| It Takes Two | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston |
| Album: | Take Two |
| B-Side: | It's Got to Be a Miracle |
| Released: | [1] |
| Recorded: | November 27 and December 6, 1965, and March 2, 1966, Detroit, Michigan |
| Length: | 3:00 |
| Label: | Tamla |
| Producer: | William "Mickey" Stevenson, Henry Cosby |
"It Takes Two" is a hit single recorded in late 1965 by American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye and American soul singer Kim Weston, released in 1966 on 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 that 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.
Cash Box said the single is a "rhythmic, infectious romancer that superbly matches the two fine voices."[2]
Gaye and Weston's duet peaked at 14 on the Billboard Pop charts and No. 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 No. 16 on the British singles charts in the spring of that same year.[3] [4]
| Chart (1966–1967) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| UK R&B (Record Mirror)[5] | 1 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[6] | 43 |
| It Takes Two | |
| Cover: | Rod Stewart & Tina Turner - It Takes Two.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Rod Stewart and Tina Turner |
| Album: | Vagabond Heart |
| B-Side: | "Hot Legs" (live) |
| Released: | [7] |
| Length: | 4:13 |
| Label: | Warner Bros. |
| Producer: | Bernard Edwards |
| Chronology: | Rod Stewart |
| Prev Title: | I Don't Want To Talk About It |
| Prev Year: | 1990 |
| Next Title: | Rhythm of My Heart |
| Next Year: | 1991 |
British singer Rod Stewart and American singer Tina Turner recorded a cover of "It Takes Two" released in November 1990 by Warner Bros., which was also featured in a television advertising campaign for Pepsi. It was the lead single from Stewart's sixteenth album, Vagabond Heart (1991), produced by Bernard Edwards. The duet was a European hit, peaking at No. 1 in Denmark. It also reached No. 5 in the UK and was a Top 10 single in several European countries. The song later appeared on both artists' greatest hits albums: Turner's Simply the Best (1991), and Stewart's The Very Best of Rod Stewart (2001).
| Chart (1990–1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI)[8] | 1 |
| Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[9] | 7 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] | 12 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[11] | 22 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[12] | 4 |
| Spain Radio (PROMUSICAE)[13] | 36 |
| Chart (1991) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Europe (European Hit Radio)[15] | 55 | |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] | 214 |