Whole Lotta' Woman

"Whole Lotta Woman" is a 1961 single recorded by The Contours for the Motown Records label. Written by Smokey Robinson (of The Miracles), and Contours group members Billy Hoggs and Billy Gordon,(the group's lead singers), and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., it was the group's debut single for Motown.

Two versions of this song was released, with very notable changes. The first version was raw, more soulful, and had minimal orchestration. The second version was more conventional, and made for a national release. There was also a personnel change in between the two versions: The first one was the only recording of the group (other than the B-side "Come On And Be Mine") that feature the vocals of original member Leroy Fair, who was replaced by Sylvester Potts by the time they recorded the second version.

Both versions of the single received a lot of airplay on local Detroit stations, but it did not chart nationally. However, two singles later The Contours would finally score a hit with 1962's "Do You Love Me".

Whole Lotta Woman

"Whole Lotta Woman" is a song written and originally performed by American country and rockabilly singer Marvin Rainwater. It was released as a single by MGM Records in January 1958.

The song was recorded in December 1957 at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Session musicians were Hank Garland (guitar), Grady Martin (guitar), Floyd "Lightnin'" Chance (bass), Buddy Harman (drums), and Floyd Cramer (piano). The session was produced by Jim Vienneau.

The record reached no. 15 on the Billboard magazine country chart, and no. 60 on the pop chart. However, it was far more successful in the United Kingdom, where it entered the UK Singles Chart on 7 March 1958, and reached the no. 1 position on 25 April, replacing Perry Como's "Magic Moments". It stayed at no. 1 in the UK for three weeks. Rainwater toured in the UK to promote the record, starting on 20 April 1958.

Chart performance

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