"Kiss and Say Goodbye" is a 1976 song by American R&B

vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in s ...

The Manhattans. It was written by group member Winfred Lovett, the bass singer and songwriter of the group, who did the song's spoken introduction. The song was recorded for the album '' The Manhattans'', released in 1976 by

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, and was released as a single in March of the same year. "Kiss and Say Goodbye" became a worldwide success, appearing in the musical charts of countless countries, a

Top 10 A top ten list is a list of the ten highest-ranking items of a given category. Top Ten or Top 10 may also refer to: Media *Top 10, a common record chart for the ten most popular songs of the week in the musical chart of a country *''America's Top ...

hit in many countries, including No. 1 in the US,

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Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

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, and in Europe ''(

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

)''. With the exception of

Adult Contemporary Chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

, "Kiss and Say Goodbye" was ranked number 1 in US on all Pop Singles Charts and on all R&B Singles Charts. The song was one of the biggest hits of 1976 and of the 1970s.

Background and recording

The song was written by Manhattans bass singer Winfred "Blue" Lovett, who also provided the spoken introduction heard in the full-length version of the original recording. The lyrics and melody came to him late one night. As he later recalled, "Everything was there. I got up about three o'clock in the morning and jotted down the things I wanted to say. I just put the words together on my tape recorder and little piano. I've always thought that when you write slow songs, they have to have meaning. In this case, it's the love triangle situation we've all been through. I figured anyone who's been in love could relate to it. And it seemed to touch home for a lot of folks." Lovett originally considered the song a country tune more appropriate to be sung by

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Re ...

. He decided to do it with his group. The Manhattans lead singer Gerald Alston is featured in the song starting to sing after Lovett's spoken introduction. The original demo of the song was recorded with The Manhattans backing band, "Little Harlem." After hearing a tape of the recording, producer/arranger Bobby Martin decided to re-record the song with backing by

MFSB MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom B ...

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. Recorded in early 1975,

officials withheld releasing the song until 14 months later. Winfred "Blue" Lovett had his concerns over when the record came out as well as the record itself. "I was critical, a perfectionist in the studio, and there are still parts of it that make my skin crawl. For example, in one place, the background vocals go off pitch. Somehow, though, that didn't seem to bother anyone else."

Track listing

*The full length of "Kiss and Say Goodbye" on the album '' The Manhattans'' is 4:28. The length of 3:29 on the 7" single is an edited version of the song. The Edited version fades out earlier, because it was considered too long and monotonous for airplay, while the full length version ends on a climatic cadenza on the song's title.

B-side

The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the 7" single contains the song "Wonderful World of Love", which was also recorded by The Manhattans for the album '' The Manhattans''. It was written by Robert S. Riley Sr., songwriter and producer/promotion man of the group, who wrote several songs (lyrics) for them. The song was produced by Bobby Martin and The Manhattans.

Chart performance

Released as a single, the song became a worldwide hit for the group, ranked number 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks, and also on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart for one week. The single reaching number 4 on the UK, (where received Silver certification), and number 7 on the

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, (where received Gold certification). In the U.S., the song was the 400th #1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also became just the second single to earn Platinum certification status, after the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

established the designation in 1976. (

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor wa ...

's " Disco Lady" had been the first a few months earlier.) The single ultimately sold 2.5 million copies. ''

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'' ranked the song as the No. 6 Pop Singles for 1976 and No. 3 Soul Singles for 1976. Besides being the first and only No. 1 pop hit for The Manhattans, "Kiss and Say Goodbye" marked 11 years since the group made their first appearance on the ''Billboard'' in 1965, with the song "I Wanna Be (Your Everything)" (No. 68 on the Hot 100). "Kiss and Say Goodbye" ended the decade at No. 83 on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 Songs of the 1970s.

Personnel

* Written by Winfred Lovett * Arranged by Bobby Martin * Spoken voice on intro – Winfred Lovett * Lead vocal – Gerald Alston * Music played (uncredited) –

* Background vocals (uncredited) – The Manhattans, Barbara Ingram, Evette Benton, Carla Benson Credits * Producer – Bobby Martin and The Manhattans * Recording – Kenny Present * Mastering – Stuart J. Romaine (SJR) * Engineer – Kenny Present Companies *Recorded at

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*Pressed by Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute *Mastered at Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Other versions

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

covered the song on their 2005 album '' Who You Fighting For?''. Their version went to #19 on the UK singles chart. *

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

included a version on her 2007 album '' Breakfast in Bed''. *

Billy Joe Royal Billy Joe Royal (April 3, 1942 – October 6, 2015) was an American country soul singer. His most successful record was " Down in the Boondocks" in 1965. Life and career Born in Valdosta, Georgia, to Clarence and Mary Sue Smith Royal, and rai ...

's rendition can be found on his 1989 album '' Tell It Like It Is''. * The song has also been covered by John Holt, Tierra and

Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis Alfred James Ellis (April 21, 1941 – September 23, 2021), known as Pee Wee Ellis due to his diminutive stature, was an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. With a background in jazz, he was a member of James Brown's band in the 1 ...

. * The Singaporean band, Black Dog Bone covered the song in Malay as "Hatiku Luka Lagi"(My Heart Hurts Again) * The Mexican band Grupo Yndio covered the song in Spanish as

Dame un beso y dime adiós ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zea ...

. This song was also covered on Czech language by Czech singer Karel Gott and actor Jiří Němeček in 1978 y.,the name of Czech version was "Teď už víš, že jsem to já" (You just already know that I am)

References

External links

* "Kiss and Say Goodbye" song review Allmusic.com. * {{Authority control 1976 songs 1976 singles The Manhattans songs 1970s ballads European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in New Zealand Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Soul ballads Rhythm and blues ballads Columbia Records singles Songs about infidelity Songs about parting Songs about kissing