It Takes Two (Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston song)

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For other songs of the same title, see It Takes Two.
"It Takes Two"
Single by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston
from the album Take Two
B-side "It's Got To Be a Miracle"
Released May 12, 1966
Recorded November 27 & December 6, 1965 and March 2, 1966 Detroit, Michigan
Genre Soul
Length 3:10
Label Tamla
Writer(s) William "Mickey" Stevenson
Sylvia Moy
Producer(s) William "Mickey" Stevenson

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

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 which 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.

Gaye and Weston's duet peaked at #14 on the Billboard Pop charts and #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 #16 on the British singles charts in the spring of that same year.

Also in 1967, soul singers Otis Redding and Carla Thomas covered the song for their duet album, King & Queen.

It was also recorded by Donny and Marie Osmond in 1974. It was from their gold album "I'm Leaving It All Up to You". The song also appeared on The Osmonds album "Around the World Live" in late 1975. Though it was never released as a single, the song was performed live at concerts.

Personnel

Rod Stewart and Tina Turner version

"It Takes Two"
File:Rod Stewart & Tina Turner - It Takes Two.jpg
Single by Rod Stewart & Tina Turner
from the album Vagabond Heart
B-side "Hot Legs" (Live)
Released November 1990
Format 7", 12" single, CD single
Recorded 1990
Genre Pop rock
Length 4:13
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(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" (Duet with Tina Turner)
(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)

In 1990 "It Takes Two" was covered by Rod Stewart and Tina Turner and featured in a television advertising campaign for Pepsi. It was released as the lead single from Stewart's album Vagabond Heart, produced by Bernard Edwards and released in late 1990. The duet was a European hit, peaking at #5 in the UK, and becoming a Top 10 single in several European countries. It later appeared on both artists' greatest hits albums: Turner's Simply The Best (1991), and Stewart's The Very Best of Rod Stewart (2001).

Versions and remixes

  • Album version - 4:13
  • Extended Remix - 4:51

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1990–91) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[1] 16
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[2] 15
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[3] 6
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[4] 7
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[5] 12
Germany (Official German Charts)[6] 22
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 4
Italy (Musica e dischi)[8] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 19
Spain Radio (PROMUSICAE)[11] 36
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1990) Peak
position
Italy (Hit Parade Italia)[15] 32
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 50
Chart (1991) Peak
position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 214

Other cover versions

  • Billie Piper also covered the song in late 1998 as B-Side to her third single "She Wants You".
  • Claude François, a famous French singer in the 1960s and 1970s (died in 1978) covered the song in French as Il faut être deux pour ça (lit. "We must be two to do (all) that")
  • In 2009 Namibian singer Nianell and South African singer Dozi brought out an album of cover versions called "It Takes Two" which included the song of the same name.[18]

Use in television and other media

The original version of the song was featured on a 1982 advert for Talbot cars on British television.[19]

It was also used for a movie It Takes Two (1995 film), starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Detroit television station WJBK-TV, which broadcasts on Channel 2, used a reworked version of the song with revised lyrics called "It Takes 2" as part of its on-air imaging in the early 1990s. The new version was sung again by Kim Weston and Marvin Gaye's brother Frankie. Video on YouTube

Tower of Power, a funk/soul band has also covered the song.

Jennie Garth and Derek Hough performed the jive to a version of this song, on season 5 of Dancing With The Stars.

A small part of the song was used for Action 52.

References

  1. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – It Takes Two". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two". Singles Top 60. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Rod Stewart & Tina Turner – It Takes Two". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Tina Turner: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ http://www.kalahari.com/Music/It-Takes-Two_p_34516058?gclid=CKeQ-t3v67sCFYUewwodXAsAGw Retrieved 7 January 2014
  19. ↑ Video on YouTube
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