"A Groovy Kind of Love" is a pop song written by Toni Wine
and Carole Bayer Sager for the Screen Gems music publishing
company. It is heavily based on the Rondo movement of Sonatina
in G major, op. 36 no. 5 by Muzio Clementi. The song was
released first by Diane & Annita in 1965, and several
covers have since appeared on worldwide music charts.
The song title was an early use of the then-new slang word
"groovy". Wine, who was 17 years old when the song was written,
says, "Carole came up with "Groovy kinda… groovy kinda…
groovy…" and we're all just saying, "Kinda groovy, kinda
groovy, kinda…" and I don't exactly know who came up with
"Love," but it was "Groovy kind of love." And we did it. We
wrote it in 20 minutes. It was amazing. Just flew out of our
mouths, and at the piano, it was a real quick and easy song to
write.
The Mindbenders released a 1965 cover which reached number
two on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the UK Singles Chart. The
song was the only solo hit for Les Gray (lead vocalist with
Mud); his version made it to #34 in the UK in 1977. Phil
Collins released a 1988 version which hit #1 in both the U.S.
and UK charts.
Other covers include:
In 1979 Italian artist Ivan Graziani recorded "Agnese", his
own adaptation of Clementi's Rondo, which has the same song
structure.
The song is played on violins in the
Friendstelevision episode "The One with the Wedding Part
2".
Jack McGraw, who ran the London Screen Gems offices, thought
the Wine/Bayer Sager song was a perfect match for the new group
The Mindbenders, who recorded their cover of "A Groovy Kind of
Love" in 1965. They liked the result so much that they named
their first album
A Groovy Kind of Loveand released the song to radio as
their debut single. It soon reached number two in the UK, and
did the same in the United States when it was released there a
year later.
Phil Collins recorded a new version of "A Groovy Kind of
Love" in 1988. He had originally suggested the song as a good
one for collaborator Stephen Bishop to record, with Collins
producing, but decided to record it himself when he took a
starring role in the film
Buster, which had a 1960s setting. The song was
originally released on
Buster: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, and also
appeared on his Serious Hits… Live! album, as well as several
Phil Collins compilation albums.
This version went the Mindbenders release one better,
hitting #1 in both the U.S. and UK charts, and it remains the
only Collins single to top the charts in both countries. It
also reached #1 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. The song
earned Collins a nomination for Grammy Award for Best Male Pop
Vocal Performance in 1989; he lost to Bobby McFerrin's song
"Don't Worry, Be Happy".