"Strange Love" is a song that was issued as the third single by Motown

Motown Records

Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...

 singer Mary Wells

Mary Wells

Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...

. The song would be later issued on Wells' second album, The One Who Really Loves You

The One Who Really Loves You

The One Who Really Loves You is the second album recorded by R&B singer and Motown recording artist Mary Wells, released in 1962 on the Motown label. Released after the runaway success of Wells' first top ten pop singles, the album became Motown's first top ten album peaking at number 8 on the pop...

.

Song information

The song talks of a woman who says despite the fact she has separated from a former lover, she still has emotions for him often recalling memories of the lover and says the harder she tries to get rid of the memories, the more she wants him back. It was a rare ballad released by the teenage crooner.

Charts

Released shortly after her second single, "I Don't Want to Take a Chance

I Don't Want to Take a Chance

"I Don't Want to Take a Chance" is a single released by Mary Wells in 1961 on the Motown label. It was the second single release from Wells, who hit the charts with her Jackie Wilson-esque "Bye Bye Baby"....

" became her first top 40 hit in 1961, the single failed to chart which resulted in Motown CEO Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...

 hiring different writers to give Wells a more polished pop sound, finally finding the answer in Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson

William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...

. This song was composed by Mickey Stevenson and George Gordy.

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Mary Wells
  Mary Wells
  Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...
  
  
• Background vocals by The Andantes
  The Andantes
  The Andantes were a prolific female sessions group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
  
  
• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
  The Funk Brothers
  The Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...