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Old 07-08-2019, 12:45 PM   #173
Breeze
Grizzled Veteran
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
21. The Contours – Do You Love Me (1962)

Total Points – 414
Charts – 3
Top 40 – 0
Top 20 – 1
Top 10 – 1
Highest Ranking – 6

Barry Gordy wrote this song whose whole point is to reference different dance steps. However, there is some debate about the intended recipient of the song. One story says the song was written for The Temptations, who had failed to record their first Top 40 single at this point, but he couldn’t find them. No one had informed The Temptations that Barry was working on something for them, so they left Hitsville USA studio to attend a Detroit gospel music showcase. After searching for, and failing to find the band, Gordy ran into The Contours at the studio and because he wanted this song recorded and released as soon as possible he gave it to them. The other story is that The Contours were always the intended target, but Gordy nearly pulled the song from them because they were struggling with it initially. Regardless, The Contours getting this sure-fire hit was important because their first two singles had failed to catch on, and the label was preparing to drop them. Gordy was right about the song – it was a hit – Twice. In 1962 it reached #3 on the Hot 100, and following the inclusion of this song in the movie Dirty Dancing, it peaked at #11 in 1988. While The Contours never had success matching this song again, they did have a number of near Top 40 hits, with “Can You Do It” #41, “Shake Sherry” #43, “Can You Jerk Like Me” “#47, all of which were hits on the R&B Chart.
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