- My Guy
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"My Guy" Single by Mary Wells from the album Mary Wells Sings My Guy B-side Oh Little Boy (Look What You've Done to Me) Released March 13, 1964 Format 7" single Recorded Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); 1964 Genre Soul Length 2:54 Label Motown
M 1056Writer(s) Smokey Robinson Producer Smokey Robinson Mary Wells singles chronology "What's Easy For Two Is So Hard For One"
(1963)"My Guy"
(1964)"Once Upon a Time"
(with Marvin Gaye)
(1964)"My Guy" is a 1964 number-one hit single recorded by Mary Wells for the Motown label. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles, the song is a woman's dedication to the goodness of her man ("There's not a man today who could take me away from my guy").
The single became the biggest hit ever for Wells, Motown's first female star, and reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. The song led the Cashbox magazine R&B chart for seven weeks [1]. "My Guy" also happened to be Wells' last hit single for Motown, excepting duets she recorded with label mate Marvin Gaye. An option in her recording contract allowed Wells to terminate the contract at her discretion after she reached her twenty-first birthday on May 13, 1964. Encouraged by her ex-husband, Wells broke her Motown contract and signed with 20th Century Fox in hopes of higher royalties and possible movie roles. However, Wells' career never again reached the heights it had at Motown, and she never again had a hit single as big as "My Guy".
As one of Motown's signature hits, "My Guy" has been covered often, with versions by The Supremes, Sister Sledge, Petula Clark, Claudine Longet, Aretha Franklin, Margo Smith, and more having been recorded over the years. The cover version of the song with the biggest chart impact in the United States was by Sister Sledge in 1982 (#23). One notable cover, used in the Whoopi Goldberg film Sister Act, substitutes "My Guy" with "My God", transforming the song into a faux-gospel number. In 1980, Amii Stewart and Johnny Bristol recorded it as a duet in a medley with another Motown classic, the Temptations' "My Girl"; it reached only #63 in the U.S. Wells herself re-recorded the song in a funk rendition for her 1984 album, I'm a Lady.
In 1999, "My Guy" was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Mary Wells
- Background vocals by The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps
- Written and produced by William "Smokey" Robinson
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers:
- Earl Van Dyke: organ
- Johnny Griffith: piano
- Eddie Willis: guitar
- Robert White: guitar
- James Jamerson: upright bass
- Benny Benjamin: drums
- Dave Hamilton: vibes
- Herbert Williams: trumpet
- Russ Conway: trumpet
- Paul Riser: trombone
- George Bohannon: trombone
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 617.
Preceded by
"Hello, Dolly!" by Louis ArmstrongBillboard Hot 100 number one single
(Mary Wells version)
May 16, 1964 (2 weeks)Succeeded by
"Love Me Do" by The BeatlesMary Wells Studio albums Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance (1961) · The One Who Really Loves You (1962) · Two Lovers and Other Great Hits (1963) · Mary Wells Sings My Guy (1964) · Mary Wells (1965) · The Two Sides of Mary Wells (1966) · Servin' Up Some Soul (1968) · In and Out of Love (1981) · Keeping My Mind on Love (1990)
Other albums Recorded Live On Stage (1963) · Together (1964) · Love Songs to the Beatles (1965) · Greatest Hits (1966) · Vintage Stock (1966) · Easy Touch (1982) · I'm a Lady: The Old, New & Best of Mary Wells (1983)
Singles
(US Top 40)"I Don't Want to Take a Chance" · "The One Who Really Loves You" · "You Beat Me to the Punch" · "Two Lovers" · "Laughing Boy" · "Your Old Standby" · "You Lost the Sweetest Boy" · "What's Easy for Two Is So Hard for One" · "My Guy" · "Once Upon a Time" · "What's the Matter with You Baby" · "Use Your Head"
Related articles Discography · Albums · Songs · Smokey Robinson · Marvin Gaye · Cecil Womack · Meech Wells
Albums Pet Clark · Downtown · I Know a Place · The International Hits · My Love · I Couldn't Live Without Your Love · Color My World/Who Am I · These Are My Songs · The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener · Petula · Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 · Portrait Of Petula · Just Pet · Memphis · Warm and Tender · Now · Give It a Try · Treasures, Volume 1 · Live at the Copacabana · Here for You · Open Your HeartSingles "Downtown" · "I Know a Place" · "You'd Better Come Home" · "Round Every Corner" · "My Love" · "A Sign of the Times" · "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" · "Who Am I" · "Color My World" · "This Is My Song" · "Don't Sleep in the Subway" · "The Cat in the Window (The Bird in the Sky)" · "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" · "Kiss Me Goodbye" · "Don't Give Up" · "American Boys" · "Happy Heart" · "No One Better Than You" · "Look at Mine" · "The Song of My Life" · "My Guy" · "I Can't Remember (How It Was Before)" · "Gratifaction" · "Silver Spoon" · "Never Been a Horse That Couldn't Be Rode" · "Loving Arms" · "The Old Fashioned Way"Categories:- 1964 singles
- Mary Wells songs
- Margo Smith songs
- Sister Sledge songs
- Petula Clark songs
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
- Songs written by Smokey Robinson
- 1960s song stubs
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