Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
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"Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" | ||||
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Single by Four Tops | ||||
from the album On Top | ||||
B-side | "I Like Everything About You" | |||
Released | April 5, 1966 | |||
Recorded | 1966 | |||
Venue | Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A) | |||
Genre | Soul, pop | |||
Label | Motown | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ivy Jo Hunter, Stevie Wonder | |||
Producer(s) | Ivy Jo Hunter | |||
Four Tops singles chronology | ||||
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"Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" is a 1966 song written by Ivy Jo Hunter and Stevie Wonder. It was performed by the Four Tops via the Motown label.[1] In addition to co-writing the song, Wonder also instrumentally contributed drums to the track.
Cash Box described the song as a "hard-pounding, rhythmic, pop-R&B romancer all about a lucky guy who has finally found the gal that he’s always dreamed about."[2] Record World described it as a "teen beat love ode."[3]
Credits
[edit]- Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs
- Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson & Lawrence Payton
- Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers
- Drums by Stevie Wonder
Chart performance
[edit]The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4]
Cover versions
[edit]- Nick Kamen released a version in 1987, where it went to number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] Lola Borg of Smash Hits panned the song she described as an "outrage" to the original version and a "shocking business", adding it was "murdered" by Kamen who "reduce[d] it to utter mush".[6]
- The Band covered the song on the bonus disc of their 1972 concert album Rock of Ages.[citation needed]
- Kiki Dee and Elton John did a duet cover on Dee's 1981 album Perfect Timing.[7]
- Susan Tedeschi covered it on her 2005 album Hope and Desire.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "Four Tops – Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever / I Like Everything About You". Discogs. discogs.com. 9 May 1966. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 28, 1966. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Record World. May 28, 1966. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 212.
- ^ Brown, Tony.; Warwick, Neil (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 426. ISBN 1-84449-058-0.
- ^ Borg, Lola (11–24 February 1987). "Singles reviewed by Lola Borg" (PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 9, no. 3. p. 62. ISSN 0260-3004. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Perfect Timing". Record Collector Magazine. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2023.