"Two Lovers" is a single released in 1962 by
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 ...
on the
Motown record label. The song was the third consecutive hit to be both written and produced by
Smokey Robinson of
The Miracles
The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...
and recorded by Mary Wells,
the two previous charters being "
The One Who Really Loves You
''The One Who Really Loves You'' is the second album recorded by R&B singer and Motown recording artist Mary Wells, released in 1962 on the Motown label. The album featured the hits, " The One Who Really Loves You" and " You Beat Me to the Punch ...
" and "
You Beat Me to the Punch." The song's cleverly devised lyrics at first appear to be about a girl singing to one lover who is "sweet and kind" and a second who treats her bad and makes her sad; eventually, the girl reveals that the two lovers are actually the same person. The song became Wells's most successful release to date, reaching #1 on the
Billboard R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
and #7 on the
Billboard pop chart. Its success would be eclipsed two years later by the singer's most successful release ever, the signature tune "
My Guy
"My Guy" is a 1964 hit single by Mary Wells for the Motown label. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles, the song is a woman's rejection of a sexual advance and affirmation of her fidelity to her boyfriend, who is her ideal and ...
."
''
Cash Box'' said that "Two Lovers" is "in the soft beat cha cha groove of her recent smasheroo, '
You Beat Me to the Punch'" and said that Wells sings "against an attention-getting ork-choral backdrop, that she has a 'Two Lovers' problem in her split-personality guy."
Personnel
*Lead and harmony vocals by Mary Wells
*Background vocals by The Love Tones (Joe Miles and Stan Bracely, with
Eddie Kendricks
Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptation ...
of
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 ...
)
*Written and produced by
Smokey Robinson
*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 ...
Covers
*
Louise Cordet covered the song in 1964 in a Decca session with Jimmy Page.
*
Steve Goodman covered the song on his 1977 ''Say It In Private'' album and in concert.
*Dolly Parton covered the song on her 1987 pop album ''
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
''.
*
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'', ...
covered the song along with
My Guy
"My Guy" is a 1964 hit single by Mary Wells for the Motown label. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles, the song is a woman's rejection of a sexual advance and affirmation of her fidelity to her boyfriend, who is her ideal and ...
on her 1995 Motown cover album ''
Stop in the Name of Love''.
*
The Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
featured the song in a
DTV music video set entirely to clips from the 1936
Mickey Mouse cartoon ''
Mickey's Rival
''Mickey's Rival'' is a 1936 Mickey Mouse short film. It was directed by Wilfred Jackson and produced by Walt Disney. It introduces the character of Mortimer Mouse. It was the 84th Mickey Mouse short film to be released, the fifth of that year.
...
'' and was featured on the VHS ''DTV: Love Songs''.
See also
*
List of number-one R&B singles of 1963 (U.S.)
References
1962 singles
Mary Wells songs
Motown singles
Songs written by Smokey Robinson
Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson
1962 songs
{{1960s-single-stub