"This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" is a

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland, often abbreviated as H-D-H, was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the ...

song that was a hit for American musical group

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

in January 1966 during their brief tenure on

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

's Tamla label. Featuring

Ronald Isley Ronald Isley ( ; born May 21, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers. Early life Born in 1941 to Sallye Bernice (née Bell) and O ...

on lead vocal, "This Old Heart of Mine" peaked at number twelve on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and at number six on the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles chart. In the UK, the song originally reached number 47 in April 1966, but it re-charted in late 1968 and reached number three for two weeks in November, making it the group's highest charting UK single. Written by Motown's main songwriting team

alongside Sylvia Moy, "This Old Heart of Mine", produced by

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hi ...

and Lamont Dozier, was originally intended for

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

(who later recorded their own version for their 1966 album ''

The Supremes A' Go-Go ''The Supremes A' Go-Go'' is the ninth studio album released by the Motown singing group the Supremes. It was the first album by an all-female group to reach number-one on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts in the United States. Included are ...

''). The single was the group's only major hit while on Motown, whom they left in 1969 to restart their own T-Neck label. Tammi Terrell originally recorded the song in a different arrangement, but it was not released until her '' Irresistible'' album released in January 1969. The song was prominently featured in an episode of the hit 1980s show '' Moonlighting'' and was one of the tunes included on the show's hit soundtrack.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by O'Kelly Isley Jr. and

Rudolph Isley Rudolph "Rudy" Bernard Isley (April 1, 1939 – October 11, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter and Christian minister and one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers. Life and career Rudolph "Rudy" Bernard Isley was born on April 1, ...

*Additional background vocals by

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by M ...

: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps *Written by

and Sylvia Moy *Produced by

and Lamont Dozier *Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

**Baritone saxophone by Mike Terry

Certifications

Rod Stewart versions

In 1975, English singer

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

released a remake of this song that charted in several markets. In 1989, he released another version—this time a duet of the song with

that reached number two on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart, number 10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number one on the Adult Contemporary charts of both ''Billboard'' and ''RPM''. The later version was produced by Bernard Edwards and

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...

and was released on Warner Records. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that Stewart's version " emainsfaithful to the original, yet ddsenough rasp and thrust to call it all his own."

Charts

1975 solo version

1989 version with Ronald Isley

Weekly charts Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:This Old Heart Of Mine Is Weak For You 1965 songs 1966 singles 1976 singles 1989 singles 1992 singles The Isley Brothers songs Rod Stewart songs Tammi Terrell songs Luv' songs Male vocal duets Tamla Records singles Riva Records singles Warner Records singles Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Songs written by Sylvia Moy Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Song recordings produced by Tom Dowd Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards