It_Takes_Two_(Marvin_Gaye_and_Kim_Weston_song)

It Takes Two (Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston song)

It Takes Two (Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston song)

1966 song


"It Takes Two" is a hit single recorded in late 1965 by American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye and American soul singer Kim Weston for Motown's Tamla label.

Quick Facts from the album Take Two, B-side ...

Background

Produced by Weston's then-husband, longtime Gaye collaborator William "Mickey" Stevenson, and co-written by Stevenson and Sylvia Moy, "It Takes Two" centered on a romantic lyric that depicted many things in life (dreams, love, wishes, etc.) being better with two people instead of one. The single became Gaye's most successful duet single to date, later outperformed by Gaye's duets with Tammi Terrell.[citation needed]

Cash Box said the single is a "rhythmic, infectious romancer that superbly matches the two fine voices."[2]

Gaye and Weston's duet peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Pop charts and No. 4 on Billboard′s Soul Singles chart in January 1967. "It Takes Two" was also Gaye's first major hit in the UK, where it peaked at No. 16 on the British singles charts in the spring of that same year.[3][4]

Personnel

Charts

More information Chart (1966–1967), Peak position ...

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...

Rod Stewart and Tina Turner version

Quick Facts from the album Vagabond Heart, B-side ...

British singer Rod Stewart and American singer Tina Turner released a cover of "It Takes Two" in November 1990 by Warner Bros., which was also featured in a television advertising campaign for Pepsi. It was the lead single from Stewart's sixteenth album, Vagabond Heart (1991), produced by Bernard Edwards. The duet was a European hit, peaking at No. 1 in Denmark. It also reached No. 5 in the UK and was a Top 10 single in several European countries. The song later appeared on both artists' greatest hits albums: Turner's Simply the Best (1991), and Stewart's The Very Best of Rod Stewart (2001).

Charts

More information Chart (1990–1991), Peak position ...

Other cover versions

  • In 1967 Otis Redding and Carla Thomas released a cover version on their album of duets titled "King & Queen" on the Stax label, which was heavily influenced by Marvin Gaye's duets and was Otis Redding's final studio album before his death in December that same year.

References

  1. "Don't Forget the Motor City".
  2. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 24, 1966. p. 84. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  3. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 6: 1966 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 225.
  5. "Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston – It Takes Two" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  6. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Kim Weston" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  7. "Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston – It Takes Two" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  8. "BRITAIN'S TOP R&B SINGLES" (PDF). Record Mirror. February 11, 1967. p. 11. Retrieved January 28, 2022 via worldradiohistory.com.
  9. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. March 25, 1967. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  10. "New Singles". Music Week. November 10, 1990. p. 45.
  11. "Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  12. Danish Singles Chart. November 30, 1990.
  13. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 22, 1990. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  14. "Singlet 1990-12 joulukuu" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  15. "Tina Turner - Top Titel" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  16. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. January 12, 1991. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  17. "Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  18. Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  19. "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1990" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  20. "EHR Year-End Top 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. December 21, 1991. p. 20. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  21. "Jaarlijsten 1991" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  22. "Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2021-03-03.

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