music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Bernadette" is a 1967 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. The song was written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland, Motown's main songwriting team, and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier.

"Bernadette"
Single by Four Tops
from the album Reach Out
B-side	"Something About You" or "I Got a Feeling"
Released	February 16, 1967
Recorded	Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); January 25, 1967
Genre	Soul, pop
Length	3:00
Label	Motown
Songwriter(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)	Brian Holland Lamont Dozier
Four Tops singles chronology
"Standing in the Shadows of Love" (1966) "Bernadette" (1967) "7 Rooms of Gloom" (1967)

Billboard described the song as a "hard-driving rocker" with an "outstanding performance by the group."[1] Cash Box called the single a "pulsating Detroit lid underscored by that steady, danceable rhythm."[2] The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was The Four Tops's final Top 10 hit of the 1960s.[3] On the soul chart, "Bernadette" went to number three.[4] It also reached #8 in the UK on its first release and was a hit again in 1972, reaching #23.[5]

The song is notable for its false ending, where the instruments drop out and the background singers hold a chord. Lead singer Levi Stubbs then shouts "Bernadette!" and the song resumes, ending in a fade-out. Critic Maury Dean described the effectiveness of Stubb's shout of "Bernadette!" as being the key ingredient in getting listeners to buy the record, even if Bernadette herself may not have heard him.[6]

AllMusic critic John Bush calls it "dramatic" and "impassioned."[7]

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs
• Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, and The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps
• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
• Written and composed by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr.
• Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier

Notes and references

External links

• List of cover versions of "Bernadette" at SecondHandSongs.com

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