(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post)
Mary Wells - "My Guy"
Hit Number 1: May 16, 1964
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
1964 was not only a big year for the Beatles and the British Invasion, but it was also a huge year for the Motown Record Label. Motown wasn't new to the public, as they were responsible for previous #1 hits like "Please Mr. Postman" and "Fingertips (Part 2)", but they never saw success anywhere near the levels they would reach in 1964. The ever rising British Invasion music was bringing a new "heavier" sound to the table, and no longer were sleepy ballads the desired go-to music that the public wanted to listen to. Instead, they wanted anything as close to the Beatles as possible, and that involved songs that were fast, fun, and full of energy. (Sometimes with the corniest lyrics) That's where "My Guy" by Mary Wells enters the picture.
"My Guy" was written and produced by Smokey Robinson, who at the time was closest to the top with the #2 hit "Shop Around" with his group the Miracles. (It's a 10, and Robinson and the Miracles will appear in this blog later with a #1 hit) But apparently the musicians involved on the track had a hell of a time just finding an intro for it. It was finally suggested by the trombonist George Bohanon that they could use the opening measure of a song called "Canadian Sunset", as it fit well with the chord changes that they already had for the intro of the song. The keyboardist Earl Van Dyke (no relation to Dick Van Dyke) would say later that he thought the song would just wind up in the trash anyway, and though he knew the producers didn't know anything about "Canadian Sunset", they "were doing anything to get the hell out of that studio". There were also "left hand notes" from another song "Begin the Beguine" that were used for the intro on "My Guy".
Obviously, despite the concerns over the intro, "My Guy" became a massive hit, staying at #1 for 2 weeks, and becoming Mary Wells' biggest hit. The song has a prominent horn section, and a mid-tempo pace with a lively beat. Obviously the beat of a song is very important in all cases, but it was around the time that "My Guy" was constructed that Motown really identified their own sound. Everything you hear on "My Guy" is what Motown would keep doing for the next few years, and the biggest thing you notice on the song is that beat. The drums became louder and more prominent, and that's the sort of thing that sticks out with the Motown sensation the Supremes (who will appear in this blog shortly) in their earliest hits. This is my own speculation so don't read too much into this, but it could be quite possible that "My Guy" may have been an inspiration for future Motown acts, and how they wanted to sound.
Lyrically, the song is pretty interesting. It's about a girl who refuses to leave her guy for anyone else, which sounds very nice, until you take a deeper look at the things she says. Basically she degrades the ever-loving hell out of this poor guy, saying things like "He might not be a movie star, but when it comes to being happy, we are" and "No muscle-bound man" or "No handsome face could take me away from my guy" implying that the guy is just average looking, without any muscular physique. If I was the guy in question, I'd be like "Well, damn". Though she puts him down pretty hard, she does make it very clear that she loves this guy, and she wouldn't ever dream of leaving him. And along with the cool mid-tempo beat, the meandering keyboards, the lively horn section, and even the vulnerable yet matter of fact voice Wells brings, it turns "My Guy" into a pretty good song. Even with the unintentionally degrading lyrics.
GRADE: 8/10
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