Baby I Need Your Loving

"Baby I Need Your Loving"
Single by Four Tops
from the album Four Tops
B-side "Call on Me"
Released July 10, 1964
Format 7" single
Recorded Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); July 8, 1964
Genre Soul/pop
Length 2:45
Label Motown
M 1062
Writer(s) Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer Brian Holland
Lamont Dozier
Four Tops singles chronology
"Pennies From Heaven"
(1962)
"Baby I Need Your Loving"
(1964)
"Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worthwhile)"
(1964)

"Baby I Need Your Loving" is a 1964 hit single recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland,[1] the song was the group's first Motown single and their first pop Top 20 hit, making it to number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1964. It was also their first million-selling hit single.

British group The Fourmost released their version of this song, reaching #24 in November 1964. A surviving episode of the trendy '60's TV music series Ready Steady Go! shows them performing the song.

The Supremes covered the song in 1966 in their The Supremes A' Go Go album.

The song was recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1967. His version, titled "Baby I Need Your Lovin'", was released as a single, and became a number-three hit on the Billboard pop chart.

O.C. Smith covered it and took it to #52 in 1970, and yet again by Eric Carmen in 1979, who took it to #62. Sandie Shaw has also recorded a version, as did Carl Carlton (1982), Gene Pitney, and British pop group Dreamhouse (1998).

Rolling Stone ranked The Four Tops' original version of the song at #390 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In 2000, Westlife performed the song for the medley part of their Where the Dreams Come True Tour.

Personnel

Johnny Rivers' version

References

  1. ^ Show 50 - The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 6] : UNT Digital Library
  2. ^ Blaine, Hal, with David Goggin, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew, MixBooks, Emeryville, CA, 1990