Do You Love Me
Encyclopedia
"Do You Love Me" is a 1962 hit single
recorded by The Contours
for Motown
's Gordy Records label. Written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., "Do You Love Me?" was the Contours' only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in the United States. Notably, the record achieved this feat twice, once in 1962 and again in 1988. The main point of the song is to name the Mashed Potato
, The Twist
, and many other fad dances of the 1960s.
, who had no Top 40 hits to their name yet, would record it. However, when Gordy wanted to locate the group and record the song, they were nowhere to be found (the Temptations had not been made aware of Gordy's intentions, and had departed Motown's Hitsville USA recording studio
for a local Detroit gospel music
showcase).
After spending some time looking for the Temptations, Gordy ran into the Contours (Billy Gordon, Hubert Johnson, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Sylvester Potts, and guitarist Hugh Davis) in the hallway. Wanting to record and release "Do You Love Me" as soon as possible, Gordy decided to let them record his "sure-fire hit" instead of the Temptations. The Contours, who were in danger of being dropped from the label after their first two singles ("Whole Lotta' Woman
" and "The Stretch") failed to chart, were so elated at Gordy's offer that they immediately began hugging and thanking him.
"Do You Love Me," the fifth release on Gordy Records, became a notably successful dance record, built around lead singer Billy Gordon's screaming vocals. Selling over a million copies, "Do You Love Me" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100
and was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B Singles
chart. An album featuring the single, Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)
, was also released. None of the Contours' future singles lived up to the success of "Do You Love Me", although its success won the group a headlining position on Motown's very first Motor Town Revue tour.
songs of the 1960s, "Do You Love Me?" was covered by a number of British Invasion
groups. Three British groups who recorded their own versions of the song were Brian Poole and the Tremeloes
(who hit number one with it in the UK Singles Chart
), the Dave Clark Five and The Hollies
on their 1964 album Stay With The Hollies
. The song has also been covered by The Sonics
, Paul Revere & The Raiders
and Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers
. In 1965, Bob Marley And The Wailers recorded the song "Playboy" which incorporates "Do You Love Me"'s chorus. The song was one of the highlights of The Blues Brothers
live set. Bruce Springsteen
frequently ended his shows in the mid 1980s with the song, as part of a medley with "Twist and Shout
". Alvin and the Chipmunks
covered the song for their 1988 album The Chipmunks and The Chipettes: Born to Rock
. Indie band Steadman
has a well known cover the song, playing it in the style of Dave Clark Five. Westlife
have their live version for their The Greatest Hits Tour
in 2003. German girlgroup Preluders
covered the song for their cover album Prelude to History
in 2004. In 1992 David Hasselhoff
famously sang the song in an episode of Baywatch
.
, Dirty Dancing
, reviving the record's popularity. Re-issued as a single from the More Dirty Dancing
soundtrack album, "Do You Love Me" became a hit for the second time, peaking at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100. The Contours, by then composed of Joe Billingslea and three new members, joined Ronnie Spector
and Bill Medley
, among others, on a 'Dirty Dancing Tour' resulting from the success of the film. The song also appeared in the episode "The End" in season 5 of TV series Supernatural
.
(1987
) and Getting Even with Dad
(1994
).
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
recorded by The Contours
The Contours
The Contours were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records.The group is best known for its Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a million-selling song that peaked twice in the Top 20....
for Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
's Gordy Records label. Written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., "Do You Love Me?" was the Contours' only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in the United States. Notably, the record achieved this feat twice, once in 1962 and again in 1988. The main point of the song is to name the Mashed Potato
Mashed Potato
The Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze of 1962. It was danced to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time". Also referred to as "mash potato" or "mashed potatoes", the move vaguely resembles that of the Twist, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian, Chubby...
, The Twist
Twist (dance)
The Twist was a dance inspired by rock and roll music. It became the first worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed...
, and many other fad dances of the 1960s.
Original release
Berry Gordy wrote "Do You Love Me" with the intent that The TemptationsThe Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, who had no Top 40 hits to their name yet, would record it. However, when Gordy wanted to locate the group and record the song, they were nowhere to be found (the Temptations had not been made aware of Gordy's intentions, and had departed Motown's Hitsville USA recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
for a local Detroit gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
showcase).
After spending some time looking for the Temptations, Gordy ran into the Contours (Billy Gordon, Hubert Johnson, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Sylvester Potts, and guitarist Hugh Davis) in the hallway. Wanting to record and release "Do You Love Me" as soon as possible, Gordy decided to let them record his "sure-fire hit" instead of the Temptations. The Contours, who were in danger of being dropped from the label after their first two singles ("Whole Lotta' Woman
Whole Lotta' Woman
"Whole Lotta Woman" is a 1961 single recorded by The Contours for the Motown Records label. Written by Smokey Robinson , and Contours group members Billy Hoggs and Billy Gordon,, and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., it was the group's debut single for Motown.Two versions of this song was...
" and "The Stretch") failed to chart, were so elated at Gordy's offer that they immediately began hugging and thanking him.
"Do You Love Me," the fifth release on Gordy Records, became a notably successful dance record, built around lead singer Billy Gordon's screaming vocals. Selling over a million copies, "Do You Love Me" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart. An album featuring the single, Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)
Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)
Do You Love Me was the only LP issued by The Contours during their career at Motown Records. Issued on Motown's Gordy subsidiary in October 1962 , the album includes the hit title track and the number 21 R&B single "Shake Sherrie"...
, was also released. None of the Contours' future singles lived up to the success of "Do You Love Me", although its success won the group a headlining position on Motown's very first Motor Town Revue tour.
Covers
Like many American R&BRhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
songs of the 1960s, "Do You Love Me?" was covered by a number of British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
groups. Three British groups who recorded their own versions of the song were Brian Poole and the Tremeloes
The Tremeloes
The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, Essex, and still active today.-Career:They formed as Brian Poole and the Tremoloes influenced by Buddy Holly and The Crickets...
(who hit number one with it in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
), the Dave Clark Five and The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
on their 1964 album Stay With The Hollies
Stay With The Hollies
- US version vs. UK version :In June 1964, Imperial Records released the first Hollies LP in the USA as Here I Go Again after the moderate success of that single there. Imperial removed the UK LP tracks "Baby Don't Cry" "Mr...
. The song has also been covered by The Sonics
The Sonics
The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, originating from the early and mid-1960s. Among The Sonics' contemporaries were The Kingsmen, The Wailers, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders...
, Paul Revere & The Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s with hits such as "Kicks" , "Hungry" , "Him Or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" and the 1971 No...
and Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers
The Heartbreakers
Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, also known as The Heartbreakers, were an American rock & roll band formed in New York in May 1975. The band was part of the first wave of punk rock.-History:...
. In 1965, Bob Marley And The Wailers recorded the song "Playboy" which incorporates "Do You Love Me"'s chorus. The song was one of the highlights of The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...
live set. Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
frequently ended his shows in the mid 1980s with the song, as part of a medley with "Twist and Shout
Twist and Shout
"Twist and Shout" is a song written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell. It was originally titled "Shake It Up, Baby" and recorded by the Top Notes and then covered by The Isley Brothers. It was covered by The Beatles with John Lennon on the lead vocals and originally released on their first album...
". Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
covered the song for their 1988 album The Chipmunks and The Chipettes: Born to Rock
The Chipmunks and The Chipettes: Born to Rock
The Chipmunks and The Chipettes: Born to Rock is a music album by The Chipmunks and The Chipettes, released in 1988 on LP and in 1990 on CD and cassette by Quality Special Products...
. Indie band Steadman
Steadman
Steadman is a British indie rock band, formed in Hastings in 1998. The band's original name was The Dharmas, but they changed the name after they canceled their contract with the label Arista, and signed with lead singer Simon Steadman's own label, Freeloader Recordings. Steadman's first album,...
has a well known cover the song, playing it in the style of Dave Clark Five. Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
have their live version for their The Greatest Hits Tour
The Greatest Hits Tour
The Unbreakable Tour is a concert tour of the Irish pop band Westlife which covered the UK and Europe in 2003. There were 62 tour dates, including a few outside concerts including their coming home concerts in their home towns of Dublin and Sligo...
in 2003. German girlgroup Preluders
Preluders
The Preluders were an all-female band from Germany and Albania, formed in 2003 during the third season of the international television talent show Popstars - Das Duell. Originally a quintet and later a quartet, the group eventually became a trio...
covered the song for their cover album Prelude to History
Prelude to History
Prelude to History is the second studio album by German pop group Preluders, released on September 27, 2004 on Polydor's sublabel Cheyenne Records. It was entirely co-produced by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, and Gena Wernik and included a collection of cover versions of songs from the 1960s, 1970s,...
in 2004. In 1992 David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
famously sang the song in an episode of Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
.
Revival
"Do You Love Me" is featured prominently in the 1987 filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...
, reviving the record's popularity. Re-issued as a single from the More Dirty Dancing
More Dirty Dancing
More Dirty Dancing is a 1988 follow-up album released after the huge commercial success of the 1987 motion picture Dirty Dancing and 1987 its soundtrack. David Handelman of Rolling Stone gave the album one star out of five, calling some of the tracks "instrumental idiocies"...
soundtrack album, "Do You Love Me" became a hit for the second time, peaking at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100. The Contours, by then composed of Joe Billingslea and three new members, joined Ronnie Spector
Ronnie Spector
Veronica Yvette "Ronnie" Spector is an American rock and roll and popular music vocalist, and was the lead singer of the 1960s hit-making girl group, The Ronettes, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. She is known as the "original bad girl of rock and roll."-Personal...
and Bill Medley
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers....
, among others, on a 'Dirty Dancing Tour' resulting from the success of the film. The song also appeared in the episode "The End" in season 5 of TV series Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
.
Remixed CD Version
The late 1988 Motown CD reissue of the album "Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)" on Motown 37463-5415-2 contains a very strange 6:37 minute extended remix version of the 1962 hit single. This only appears on the CD and Cassette tape issues - as the Vinyl LP of the same release has the original 2:54 minute hit version.Soundtrack
This song was in the soundtrack for Dirty DancingDirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...
(1987
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
) and Getting Even with Dad
Getting Even with Dad
Getting Even With Dad is a 1994 American comedy film starring Macaulay Culkin and Ted Danson.- Plot :The movie is about a dysfunctional father-son relationship. Timmy Gleason is Ray Gleason's estranged son, who tries to blackmail his ex-con father into spending time with him...
(1994
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
).
Personnel: The Contours
- Lead vocal by Billy Gordon and Billy Hoggs
- Background vocals by Hubert Johnson, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, and Sylvester Potts
- Guitar by Huey Davis
- Instrumentation by The Funk BrothersThe Funk BrothersThe Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...