I last played this one in December 2020, and when I did, both Clive and David noted the version by Junior Walker and the All Stars … a version I was unfamiliar with, but when I listened to it, found it to be pretty darned good! So, this time I am offering both the Marvin Gaye version and Junior Walker & the All Stars! I hope you find one … or both … to your liking!
As is the case with so many great Motown tunes, this one was written by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. It was inspired by the trademark line of Jackie Gleason, “How sweet it is!” as it was said on The Jackie Gleason Show. Gleason was one of the biggest TV stars of the time.
Lamont Dozier said the lyric was “wishful thinking.” He was …
“… sitting at the piano, fantasizing about how good it would be if the woman I had eyes for was madly in love with me. But the truth is she never gave me a second look. So I created this fantasy world where I was the object of all her affections, a bit of fiction that eventually came true due to my persistence and showering her with affection.”
This was the second of Gaye’s 13 Top-10 hits. His first was 1963’s Pride and Joy, which peaked at #10. How Sweet It Is reached #6 in the U.S., but only #49 in the UK, and did not chart in Canada.
Eddie Holland came up with the title and hook for this song. The rest of it took a while to put together, and by the time Gaye recorded it, he had to read from lyric sheets because he had not had time to memorize them. In 2001, ESPN took some heat in the press when they used this song as background music in a Father’s Day tribute featuring athletes and their fathers or kids. Gaye had been shot by his father in 1984.
James Taylor released his version of How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) as the lead single from his album Gorilla (1975). Taylor’s 1975 single has been the most successful remake of the song to date, hitting number one on the Easy Listening chart and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Now, while I am a huge fan of James Taylor, sorry but this song belongs to Marvin Gaye in my book.
How Sweet It Is
Marvin Gaye
How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you
I needed the shelter of someone’s arms
There you were
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs
There you were
With sweet love and devotion
Deeply touching my emotion
I want to stop and thank you, baby
I wanna stop and thank you, baby
Yes, I do
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Feels so fine
How sweet it is to be loved by you
I close my eyes at night
Wondering where would I be without you in my life
Everything I did was just a bore
Everywhere I went, seems I’d been there before
But you brighten up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet, so many ways
I wanna stop, thank you, baby
I just wanna stop and thank you, baby
Whoa, yes
How sweet it is to be loved by you
It’s just like sugar sometimes
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Whoa, yeah
You were better to me than I was to myself
For me, there’s you and there ain’t nobody else
I wanna stop and thank you, baby
I just wanna stop and thank you, baby
Oh yes
How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Oh now, how sweet it is to be loved by you
It’s like jelly baby
Oh, yeah
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Just like honey to the bees, baby
Yeah, now
How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Joey Cooper / Harry Tobias
Filosofa's Word 
I still like both versions. And James Taylor too, of course. It is just a great song.
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Agreed! While I am a huge James Taylor fan, his cover wasn’t my favourite of this song.
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Jill, if you saw Holland, Dozier and Holland in a room, you would likely misjudge their talent. These three big men are quite articulate wordsmiths and songwriters. The number of great songs is in the hundreds if not more. Keith
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The were THE songwriters of their time, in my book. I frequently learn of songs they wrote that I had no idea were by them. They were as much the definition of Motown as any of the artists.
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Agreed. Keith
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Pingback: ♫ How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) ♫ — Filosofa’s Word | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News
It’s always sweet to be loved by someone… Until the loving stops… New Zealand is starting a campaign to help young people understand and get through the times when loving stops! What a fantastic idea!
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I didn’t know that about New Zealand, but yes, that’s a great idea!!! I don’t think there’s a single person who hasn’t suffered from a breakup at least once in their lives!
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We all had to deal on our own. It might have been easier if we had help.
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Hmmmmm … maybe. But, we had close friends who understood and empathized … or at least I did. Did you not?
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Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I moved around a lot, and friends came and went. In many ways I was a loner, so I did many things in life alone. Breakups especially.
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Yes, your life took on different pathways than mine did, even though we grew up in the same era and with largely the same views, I think. I can’t remember a breakup, even of my one marriage, that I still consider devastating. Most, I can now look back on and laugh. The divorce? Well, I don’t laugh, but I’m now savvy enough to realize that the marriage was never planted on a firm foundation … in many ways we were too different to stay together forever.
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One break-up I literally went insane for awhile. I lived and breathed winning the heart of my lady back. But finally I had to face the truth, she no longer loved me despite all her promises of forever. I drifted from woman to woman for years after her, but my heart was held in reserve, and women know when a guy isn’t present. It took years to trust a woman again.
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You’ve led a sometimes difficult life, my friend. I think I’m wired a bit differently, for I’ve not met the man that I was willing to sacrifice myself for.
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I can’t help it. I love women. I can’t stand most men. For a good woman I will do most anything… Until I won’t!
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