Written by Teddy Randazzo, Lou Stallman, Bob Weinstein. The original Royalettes verson was produced by Randazzo who also produced Little Anthony & The Imperials. I like all three versions, but I'm partial to Thom Bell's production on Niecy's version. He did a nice job of updating the sound of his classic production style. Bell also had a hand in the Nyro version.


The Royalettes (1965) - Peaked: R&B (#28), Hot 100 (#41)


Laura Nyro (1971) - The single wasn't released, but the album peaked at #41 on the R&B Albums chart and #46 on the Pop Albums chart. The album of the same name was a collaboration between producers Gamble & Huff, Nyro and Labelle. The album is a collection of R&B covers, and if you've not already heard it, it's well worth a listen.


Deniece Williams (1982) - Peaked: R&B (#1), Hot 100 (#10)

I prefer "Niecy's" version. Denice put it DOWN on that one for me.

purplecam said:

Absolutely - Niecy owns that song.

What are your thoughts on the other two?

RipHer2Shreds said:

The Royalettes version - not bad. Not my favorite version but when it comes to covers I like, I love hearing the originals and this was a good version.

Laura Nyro - terrible. The song was not in a good key for her. My ears were hurting at times listening to this and she sings it too plainly for me. I couldn't wait for it to end.

Deniece Williams - Listening to the other 2 versions before hers made me appreciate her version even more than before and it solidifies why it's not only the best on here but why I love the song so much. The music and her voice are PERFECT together. It was like the song was waiting for an artist like Deniece to come and take it from being a piece of coal to turning it into a shiny diamond and that's what Niecy did. This song belongs to Deniece Williams. PERIOD.

Denise has always loved this song. She first sang it at a talent show in high school. She was so happy to get the chance to record it, years later for her CD.