It Takes Two (Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston song)

"It Takes Two"
Single by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston
from the album Take Two
B-side"It's Got to Be a Miracle"
ReleasedDecember 4, 1966 (1966-12-04)
RecordedNovember 27 and December 6, 1965, and March 2, 1966, Detroit, Michigan
Length3:00
LabelTamla
Songwriter(s)William "Mickey" Stevenson, Sylvia Moy
Producer(s)William "Mickey" Stevenson, Henry Cosby

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

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."

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.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1966–1967) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) 45
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 14
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 15
Netherlands (Single Top 100) 13
UK Singles (OCC) 16
UK R&B (Record Mirror) 1
US Billboard Hot 100 14
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 4
US Cashbox Top 100 43

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Rod Stewart and Tina Turner version

"It Takes Two"
Single by Rod Stewart and Tina Turner
from the album Vagabond Heart
B-side"Hot Legs" (live)
ReleasedNovember 12, 1990 (1990-11-12)
Length4:13
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)William "Mickey" Stevenson, Sylvia Moy
Producer(s)Bernard Edwards
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"I Don't Want To Talk About It"
(1990)
"It Takes Two"
(1990)
"Rhythm of My Heart"
(1991)
Tina Turner singles chronology
"Be Tender with Me Baby"
(1990)
""It Takes Two" (Duet with Rod Stewart)"
(1990)
"Nutbush City Limits (The 90's Version)"
(1991)

British singer Rod Stewart and American singer Tina Turner released a cover of "It Takes Two" in 1990, which was also featured in a television advertising campaign for Pepsi. It was the lead single from Stewart's album Vagabond Heart, 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

Other cover versions

Popular culture


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