"When You're Young and in Love" is a song composed by

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his c ...

and first recorded by Ruby & the Romantics in 1964. It became a top 30

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

for

the Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group formed in Inkster, Michigan, Inkster, Michigan in 1960, consisting of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who was ...

in 1967 and a top 10 hit for

the Flying Pickets The Flying Pickets are a British ''a cappella'' vocal group which had a List of Christmas number one singles (UK), Christmas number one hit record, hit in 1983 on the UK Singles Chart with their cover version of Yazoo (band), Yazoo's track "Onl ...

in 1984.

Ruby & the Romantics original version

Background

The first recording of the song was by Ruby & the Romantics; like all the group's singles on

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

, the track was produced by label A&R head Allen Stanton. Released in September 1964, "When You're Young..." reached the top five in Honolulu but otherwise failed to register strongly in any US market, reaching No. 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1964. Ruby & the Romantics scored one subsequent Hot 100 placing, with "Does He Really Care for Me" (#87). However, "When You're Young..." was a bigger hit in Canada, peaking at No. 25 on the ''RPM'' Top Tracks chart.

Personnel

*Lead vocal by Ruby Nash *Background vocals by Ed Roberts, George Lee, Ronald Mosley, and Leroy Fann *Instrumentation by Unknown

The Marvelettes version

Background

The song was covered in 1967 by

. Produced by James Dean and William Weatherspoon, their version reached No. 23 on the Hot 100 that June; its R&B peak was No. 9. Although not one of the Marvelettes' most successful US hits, "When You're Young and in Love" became the only record by the group to achieve hit status in the UK with a No. 13 peak in July 1967. The track is also one of the last Marvelettes' singles to feature

Gladys Horton Gladys Catherine Horton (May 30, 1945 – January 26, 2011) was an American R&B and pop singer, notable for being the founder and lead singer of the all-female vocal group the Marvelettes, the first successful Motown girl group. Biography Early ...

although the lead is by Wanda Rogers; Horton would only appear, and lead, on the following two B-sides. Besides Horton and veteran Marvelette Katherine Anderson, Rogers' vocal backing on "When You're Young..." features Motown's premier session singers

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 ...

while the original instrumental backing on the track 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 ...

was augmented by the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...

Personnel

*Lead vocal by Wanda Young Rogers *Background vocals by

, Katherine Anderson and

: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps *Instrumentation by

and the

Charts

Flying Pickets version

The song had its strongest chart impact via a 1984 cover version by

, produced by John Sherry. It reached number 7 in the UK. This version of the song was featured in the Netflix series ''Sex Education''.

Other versions

*In the autumn of 1975, competing versions of "When You're Young and in Love" by Ralph Carter and the Choice Four charted on the R&B chart with the Carter version reaching #37 and the Choice Four version peaking at #45; both versions were also minor Hot 100 crossovers with respective peaks of #95 (Carter) and #91 (Choice Four). Ralph Carter promoted his version with a performance on the April 3, 1976 episode of his ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

'' sitcom; his recording was produced by Norman Bergen and Reid Whitelaw. The Choice Four version was produced by the song's composer Van McCoy. *A 1979 remake of "When You're Young and in Love" is notable as the debut single for

Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw Jackson (née Lattisaw; born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States. Career When she was 11 years old, singer/songwriter Frederick Knight attempted to sign Lattisaw to his production ...

and also for being produced by composer Van McCoy; however the McCoy-produced album ''Young and in Love'' proved neither a critical or commercial success upon release in July 1979 - the month of McCoy's death - with the "When You're Young..." single barely registering on the R&B charts at #91.

References

{{Authority control 1964 songs 1964 singles 1967 singles 1979 debut singles 1984 singles Ruby & the Romantics songs The Marvelettes songs Stacy Lattisaw songs The Flying Pickets songs Songs written by Van McCoy Tamla Records singles