"A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)" is a 1963 song issued as the B-side to Motown singing group Martha and the Vandellas' hit single, "Heat Wave", released on the Gordy label.50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1962-1972 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
The song, written and produced by Vandellas cohorts, Holland–Dozier–Holland, is a song where a woman praises her lover for loving her after she "broke (his) heart and made (him) blue" saying afterwards "instead of hurting back" telling her he loved her.
The song, while not released as a single A-side, is regarded as a sixties classic with notable covers by Ike & Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Harry Nilsson and Cher, Juice Newton, Manfred Mann, and the Animals.Cover Versions Ike & Tina's version was the only version that became a charted hit peaking at No. 16 on the UK Singles charts.
Credits Lead vocals and spoken monologues by Martha Reeves Background vocals by Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard, and Brian Holland Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland, Jr. Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Ike & Tina Turner version Ike & Tina Turner recorded a version for their 1966 album River Deep – Mountain High. The single was released on London Records in the UK in October 1966. The single received positive reviews.
Ike & Tina Turner performed the song on the British TV show Ready Steady Go!.
A limited amount of copies were issued in the US by Phil Spector's label Philles Records in 1967. This was the label's final release of any single. The album River Deep – Mountain High was not released in the US until it was reissued by A&M Records in 1969. Following the album's reissue, "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)" was reissued as a single in the US in 1970.
Track listing
Chart performance +Chart (1966)PeakpositionUK Singles Chart16
References