#1 Alert!
Grammy Alert!
Song#: 3726
Date: 11/19/1988
Debut: 47
Peak: 1 (2 weeks)
Weeks: 18
Genre: Pop, Soundtrack
Pop Bits: While the film Buster, which starred Phil Collins, was a box office dud in the US, its soundtrack would become a gold seller. That album basically consisted of some pop oldies along with sections of Anne Dudley's score. However, it also featured three new tracks from Phil Collins, two of which would be issued out as singles. First was Collins' remake of "Groovy Kind of Love," which became a #1 Pop/#1 AC gold record. Then there was this second single that would also reach the top of both the Pop and AC charts. While it wouldn't be a gold seller, it would go on to win the Grammy for Best Song Specifically Written for a Motion Picture or Television. It was Collins' seventh Grammy (six solo, one with Genesis). That same stat applied to his Pop #1s as well. This was Collins' seventh #1. Six of those were from his solo career while one, "Invisible Touch," was with Genesis. This song was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.
ReduxReview: This song had such a retro sound that I was wondering if it was a cover of a long lost Supremes record. Alas, it was a brand new tune from Collins and Lamont Dozier (see below). Collins had visited the Motown sound before with his first US Top 10 (again, see below), so he was comfortable with the style of this throwback. At the time the song came out, I wasn't a fan. It just didn't grab me. I didn't dislike it; just thought it was meh. I like it a bit more these days and can appreciate the way Dozier reached back and was able to revive his old 60s Motown writing style for the tune. The Collins-Dozier partnership was a good one and it would have been cool if they had done a full album together.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: This song was written and produced by Phil Collins and Lamont Dozier. Dozier had been part of the famous Motown writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. As a writer, Dozier had hit #1 twelve times on the Pop chart (thirteen if you count Steve Winwood's "Roll with It" on which the HDH team was credited after a lawsuit). Most of those hits were by The Supremes. Those songs certainly influenced Collins. He would even earn his first US Top 10 hit with a cover of the HDH-written tune "You Can't Hurry Love" (#10). When it came time to write songs for Buster, Collins wanted a retro 60s sound that would fit the film's timeline. To accomplish that, he reached out to Lamont Doizer for help. Dozier responded by writing the music to "Two Hearts." Collins then supplied the music and the pair got it recorded. They would also write and produce two other tunes for the soundtrack including "Big Noise" and "Loco in Acapulco." For the latter, Collins and Dozier brought in the Four Tops to perform the tune. It would be released as a single in the UK and reach #7. While mainly known as a writer, Dozier was also a performer and recording artists. He first began with a few groups in the late 50s, did a few solo efforts around 1960, recorded as Holland-Dozier with Brian Holland in the early 70s, and then returned to a solo career starting in 1973. With Holland-Dozier, he scored a #9 R&B hit (#57 Pop) in 1972 with "Why Can't We Be Lovers." As a solo artist, Dozier got three consecutive #4 R&B hits in '73 and '74 including "Trying to Hold On to My Woman," which also got to #13 Pop. Oddly, that song was not written by Dozier but by McKinley Jackson and James Reddick.
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