Bernadette (Four Tops song)

"Bernadette"
Single by Four Tops
from the album Reach Out
B-side"Something About You" or "I Got a Feeling"
ReleasedFebruary 16, 1967
RecordedHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); January 25, 1967
GenreSoul, pop
Length3:00
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)Brian Holland
Lamont Dozier
Four Tops singles chronology
"Standing in the Shadows of Love"
(1966) 		"Bernadette"
(1967) 		"7 Rooms of Gloom"
(1967)

"Bernadette" is a 1967 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. The song was written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland, Motown's main songwriting team, and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier.

Billboard described the song as a "hard-driving rocker" with an "outstanding performance by the group."[1] Cash Box called the single a "pulsating Detroit lid underscored by that steady, danceable rhythm."[2] The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the Cash Box Top 100. [3] On the R&B chart, "Bernadette" went to #3..[4] It also reached #8 in the UK and was a hit again in 1972, reaching #23.[5]

The song is notable for its false ending, where the instruments drop out and the background singers hold a chord. Lead singer Levi Stubbs then shouts "Bernadette!" and the song resumes, ending in a fade-out. Critic Maury Dean described the effectiveness of Stubb's shout of "Bernadette!" as being the key ingredient in getting listeners to buy the record, even if Bernadette herself may not have heard him.[6]

AllMusic critic John Bush calls it "dramatic" and "impassioned."[7]

  1. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. March 4, 1967. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  2. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 4, 1967. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996. Record Research. p. 148.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 212.
  5. ^ "Four Tops charts". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  6. ^ Dean, M. (2003). Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 164. ISBN 0875862071.
  7. ^ Bush, J. "Reach Out". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-15.