"Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)" is a song written by

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. Du ...

and released as a single in 1964 by the Motown singing group The Four Tops as the second single from their self-titled debut album, '' Four Tops''. The group would later cover the song with

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 successf ...

Lyrics and music

"Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)" was the follow up to the Four Tops' prior hit "

Baby I Need Your Loving "Baby I Need Your Loving" is a 1964 hit single recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was the group's first Motown single and their first pop Top ...

," and was designed to sound similar, with a similar theme, similar tempo and similar sound. The bass harmony similarly uses a subdominant progression. The opening lyrics essentially repeat the title of the earlier song. Author Sharon Davis claims that the song was "hastily written and released" to capitalize on the success of "Baby, I Need Your Loving."

Reception

After the near-Top 10 success of the Tops' first hit, "Baby I Need Your Loving", "Without the One You Love" proved to be a commercial disappointment, failing to reach the Billboard Top 40,charting at #43. The song did better on the ''Cashbox'' R&B Chart, reaching the Top 20, charting at #17 (Billboard did not show R&B Chart listings during this time). '' Cash Box'' described "Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)" as "a feelingful jump'er" which is done "in very commercial fashion" and which it expected to repeat the success of "Baby, I Need Your Loving."

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 William Ruhlmann attributes its relative lack of chart success to a number of factors. One is that the title is too long. He also believes that the song is "overproduced," particularly by giving the many backup singers too prominent a role, including singing the opening lines, at the expense of 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 ...

. Nonetheless, fellow Allmusic critic Ron Wynn considers the song to be "marvelously sung." Author Bill Dahl describes the song as "moving." Charlie Gillett claims that the song produces an effect of "irresistible excitement."

Chart positions

Personnel

* Renaldo Benson –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Abdul "Duke" Fakir – vocals *

Lawrence Payton Lawrence Albert Payton (March 2, 1938 – June 20, 1997) was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops. In 1997, at 59 years old, Payton died of liver cancer. Bio ...

–

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, vocals *

– lead vocals *

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 ...

– background vocals *

Instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

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 ...

The Supremes & Four Tops version

A cover version of the original Four Tops song was done for '' The Magnificent 7'' album by The Supremes and Four Tops in September 1970. Lead vocals were provided by the group's lead singers, Jean Terrell and Levi Stubbs.

Nickolas Ashford & Valerie 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, ...

and Frank Wilson produced the H-D-H written song, and its album. A single was released in the UK by Tamla Motown in May 1972, titled "Without the One You Love" b/w "Let's Make Love Now".

Personnel

The Supremes *

Jean Terrell Velma Jean Terrell (born November 26, 1944) is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970. Biography Early life and career She is the sister of the former WBA heavyweight box ...

– vocals * Mary Wilson – vocals * Cindy Birdsong – vocals Four Tops *

– vocals * Abdul "Duke" Fakir – vocals *

– vocals * Renaldo Benson – vocals

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1964 singles 1970 songs 1972 singles The Supremes songs Four Tops songs Motown singles Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Song recordings produced by Ashford & Simpson 1964 songs