Heaven Must Have Sent You
Encyclopedia
"Heaven Must Have Sent You" is a song written by Brian Holland
, Lamont Dozier
, and Eddie Holland
when at Motown, and first recorded by The Elgins
in 1966. It was also a 1979 disco
hit single by Bonnie Pointer
.
R&B chart
and no. 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100
. It was reissued in the UK in 1971, and reached no. 3 on the UK Singles Chart
.
chart
. A 12/8 shuffle, it begins with rhythmic church bells ringing. String instrument
s supply the background for the entire song. After the bells, a funky bass guitar
is played, as a refrain
throughout the song. This can be heard three times between the verses. In the middle of the song, an instrumental interlude is played, with the church bells ringing. At the end of the song, Pointer sings her last lines "It's heaven, it's heaven, I'll love you more each day..." in a lower register, with a raspy tone, reminiscent of Al Jolson.
The special four-on-the-floor rerecorded Motown Disco 12" Single mix of "Heaven Must Have Sent You" includes a much longer instrumental interlude with extra percussion and string solos towards the middle of the song. It was Side 1, while the album version was Side 2.
Brian Holland
Brian Holland is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland. That songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops,...
, Lamont Dozier
Lamont Dozier
Lamont Herbert Dozier is an American songwriter and record producer, born in Detroit, Michigan. Dozier has either co-written or produced several US Billboard #1 hits.-Career:...
, and Eddie Holland
Edward Holland, Jr.
Edward Holland, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter and record producer....
when at Motown, and first recorded by The Elgins
The Elgins
The Elgins were an American vocal group on the Motown label, active from the late 1950s to 1967. Their most successful record was "Heaven Must Have Sent You", written and produced by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, which was a hit in the US in 1966, and in the UK when reissued in...
in 1966. It was also a 1979 disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
hit single by Bonnie Pointer
Bonnie Pointer
Patricia Eva "Bonnie" Pointer is an American R&B and disco singer, most notable for being the next-to-youngest member of the 1970s and 1980s family music group, The Pointer Sisters. She scored several moderate solo hits after leaving the Pointers in 1977, including a disco cover of The Elgins'...
.
The Elgins
The version by the Elgins, released on the Motown subsidiary V.I.P. Records label, reached no. 9 on the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
and no. 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It was reissued in the UK in 1971, and reached no. 3 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Bonnie Pointer
Bonnie Pointer's version reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. A 12/8 shuffle, it begins with rhythmic church bells ringing. String instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s supply the background for the entire song. After the bells, a funky bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
is played, as a refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
throughout the song. This can be heard three times between the verses. In the middle of the song, an instrumental interlude is played, with the church bells ringing. At the end of the song, Pointer sings her last lines "It's heaven, it's heaven, I'll love you more each day..." in a lower register, with a raspy tone, reminiscent of Al Jolson.
The special four-on-the-floor rerecorded Motown Disco 12" Single mix of "Heaven Must Have Sent You" includes a much longer instrumental interlude with extra percussion and string solos towards the middle of the song. It was Side 1, while the album version was Side 2.