I found love on a two way street
And lost it on a lonely highway
Love on a two way street
And lost it on a lonely highway
True love will never die,
So I've been told,
But now I must cry
It's finally goodbye, I know
With music softly playing,
His lips were gently saying : "I love you"
He held me in desperation,
I thought it was a revelation
And then he walked out
How could I be so blind,
To give up love for the very first time
To be fooled is a hurting pain,
To be loved and fooled
Is a crying shame,
While I bear the blame as he laughs my name
With music softly playing,
His lips were gently saying: "Honey, I love you."
He held me in desperation,
I thought it was a revelation,
And then he walked out
I found love on a two way street
And lost it on a lonely highway
Love on a two way street
And lost it on a lonely highway
about
"Love on a Two-Way Street" is a soul ballad written by Sylvia Robinson and Bert Keyes in 1968. The song was originally recorded by Lezli Valentine, an artist signed to All Platinum, the record label that Sylvia Robinson co-owned with her husband, Joe. The song was then recorded by The Moments, an R&B vocal group signed to All Platinum subsidiary Stang Records, as filler for their 1968 album Not on the Outside, But on the Inside, Strong!. Sylvia and Joe decided to release the song as a single in March 1970 and it went on to become one of the biggest R&B hits of that year, spending five weeks at number one on Billboard's Soul Singles chart and reaching number three on the Hot 100 chart.[1] Billboard ranked the record as the No. 25 song of 1970.[2] It was also certified gold by the RIAA for sales of one million copies.
Musical composition
Willie and The Mighty Magnificents provided most of the musical backing on the song and Bert Keyes created the string arrangement that was overdubbed onto the track while also playing piano on the recording session.
According to the song's original vocalist, Lezli Valentine, she was a third contributor to the song, writing most of the song's lyrics:
Sylvia came into the office on the morning Two Way Street was created and said that she had a dream but that the only thing she remembered was "Love on a Two-way Street, Lost on a lonely Highway."--We went into Bert's office . . . Sylvia asked Bert to play what he felt (that became the melody) . . . I, Lezli Valentine, began to write the story line . . . "True love will never die, so I've been told but now I must cry, it is finally goodbye, I know . . . With music softly playing his lips were gently saying honey I love you". . .Sylvia wrote "he held me in desperation, I thought it was a revelation and then he walked out". . . I, Lezli Valentine wrote . . ."how could I be so blind to give of love the very first time, to be fooled is a hurting thing". . . Sylvia wrote "to be loved and fooled is a crying shame". . .Lezli Valentine wrote "while I bear the blame, as he laughs my name", the rest was completed, I recorded it; the lead sheets were hand delivered by one of the original Moments, John, who lived in DC. The original application was altered without my knowledge (omitting Lezli Valentine's name as a lyric writer . . . there are three writers on I Found Love On A Two-Way Street) Joseph Robinson, Sr. definitely knew this, (Joseph R.Robinson, Sr. said he would rectify this, evidently he never did. Each time I telephoned him on this he said he would take care of it) as did Ebert Mahon . . . AKA Bert Keyes and several recording artists in the Soul Sound Studios at the time! This was nerve-racking and resulted in hospitalizations.[citation needed]
In 1981, 14-year-old artist Stacy Lattisaw covered "Love on a Two-Way Street." It was the lead single from her With You LP. The song peaked at number two R&B, and number 26 on the Hot 100.[9] As well as number 19 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. This version also peaked at number 23 on the Cash Box Top 100 during August of that year. The song was her second U.S. Top 40 hit.
Charts
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles 39
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 26
U.S. Billboard R&B 2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 19
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 23
Other cover versions
The song was also covered by Grant Green on his 1971 album, Visions.
Gloria Estefan included her version on her 1994 album, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.
Brenda K. Starr covered the song on her album, Temptation (2002).
The song was also covered by Boz Scaggs on his 2013 album, Memphis.
Sampling
The Moments' version of the song has been sampled by The AB's formally known as Asamov in 2005 for the song "Super Dynamite", by Caribou in the track "Subotnick" from 2005's The Milk of Human Kindness, and by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' single "Empire State of Mind" in 2009.
credits
released August 1, 1982
Tracklist
A Judy Mowatt– Love On A Two Way Street
Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Sonic Sounds Records Co. Ltd.
Published By – Gambi Music
Credits
Arranged by Ossie Hibbert
Executive Producer – Neville Lee
Producer – Ossie Hibbert
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Rights Society: B.M.I.
Jamaican singer born 1952 in Gordon Town, St Andrew, Jamaica. She joined The Gaylettes (aka the Gaytones) in 1967 and then
had a solo career where she also recorded under the name Julie-Ann, Julien and Jean. In 1973 she joined Rita Marley and Marcia Griffiths as the I Threes, backing vocalists for Bob Marley & The Wailers....more
An absolute mind-blower: Producer Prince Fatty revisits the vintage Bunny Striker Lee reggae catalog and emerges with stunning results. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 18, 2023
