My Guy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "My Guy" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Mary Wells | ||
| from the album Mary Wells Sings My Guy | ||
| Released | March 13, 1964 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1964 | |
| Genre | Soul | |
| Length | 2:54 | |
| Label | Motown M 1056 |
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| Writer(s) | Smokey Robinson | |
| Producer(s) | Smokey Robinson | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| 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. "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 it at her discretion after she reached her twenty-first birthday on May 13, 1964. At the encouragement of her husband, Wells rescinded her Motown contract and signed with 20th Century Fox in hopes of higher royalties and possible movie roles.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 Dusty Springfield, The Supremes, Petula Clark, 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 God" for "My Guy", transforming the song into a faux-gospel song. 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.
[edit] Credits
- 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
| Preceded by: "Hello, Dolly!" by Louis Armstrong |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single May 16, 1964 |
Succeeded by: "Love Me Do" by The Beatles |
