You Can't Hurry Love

"You Can't Hurry Love"
Single by The Supremes
from the album The Supremes A' Go-Go
B-side	"Put Yourself in My Place"
Released	July 25, 1966
Format	Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Recorded	Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); June 11 and July 5, 1966
Genre	Pop, soul, R&B
Length	2:47
Label	Motown M 1097
Writer(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)	Brian Holland Lamont Dozier
The Supremes singles chronology
"Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart" (1966) "You Can't Hurry Love" (1966) "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (1966) The Supremes A' Go-Go track listing 12 tracks Side one "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart" "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" "You Can't Hurry Love" "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" "Baby I Need Your Loving" "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" Side two "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" "Get Ready" "Put Yourself in My Place" "Money (That's What I Want)" "Come and Get These Memories" "Hang On Sloopy"
Music sample "You Can't Hurry Love"

"You Can't Hurry Love" is a 1966 song originally recorded by The Supremes on the Motown label.

Written and produced by Motown production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song topped the United States Billboard pop singles chart, in the UK in the top 5, and in the Australian Singles Chart in the top 10, released and peaking late summer/early autumn in 1966.^[1] Sixteen years later, it would again become a number-one hit when Phil Collins re-recorded the song. It reached number-one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks beginning in January 1983,^[2] and reached No. 10 on the US Singles Chart that same month.

History

Overview

The song, a memory of a mother's words of encouragement ("My mama said 'you can't hurry love/No you just have to wait' ")^[3] telling her daughter that with patience she will find that special someone one day, is an example of the strong influence of gospel music present in much of R&B and soul music. "You Can't Hurry Love" was inspired by and partially based upon "(You Can't Hurry God) He's Right on Time" ("You can't hurry God/you just have to wait/Trust and give him time/no matter how long it takes"), a 1950s gospel song written by Dorothy Love Coates of The Original Gospel Harmonettes.^[4]

The recorded version of "You Can't Hurry Love" showcases the developing sound of The Supremes, who were progressing from their earlier teen-pop into more mature themes and musical arrangements. This song and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" were finished together; when it came time to choose which single would be issued first, Motown's Quality Control department chose "You Can't Hurry Love."

The song's bassline, copied in Hall and Oates' "Maneater" (1982), was earlier heard in 1962 in the introduction to the Goffin and King song recorded by The Cookies "Chains".

Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, "You Can't Hurry Love" is one of the signature Supremes songs, and also one of Motown's signature releases. The single became The Supremes' seventh number-one hit,^[5] topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks, from September 4, 1966 to September 17, 1966, and reaching number one on the soul chart for two weeks. The group performed the song on the CBS variety program The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, September 25, 1966.^[6]

"You Can't Hurry Love" was the second single from the Supremes' album The Supremes A' Go-Go. It reached the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in the United States, and #3 in the United Kingdom. The Supremes' version of the song is honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's permanent collection of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

The Supremes also released a version sung in Italian: "L'amore verrà" ("Love Will Come").

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Diana Ross
• Background vocals by Mary Wilson and Marlene Barrow
• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts Chart (1966) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart 1[7] U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Chart 1 U.S. Cash Box Pop Singles Chart 1 Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart[8] 1 UK Singles Chart [9] 3 Australian Singles Chart 6

Year-end charts Chart (1966) Position U.S. Cash Box 5 UK [10] 55

Phil Collins version

"You Can't Hurry Love"
Single by Phil Collins
from the album Hello, I Must Be Going!
B-side	"I Cannot Believe It's True" (International) / "Do You Know, Do You Care?" (North America)
Released	November 19, 1982[11]
Format	7" single / 12"
Recorded	1982
Genre	Blue-eyed soul
Length	2:56
Label	Virgin Records (UK) Atlantic Records (International)
Writer(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)	Phil Collins, Hugh Padgham
Phil Collins singles chronology
"Thru These Walls" (1982) "You Can't Hurry Love" (1982) "I Don't Care Anymore" (1983)

The most notable cover of the song was released in late 1982 as a single by Phil Collins from his second solo album, Hello, I Must Be Going! Collins's version reached number-one on the UK Singles Chart (becoming his first number-one solo hit in the UK Singles Chart,^[2] and peaking two positions higher than the original song did in that country), and reached number 10 in the United States.^[12] The single was certified gold in the UK.^[11]

Although Collins had previously done covers as album tracks (of Genesis's "Behind the Lines" and The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" on Face Value), "You Can't Hurry Love" was the first cover he released as a single. Collins explained:

The idea of doing 'Can't Hurry Love' was to see if Hugh Padgham and I could duplicate that Sixties sound. It's very difficult today because most recording facilities are so much more sophisticated than they were back then. It's therefore hard to make the drums sound as rough as they did on the original. That's what we were going after, a remake, not an interpretation, but a remake.^[13]

Collins's version was the first track on the very first Now That's What I Call Music compilation CD. On the second repeat of the chorus, he replaces the line "How much more can I take?" with "How much more must I take?", and likewise exchanges the words, "...trust in the good Lord..." to "...trust in a good time...".

Credits

1. "You Can't Hurry Love"
   • Phil Collins – drums, vocals, tambourine
   • Daryl Stuermer – guitars
   • John Giblin – bass
   • Peter Robinson – piano, glockenspiel, vibraphone
   • Strings arranged by Martyn Ford
2. "I Cannot Believe It's True"
   • Phil Collins – vocals, drums, keyboards, percussion
   • Daryl Stuermer – guitars
   • John Giblin – bass
   • Don Myrick – alto sax solo
   • Don Myrick, Louis Satterfield, Michael Harris, Rhamlee Michael Davis – The Phenix Horns
   • Don Myrick, Louis Satterfield, Rhamlee Michael Davis, Phil Collins, Peter Newton – Phenix Choir

Charts

Chart (1982–83)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14]	3
Austrian Singles Chart[15]	3
Belgium (Flanders) (Ultratop)[16]	3
Canadian RPM Top Singles	1
Dutch Top 40[17]	1
French Singles Chart	9
Germany (Media Control Charts)[18]	3
Irish Singles Chart[19]	1
Italy (FIMI)[20]	24
New Zealand Singles Chart[21]	9
Spain (AFYVE)[22]	11
Swedish Singles Chart[23]	6
Swiss Singles Chart[24]	3
UK Singles Chart[2]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[25]	10
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[26]	9

Other versions

The song was covered by the Dixie Chicks on the soundtrack to the 1999 film Runaway Bride. Their version peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.^[27]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt covered it in April 2011.

The song was covered by The Stray Cats in 1981. Originally released as the B-side to their single "Rock This Town" and later on their anthology Runaway Boys '81–'92.^[28]

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1966 (U.S.)

References

1. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (Nielsen Company) 78 (38): 26. 1966. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 417. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
3. "Show 50 - The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 6] : UNT Digital Library". Digital.library.unt.edu. 2014-03-22. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
4. Marsh, Dave. "Dorothy Love Coates / The Original Gospel Harmonettes - The Best of Dorothy Love Coates & the Original Gospel Harmonettes, Vols. 1-2 (Review)". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
5. Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, page 207. Billboard Books, 2003.
6. "The Supremes, Ethel Merman, Nipsey Russell". The Ed Sullivan Show. Season 20. Episode 3. September 25, 1966. CBS. WCBS.
7. "Official Billboard Chart History of the Supremes". Retrieved 2016-01-05.
8. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
9. "Item Display - Official Charts Company". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
10. http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1966.shtml
11. "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for Phil Collins (page 4)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
12. Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 60. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
13. Hitmen, 1986 Part Two, Hitmen, 1986. reprinted at Collins's website in 2009; archived copy at archive.org.
14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 71. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
15. "austriancharts.at > Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
16. "Ultratop > Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
17. "dutchcharts.nl > Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
18. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
19. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know > Search results for 'You Can't Hurry Love'". Fireball Media. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
20. "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: C". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
21. "charts.org.nz > Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
22. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
23. "swedishcharts.com > Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
24. "hitparade.ch > Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
25. "Billboard > Artists / Phil Collins > Chart History > The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
26. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 61.
27. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
28. "Runaway Boys '81-'92". AllMusic.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics