You Can’t Hurry Love – A Motown classic derived from a gospel song. #TedTocksCovers #MusicisLife #TheSupremes #Phil Collins

This song is over 50 years old and it still sounds like it was released today. This Motown classic was actually derived from a gospel song called ‘You Can’t Hurry God’. “You will just have to give him time; no matter how long it takes….” Who knew such a ‘poppy’ song could be so fatalistic? The Motown hit machine, The Supremes recorded this song and another classic ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ at the same time, but the powers that be opted for ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ which became an iconic hit that went to the top of the charts and is widely regarded as a classic. It has been honoured with a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll. Rightly so. 

The most famous cover of this song was done by Phil Collins in 1982. This recording went to #1 thirty five years ago today. Phil adjusts it slightly with the following changes. In the first verse, he modifies “And I need to find, find / Someone to call mine” to “And I need to find time / Someone to call mine.” On the second repeat of the chorus, he changes the line “How much more can I take?” to “How much more must I take?”, and likewise exchanges the words, “…trust in the good Lord…” to “…trust in a good time…”. Apparently his goal in covering this song was to recreate the 60’s sound in the vastly superior 80’s recording studio. He did a great job. I also recall listening to an interview with Phil Collins around the time of this release. One of his original choices for a cover was actually ‘Going to a Go Go’ by Smokey Robinson, but the Rolling Stones beat him to it by playing it on their ‘Still Life’ tour and releasing it as a single from the ‘Still Life’ live album. Just another example of how so many music legends remember their roots.