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Love on a Two-Way Street

"Love on a Two-Way Street" is a soul ballad written by Sylvia Robinson and Bert Keyes in 1968. The song was originally recorded by Lezli Valentine, an artist signed to All Platinum, the record label that Sylvia Robinson co-owned with her husband, Joe. The song was then recorded by The Moments, an R&B vocal group signed to All Platinum subsidiary Stang Records, as filler for their 1968 album Not on the Outside, But on the Inside, Strong!. Sylvia and Joe decided to release the song as a single in March 1970 and it went on to become one of the biggest R&B hits of that year, spending five weeks at number one on Billboard's Soul Singles chart and reaching number three on the Hot 100 chart.[1] Billboard ranked the record as the No. 25 song of 1970.[2] It was also certified gold by the RIAA for sales of one million copies.

"Love on a Two-Way Street"
Single by The Moments
from the album Not on the Outside, But on the Inside, Strong!
B-side"I Won't Do Anything"
ReleasedMarch 1970
GenreR&B, soul
Length3:05 (single edit)
3:46 (album version)
LabelStang Records
All Platinum
Songwriter(s)Sylvia Robinson, Bert Keyes
Producer(s)Sylvia Robinson
The Moments singles chronology
"I Do"
(1969) 		"Love on a Two-Way Street"
(1970) 		"If I Didn't Care"
(1970)

Musical composition

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Willie and The Mighty Magnificents provided most of the musical backing on the song and Bert Keyes created the string arrangement that was overdubbed onto the track while also playing piano on the recording session.

According to the song's original vocalist, Lezli Valentine, she was a third contributor to the song, writing most of the song's lyrics:

Sylvia came into the office on the morning Two Way Street was created and said that she had a dream but that the only thing she remembered was "Love on a Two-way Street, Lost on a lonely Highway."--We went into Bert's office . . . Sylvia asked Bert to play what he felt (that became the melody) . . . I, Lezli Valentine, began to write the story line . . . "True love will never die, so I've been told but now I must cry, it is finally goodbye, I know . . . With music softly playing his lips were gently saying honey I love you". . .Sylvia wrote "he held me in desperation, I thought it was a revelation and then he walked out". . . I, Lezli Valentine wrote . . ."how could I be so blind to give of love the very first time, to be fooled is a hurting thing". . . Sylvia wrote "to be loved and fooled is a crying shame". . .Lezli Valentine wrote "while I bear the blame, as he laughs my name", the rest was completed, I recorded it; the lead sheets were hand delivered by one of the original Moments, John, who lived in DC. The original application was altered without my knowledge (omitting Lezli Valentine's name as a lyric writer . . . there are three writers on I Found Love On A Two-Way Street) Joseph Robinson, Sr. definitely knew this, (Joseph R.Robinson, Sr. said he would rectify this, evidently he never did. Each time I telephoned him on this he said he would take care of it) as did Ebert Mahon . . . AKA Bert Keyes and several recording artists in the Soul Sound Studios at the time! This was nerve-racking and resulted in hospitalizations.[citation needed]

Chart history

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Stacy Lattisaw version

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"Love on a Two-Way Street"
 
Single by Stacy Lattisaw
from the album With You
B-side"Baby I Love You"
ReleasedJune 1981
Recorded1981
Genre
Length4:11
LabelCotillion
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Narada Michael Walden
Stacy Lattisaw singles chronology
"Let Me Be Your Angel"
(1980) 		"Love on a Two-Way Street"
(1981) 		"Attack of the Name Game"
(1982)

In 1981, 14-year-old artist Stacy Lattisaw covered "Love on a Two-Way Street." It was the lead single from her With You LP. The song peaked at number two R&B, and number 26 on the Hot 100.[10] As well as number 19 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. This version also peaked at number 23 on the Cash Box Top 100 during August of that year. The song was her second U.S. Top 40 hit.

Charts

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Chart (1981) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles[11] 39
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[12] 26
U.S. Billboard R&B 2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[13] 19
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[14] 23

Other cover versions

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Sampling

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The Moments' version of the song has been sampled by The AB's formally known as Asamov in 2005 for the song "Supa Dynamite", by Caribou in the track "Subotnick" from 2005's The Milk of Human Kindness, and by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' single "Empire State of Mind" in 2009.

References

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  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 408.
  2. ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970
  3. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1970-06-20. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  4. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  5. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 13, 1970
  6. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  7. ^ Top 100 R&B & Soul Singles of 1970
  8. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1970". Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  9. ^ "American single certifications – The Moments – Love on a Two-Way Street". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 341.
  11. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-09-26. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  12. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 141.
  14. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 29, 1981
  15. ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  16. ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
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