It’s The Same Old Song – Four Tops | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#5) & R&B (#2 for 4 weeks); 1965
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
The Four Tops came together in 1954 as the Four Aims after an impromptu singing session at a party. By decade’s end, the foursome had been through three record companies and three failed singles.
In 1963 Berry Gordy, Jr. signed them for a mere $400, and sent them into the studio to record on their own and as backing vocalists on tracks such as When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes by the Supremes. Two years later the Tops scored their first #1 with I Can’t Help Myself, penned by staff writers Holland, Dozier, and Holland, who used the same chords as those in the Supremes’ Where Did Our Love Go.
When Columbia Records re-released Ain’t That Love, a 1960 Tops track, to capitalize on the group’s new-found success, H-D-H quickly banged out a Can’t Help Myself carbon copy composition called It’s The Same Old Song. The new Motown record handily squashed the competition, giving the Four Tops their second Top 5 smash.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Brian Holland
- Lamont Dozier
Lyrics Written by:
- Holland–Dozier–Holland
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).