"Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 1988.
As with many American R&B songs of the 1960s, "Do You Love Me" was recorded by several British Invasion groups. A 1963 version by Brian Poole and the Tremeloes reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. It also became a hit for the Dave Clark Five, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.
Background and recording
Berry Gordy wrote "Do You Love Me" and earmarked it for the Temptations, who had no top-40 hits to their name yet. However, when Gordy was looking for the group to record it, he could not find them; they had gone to church to see gospel groups the Dixie Hummingbirds, the Harmonizing Four and the Swan Silvertones. Instead, the Contours, who had turned up to the studio to record their song "It Must Be Love", were asked by Gordy to try singing "Do You Love Me". After several attempts, they sang it exactly how Gordy wanted, and it was then recorded the following day. Contours singer Joe Billingslea stated in an interview in 2009 that "The Temptations could never have sung that song because it wasn't suited to them but Berry had motivated us to sing it the way he wanted it".
The Contours, who were in danger of being dropped from the label after their first two singles, "Whole Lotta' Woman" and "The Stretch", failed to chart, immediately accepted. Instrumental backing was provided by Joe Hunter on piano, James Jamerson on bass, and Benny Benjamin on drums (later known as the Funk Brothers).
Gordy said that "getting the concept for the song was easy. I remembered the days when I could never get the girls I liked because I couldn't dance". As such, the song references the 1960s dance moves the Mashed Potato and the Twist. The song includes a spoken recitation in the intro:
Release and reception
"Do You Love Me" became a successful dance record, built around lead singer Billy Gordon's screaming vocals. Selling over a million copies, "Do You Love Me" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks starting on October 20, 1962, and reached the top position on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. The song was included on the 1962 album Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance).
In 1987 the Contours' recording was included in the film Dirty Dancing. Re-issued as a single from the More Dirty Dancing soundtrack album, "Do You Love Me" became a hit for the second time, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1988. The Contours, by then composed of Joe Billingslea and three new members, joined Ronnie Spector and Bill Medley, among others, on a "Dirty Dancing Tour" resulting from the success of the film.
The Contours' recording was also included in the Tiny Toon Adventures episode "Toon TV" (aired in 1992) in which Buster Bunny lip syncs the song whilst attempting to show Babs Bunny his new dance moves.
According to music journalist Dave Marsh, "Do You Love Me" is representative of Gordy's talent as a musician, producer, arranger, and songwriter: "The result is not only classic rock and roll but a tribute to his stature as the greatest backstage talent in rock history." Gordy viewed the song as an example of the musical overlap between rhythm and blues, pop, and rock and roll, telling Billboard in 1963, "It was recorded r. & b. but by the time it reached the half-million mark, it was considered pop. And if we hadn't recorded it with a Negro artist, it would have been considered rock and roll."
Personnel
Billy Gordon – lead vocals
Billy Hoggs – 2nd lead vocals
Joe Billingslea – baritone vocals
Sylvester Potts – tenor/baritone vocals
Hubert Johnson – bass vocals
Huey Davis – guitar
The Funk Brothers – other instrumentation
Charts
Certifications
Brian Poole and the Tremeloes version
Background and release
Brian Poole and the Tremeloes first heard "Do You Love Me" on the Contours' album Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance). Other bands were also playing the Contours' songs and the group decided that "Do You Love Me" should be the follow-up single to their top-five hit version of "Twist and Shout". It was recorded in the same way as "Twist and Shout", with the group miking up a PA system in the studio in order to imitate their live sound.