"A Groovy Kind of Love" is a pop song written by Toni Wine and Carol Bayer for the Screen Gems music publishing company. It is heavily based on the Rondo movement of Sonatina in G major, op. 36 no. 5[1] by Muzio Clementi. The song was released first by Diane & Annita in 1965, and several covers have since appeared on worldwide music charts.
The song title was an early use of the then-new slang word "groovy". Wine, who was 17 years old when she wrote the song, said, "Carole came up with "Groovy kinda… groovy kinda… groovy…" and we're all just saying, 'Kinda groovy, kinda groovy, kinda…' and I don't exactly know who came up with "Love", but it was 'Groovy kind of love'. And we did it. We wrote it in 20 minutes. It was amazing. Just flew out of our mouths, and at the piano, it was a real quick and easy song to write."[2]
Contents |
| "A Groovy Kind of Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Mindbenders | ||||
| from the album A Groovy Kind of Love | ||||
| B-side | "Love Is Good" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Classic rock, pop | |||
| Length | 1:59 | |||
| Label | Fontana | |||
| Writer(s) | Carole Bayer Sager, Toni Wine | |||
| The Mindbenders singles chronology | ||||
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Jack McGraw, who ran the London Screen Gems offices, thought the Wine/Bayer Sager song was a perfect match for the new group The Mindbenders, who recorded their cover of "A Groovy Kind of Love" in 1965. They liked the result so much that they named their first album A Groovy Kind of Love and released the song to radio as their debut single. It soon reached number two in the UK, and did the same in the United States when it was released there a year later.
| Country | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland[3] | 9 |
| United Kingdom[4] | 2 |
| United States | 2 |
| "A Groovy Kind of Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Phil Collins | ||||
| from the album Buster: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
| B-side | "Big Noise" | |||
| Released | 27 August 1988[5] | |||
| Format | 7", 12", CD single | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:30 | |||
| Writer(s) | Carole Bayer Sager, Toni Wine | |||
| Producer | Phil Collins, Anne Dudley | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Phil Collins singles chronology | ||||
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Phil Collins recorded a new version of "A Groovy Kind of Love" in 1988. He had originally suggested the song as a good one for collaborator Stephen Bishop to record, with Collins producing, but decided to record it himself when he took a starring role in the film Buster, which had a 1960s setting.[6] The song was originally released on Buster: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, and also appeared on his Serious Hits... Live! album, as well as several Phil Collins compilation albums.
This version went the Mindbenders release one better, hitting #1 in both the US and UK charts, and it remains the only Collins single to top the charts in both countries.[7] It also reached #1 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. The song earned Collins a nomination for Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1989; he lost to Bobby McFerrin's song "Don't Worry, Be Happy".
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart[8] | 2 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[8] | 6 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40[9] | 1 |
| French Singles Chart[8] | 15 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| Irish Singles Chart[10] | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart[11] | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[8] | 2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[8] | 5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[8] | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart[4] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles | 1 |
Other covers include:
In 1979 Italian artist Ivan Graziani recorded "Agnese", his own adaptation of Clementi's Rondo, which has the same song structure.[12]
The song is played on violins in the Friends television episode "The One with the Wedding Part 2".[13]
| Preceded by "The Only Way Is Up" by Yazz and the Plastic Population |
UK number one single 4 September 1988 |
Succeeded by "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies |
| Preceded by "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man" by Rick Astley |
Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single 8 October 1988 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston |
| Preceded by "Red Red Wine" by UB40 |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single 22 October 1988 – 29 October 1988 |
Succeeded by "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys |
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