"Still Water (Love)" is a 1970 hit single written by

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

and Frank Wilson (who also produced the track) for the Motown singing group

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

. The B-side was "Still Water (Peace)" and both songs appear on the 1970 album '' Still Waters Run Deep''.

Background

The socially conscious single was a departure from the group's past recordings and produced a smoother sound than the raucous

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter, composer, and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators ...

productions that belayed on

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

. The single features

Miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

member

Marv Tarplin Marvin Tarplin (June 13, 1941 – September 30, 2011) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Miracles from the 1950s through the early 1970s. He was one of the group's original members and co-wrote several of their bigges ...

on guitar. Singers Brenda Joyce Evans and Billie Rae Calvin, brought to Motown by Bobby Taylor (and soon to be part of Norman Whitfield's group

The Undisputed Truth The Undisputed Truth was an American Motown recording act assembled by record producer Norman Whitfield to experiment with his psychedelic soul production techniques. Joe "Pep" Harris served as main lead singer, with Billie Rae Calvin and Bren ...

), also add backing vocals. This song was noted for its repeated chord structure, beginning with E-Flat Major, shifting to C Minor, then to B-Flat Major over F, before starting again at E-Flat Major, over and over again, without any changes or alterations to the song's fade.

Chart performance

"Still Water (Love)" went to #4 on the Hot Soul Singles chart, and to #11 in the US Pop Chart. Outside the US, the song peaked at #10 on the UK Singles Chart.

Cover versions

*1979:

Terry Callier Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012) was an American soul music, soul, Folk music, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter. Life and career Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was ...

, '' Turn to Love''. *In 1982,

O'Bryan O'Bryan McCoy Burnette II, known by his stage name O’Bryan (born December 5, 1961), is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Early life O'Bryan McCoy Burnette II began playing the piano at 6 ye ...

covered the song for his album, '' Doin' Alright''.

References

{{Four Tops singles 1970 singles Songs written by Smokey Robinson Four Tops songs Songs written by Frank Wilson (musician) Motown singles 1970 songs Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson Song recordings produced by Frank Wilson (musician)