", stating it to be an "attractively harmonized rockaballad". However, he also states that the record "needs a few more spins" in order to register and claims that he was uncertain if it would become a hit. Following the singles' success, it would be issued on the Mindbenders eponymous debut album in the UK, while it was the title track of said album in the US.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Phil Collins version

English drummer, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor

recorded a new version of "A Groovy Kind of Love" in 1988. He had originally suggested the song as a good one for collaborator Stephen Bishop to record, with Collins producing. While filming the movie '' Buster'' (1988), Collins suggested the song as a potential love theme for the title character and his wife. He recorded a demo as a guide for the producers, only to find out later his demo had actually been used in the film. Collins had initially expressed reservations about being featured on the soundtrack during the movie, but relented due to feeling it worked well for the scene. He subsequently recorded a full version of the song, co-produced by

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genr ...

. This version was originally released on '' Buster: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''. It subsequently appeared on the compilation albums ''

Hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

'', '' Love Songs: A Compilation... Old and New'', and '' The Singles''. A live performance appeared on his '' Serious Hits... Live!'' album. Unlike the Mindbenders' version, which was an upbeat guitar-based pop song, Collins' was a slow

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

with a prominent keyboard and strings. When released as a single, it reached No. 1 on both the U.S. and UK charts, becoming Collins' only single to top the charts in both countries; it was his last No. 1 single in the UK. The single was certified silver in the UK by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

. It also reached No. 1 on the US

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. It had the longest chart stay of any of Collins' singles on the US

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 ...

at twenty-five weeks. The song earned Collins a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. The TV series ''

New Girl ''New Girl'' is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether and produced by 20th Television for Fox that originally aired from September 20, 2011, to May 15, 2018. The series revolves around a kooky teacher, Jessica Day ( Zoo ...

'' featured the Phil Collins version in the episodes "Wedding" (2011) and "The Curse of the Pirate Bride" (2018).

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' described Collins' version as "a slushy version of the original '66 hit of the Mindbenders."

Personnel

: vocals, keyboard, drums * Orchestra conducted by

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers

*In 1966,

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

that was a Top 10 hit in South Africa and Rhodesia. *In 1977, Les Gray released a cover which reached No. 32 in the UK.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groovy Kind Of Love, A 1960s ballads 1965 debut singles 1977 singles 1988 singles Labelle songs The Mindbenders songs Phil Collins songs Pop ballads Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Belgium RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Denmark European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Switzerland UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Carole Bayer Sager 1965 songs Songs written by Toni Wine Fontana Records singles Atlantic Records singles Virgin Records singles Warner Music Group singles