"I Can't Help Myself" is a 1965 song recorded by the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

for the

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland, often abbreviated as H-D-H, 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 ...

, "I Can't Help Myself" is one of the most well-known Motown recordings of the 1960s and among the decade's biggest hits. The single topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s R&B chart for nine weeks (being named the biggest R&B single of the year by ''Billboard'') and also peaked at No.1 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the 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), o ...

for two non-consecutive weeks, from June 12 to June 19 and from June 26 to July 3 in 1965. It replaced " Back in My Arms Again" by label mates

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

. It was first unseated at No.1 by " Mr. Tambourine Man" by

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

, then regained the top spot before being replaced by

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

' " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the second biggest single of 1965. "I Can't Help Myself" was the Four Tops' first top 40 single in the UK, peaking at No.23 at the end of 1965, then reaching No.10 in its early 1970 re-release.

Composition

The song finds lead singer Levi Stubbs, assisted by the other three Tops and

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 M ...

, pleadingly professing his love to a woman: "Sugar pie, honey bunch/I'm weaker than a man should be!/Can't help myself/I'm a fool in love, you see." The melodic and chordal progressions are very similar to

' 1964 hit " Where Did Our Love Go", also written by Holland-Dozier-Holland. According to AllMusic critic Ed Hogan, the title "I Can't Help Myself" is an oblique acknowledgment by Dozier that he could not resist recycling his previous hit. The bracketed title "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" appears only on certain oldie reissues of the single.

Reception

'' described the song as a "spirited, fast-paced wailer performed in he Four Tops'unique style." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a rollicking hand-clappin' thumper about a fella who is delighted 'cause he's head-over-heels with the gal of his dreams." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that the "Tops will be helping themselves right up the charts with this grinding number about love." ''

Rolling Stone ''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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine ranked the song at No.483 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It has been covered extensively since 1965, including versions done for several television commercials. In 2019, Applebee's used the song for one of their advertisements.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs * Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, and

: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps * Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (strings) **Bass by

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...

**Drums by

Benny Benjamin William "Benny" Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall o ...

** Baritone saxophone by Mike Terry * Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr. * Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier

Charts

Certifications

Bonnie Pointer version

In 1980, Bonnie Pointer had a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

crossover hit in the United States, with the song peaking at No.40 on the pop singles chart, No.42 on the soul singles chart, and No.4 on the dance chart. In Canada, it reached No.43 on the ''RPM'' Top 100 Singles chart. The song also peaked at No.52 in Australia.

La Toya Jackson version

"I Can't Help Myself" was recorded by American singer

La Toya Jackson La Toya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956) is an American singer and television personality. The fifth child and middle daughter of the Jackson family, Jackson first gained recognition on the family's variety television series, ''The Jacksons (TV ...

for her ninth studio album '' Stop in the Name of Love'', which consists of Motown covers. "I Can't Help Myself" was released as the album's only single in April 1995. The single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, a cover of

' " Baby Love", is also from the album.

Track listing

Other versions

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

recorded a cover of this song between 1965 and 1966, released on their No.1 album, ''

The Supremes A' Go-Go ''The Supremes A' Go-Go'' is the ninth studio album released by the Motown singing group the Supremes. It was the first album by an all-female group to reach number-one on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts in the United States. Included are ...

''. Their backing band,

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 ...

, was also the

' backing band at the time and comprising most, if not all, of the same musicians as on the original chart-topping single. In 1967, the

themselves recorded a special

Italian language Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...

version, entitled "Piangono gli uomini" ("The Men Cry"). In the winter of 1969, Johnny Rivers covered the song. His rendition became a No.2 hit in South Africa. Donnie Elbert hit No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1972 with his cover of this song, which was a follow-up to his cover of the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go". In Canada, it reached No.37. A cover by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

group Billy Hill peaked at No.58 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in 1989. The "Motorcity All-Stars" released a rerecorded version of song in 1989 on

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, DJ, and prominent Doctor Who fan. A populariser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of hi-NRG, he has co-written and co-produced records with sa ...

's Motown revival label Motorcity. The ensemble group was put together from as many former Motown singers as producer Levine could assemble. Levi Stubbs's brother Joe called Levi over to record the song, and both brothers feature on the track, along with singers Sammy Ward, Cal Gill of the Velvelettes, and Carolyn Crawford and C.P. Spencer of the Originals, all of whom had previously recorded at Motown. Many other former Motown associates can be seen in the background of the accompanying video, including

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

's ex-wife Raynoma Gordy Singleton and former head of artist development

Maxine Powell Maxine Powell (May 30, 1915 – October 14, 2013) was an American etiquette instructor and talent agent. She taught grooming, poise, and social graces to many recording artists at Motown in the 1960s. Biography Born Maxine Blair in Texarkana, ...

. In 1992, Australian

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

Teen Queens released a version that peaked at No.28 on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

. The song was heard in the 2004 animated film ''

Shark Tale ''Shark Tale'' is a 2004 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks. The film was directed by Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, and Rob Letterman, from a screenplay written by Letterman and Michael J. Wilson. The film features the vo ...

''. American musician

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

has performed the song in concert on his 2013 tour. He later included a cover of the song on his 2017 album '' Sweet Southern Sugar''. On the album it was titled "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch".

References

{{authority control 1965 songs 1965 singles 1980 singles 1995 singles Four Tops songs Bonnie Pointer songs Billy Hill (band) songs La Toya Jackson songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Motown singles Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Song recordings produced by Jeffrey Bowen