"Something About You" is a song written by Holland-Dozier-Holland and was first released by the Four Tops on their 1965

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

'' Four Tops' Second Album''.

History

"Something About You" was released as the third single from the ''Four Tops' Second Album'', following " I Can't Help Myself" and "

It's the Same Old Song "It's the Same Old Song" was recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. It was released in 1965 as the second single from their second album. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is tod ...

". The song reached #19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #9 on the Billboard R&B chart. The B-side of the single was "Darling I Hum Our Song." "Something About You" has appeared on numerous compilation albums, including '' The Ultimate Collection''. "Something About You" is unusual for a Motown song in that a

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

is prominent.

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

' " My Girl" is one of the few other examples. The guitar riff in "Something About You" is similar to that in

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

' " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," although Rikky Rooksby claims that the guitar sound in the Four Tops' song is "cleaner." David A. Carson also remarks on the clean

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

at the beginning of the song. Robert White of 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 ...

played the guitar part on "Something About You," as he did on "My Girl."

Reception

'' Billboard'' said that the Four Tops had a "rhythm winner here with even more exciting sounds than their '

' smash! " '' Cash Box'' described it as a "rollicking, fast-moving, romantic rocker about a lucky lad who is on cloud number nine since he met the girl of his dreams."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

critic Ron Wynn praises the song as being "a great uptempo shouter." Wynn also praises its "vocal authority" and "production genius." Author Bill Dahl praised the song's "crackling

shuffle Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome. __TOC__ Techniques Over ...

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

" and the way lead singer

Levi Stubbs Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He h ...

emotes "over punchy horns and low-end guitar." ''

Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...

'' critic Dave Marsh rated "Something About You" to be one of the top 1001 singles of all time. Marsh praised the song's sense of urgency, claiming that

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

is about "the kind of emotional expansiveness that erupts from these grooves, the pure tension between Motown formula and Levi's ead singer Levi Stubbs'uncontrollable passions."

Covers

Dave Edmunds covered the song on his 1984 album ''

Riff Raff Riff Raff, Riffraff, or Riff-Raff, a term for the common people but with negative connotations, may refer to: In music * Riff Raff (rapper), from Texas * Riff Raff (band), a UK progressive rock band * Riff Raff, a band formed by Billy Bragg * ...

'', the song hit #16 on the '' Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart. Other covers were released on albums by Phil Collins,

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Graham Bonnet Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. ...

The Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums, two go ...

, and Cilla Black.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

*Backing vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Lawrence Payton, and Renaldo Benson *Additional backing 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 Ma ...

*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 ...

** Mike Terry: baritone saxophone

References

{{Authority control Four Tops songs 1965 singles Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Motown singles 1965 songs Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier