It Was 50 Years Ago Today: “A Lover’s Concerto” by The Toys

October 27, 1965
“A Lover’s Concerto” by The Toys
#1 on the Cashbox Top 100, October 23-29, 1965

The Supremes were one of the few American groups whose popularity not only survived the British Invasion but seemed to grow even stronger. By the mid ’60s, only the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys offered any steady chart competition. Yet it wasn’t just the Supremes’ success as an American act in the post-Beatles world that made them an anomaly. Perhaps even more remarkably, they were a girl group that managed to score hits throughout the entire decade.

In the late ’50s and early ’60s, girl groups, along with rockabilly and early Motown, were one of the few signs of vitality on a pop chart that had grown sluggish. Girl groups wedded the youthful spirit of rock ‘n’ roll to dramatic, often orchestral, arrangements, articulating the intensity of adolescent emotions from a distinctly female viewpoint. Within just a few years, however, this style of music had grown passé, as beat music from Britain re-energized rock ‘n’ roll, and the R&B influence at the root of the girl-group sound morphed into heavier soul.

One of the last major hits of the original girl-group era was released in late 1965 by the Toys, a Queens-based teenage trio that got a relatively late start. For the group’s first single, “A Lover’s Concerto,” writer/producers Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell came up with a clever gimmick, borrowing the melody of the familiar classical piece “Minuet in G Major” by Christian Petzold. (Until the ’70s, “Minuet” was widely believed to have been composed by J.S. Bach — thus the giant, bewigged head of the composer gazing down approvingly at the group in the video below.) Linzer and Randell altered the piece for ’60s teen consumption: switching from 3/4 waltz time to the more pop dance-friendly 4/4 time; eliminating grace notes and other baroque flourishes; and adding some simple but sweet nature-based lyrics about love.

Legendary girl group producer Phil Spector had designed his productions for the Crystals and the Ronettes as “little symphonies for the kiddies,” but “A Lover’s Concerto” moved the genre into the baroque period, both figuratively and literally. Unlike the lavish arrangements of Spector and his imitators, however, “A Lover’s Concerto” takes a rather straightforward, Motown-like tack. The baroque elements are generally limited to a brief horn solo in the middle of the song and Barbara Parritt and June Montiero’s rococo harmony vocals, entwining around Barbara Harris’ piercing, unschooled soprano. The classical element adds just enough flavor to the song to make it distinctive, while still slotting easily between Marvelettes and Vandellas singles on pop radio.

What Motown giveth, however, Motown also taketh away. The Supremes had established themselves as the top of the girl-group heap when five consecutive singles topped the Billboard Hot 100, from 1964’s “Where Did Our Love Go” through 1965’s “Back in My Arms Again.” All five of those records were designed as mild variations of each other, sharing a stomping rhythm, repetitive chord progression, and lyrics about an unfaithful lover. When the would-be sixth chart-topper, “Nothing But Heartaches,” didn’t repeat the trick, instead stalling at a relatively embarrassing #11, Motown went into overdrive to return the Supremes to their rightful place at the top. 

While the Supremes’ writer-producers Holland-Dozier-Holland never credited “A Lover’s Concerto” as the inspiration for “I Hear a Symphony,” the novelty of combining highbrow classical influences with supposedly disposable pop music proved just the thing to revive the Motown group’s fortunes. “I Hear a Symphony” became the Supremes’ sixth #1 hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 a month after “A Lover’s Concerto” had peaked at #2. (The Toys single did reach #1 on the Cashbox chart, as did “I Hear a Symphony.”) Perhaps as a sly acknowledgement, the Supremes covered “A Lover’s Concerto” on the 1966 LP named after their classically inspired hit.

The Toys, on the other hand, were not so fortunate. After the success of “A Lover’s Concerto,” the group only scored one more Top 40 hit, 1966’s follow-up “Attack!” The Toys cut a few more records that have since become favorites of girl group and Northern soul aficionados, including the lushly orchestrated “May My Heart Be Cast into Stone,” and “Can’t Get Enough of You Baby,” which became more famous through cover versions by ? & the Mysterians and Smash Mouth. Nevertheless, the group struggled to repeat the success of their debut single, eventually breaking up in 1968. Meanwhile, the Supremes continued to rule the decade, ultimately earning 12 #1 hits. Their final charttopper, “Someday We’ll Be Together,” became the very last #1 record of the ’60s, long after nearly all of their girl-group contemporaries — the Toys included — had grown up and disappeared.

It Was 50 Years Ago Today examines a song, album, movie, or book that was #1 on the charts exactly half a century ago.

Sally O'Rourke

Sally O’Rourke works in an office and sometimes writes about music. She blogs about every song to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 (in order) at No Hard Chords. She has also contributed to The Singles Jukebox, One Week // One Band, and PopMatters. Special interests include girl groups, soul pop, and over-analyzing chord changes and lyrics as if deciphering a secret code. She was born in Baton Rouge and lives in Manhattan. Her favorite Nugget is “Liar, Liar” by The Castaways.