| "Two Lovers" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Mary Wells | ||||
| from the album Two Lovers | ||||
| B-side | "Operator" | |||
| Released | October 29, 1962[1] | |||
| Recorded | August 6, 1962[2] | |||
| Studio | Hitsville USA, Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:45 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Smokey Robinson | |||
| Producer(s) | Smokey Robinson | |||
| Mary Wells singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Two Lovers" is a single released in 1962 by Mary Wells on the Motown record label. The song was the third consecutive hit to be both written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles and recorded by Mary Wells,[3] the two previous charters being "The One Who Really Loves You" 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 and #7 on the Billboard pop chart. Its success would be eclipsed two years later by the singer's most successful release, "My Guy."[4]
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."[5]
- ^ "Two Lovers". discogs.com. 29 October 1962. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ "Two Lovers". discogs.com. 1962. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 25 - The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 4]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 617.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 17, 1963. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-02-04.