If you’re destined to be a one-hit wonder, it helps if lightning strikes twice.
The Contours know a little bit about that. Their one hit was Berry Gordy’s “Do You Love Me,” a Twist derivative with an irresistible shouted chorus that the group took all the way to the top of the R&B chart (and #3 on the Hot 100) in the autumn of 1962.
“Do You Love Me” was a perfect single, from its instantly recognizable spoken-word intro to Billy Gordon’s righteously raucous lead vocal to a backing track you just can’t not dance to.
But if you’re of a certain age, what sealed the deal and signed a second lease on life for The Contours was a certain scene in the 1987 film, Dirty Dancing.
Dirty Dancing catapulted “Do You Love Me” back up the charts, this time peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, and once again The Contours were in demand as a featured act on the Dirty Dancing Live concert tour.
If you were paying attention, what all three of those clips demonstrated is that as great a song as it most certainly is, “Do You Love Me” isn’t really about the singing.
It’s about the dancing.
Bruce Springsteen knew that long before Dirty Dancing hit the screens. Throughout their marathon Born in the U.S.A. Tour in 1984 and 1985, Bruce and the E Street Band wove “Do You Love Me” into their encore performances of “Twist and Shout,” and audiences responded with a strong affirmative.
Bruce milked the moment each and every night, teasing his audience while The Big Man egged him on, until he finally catapulted into the song and broke out his finest dance moves.
Okay, so maybe he wasn’t Dirty Dancing material. But how fun is it to watch a 36-year-old Bruce Springsteen cut a rug on stage, right?
“Do You Love Me” remained a late encore highlight throughout the entire tour, with Bruce practicing and busting out new moves along the way.
When the Born in the U.S.A. Tour ended, though, so did Bruce’s performances of “Do You Love Me”–which is odd, because the next time Bruce took the band out on the road, his shows revolved around a love-centric set list and “Do You Love Me” was on its way back up the charts. The circumstances couldn’t have been better suited for The Contours’ hit to make a return appearance to Bruce’s set.
Yet Bruce has only performed one post-1985 “Do You Love Me” in all the years since–in Munich, almost four years to the day when he performed it for the very first time, and just a few weeks before the song would once again crest in the Billboard Hot 100.
By that time, though, he no longer needed to ask.
Do You Love Me
First performed: July 18, 1984 (Rosemont, IL)
Last performed: July 17, 1988 (Munich, West Germany)
One-hit wonders though they may be, the Contours’ influence didn’t end there. Their 1965 tune, “First I Look At The Purse,” penned by Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers, was covered twice by the J. Geils Band: once on their debut studio album, and most memorably as the smoking hot opening track on the lights-out live album “Full House.”
Ken. Always been a great favourite song of mine. In Australia, I think we first heard the Dave Clark 5 version. Had not seen the Bruce version before. You continue to break new ground and show me new stuff. Love your work. Terry