Torn Between Two Lovers (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Torn Between Two Lovers” | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Mary MacGregor | |
| from the album Torn Between Two Lovers | |
| B-side | “I Just Want to Love You” |
| Released | November 1976 |
| Recorded | 1976 |
| Studio | Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama |
| Genre | Soft rock |
| Length | 3:40 |
| Label | Ariola |
| Songwriter(s) | Peter Yarrow Phillip Jarrell |
| Producer(s) | Peter Yarrow Barry Beckett |
| Mary MacGregor singles chronology | |
| “Torn Between Two Lovers“ (1976)”The Girl (Has Turned Into a Woman)” (1977) | |
“Torn Between Two Lovers” is a song written by Peter Yarrow (of the folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary) and Phillip Jarrell that speaks about a love triangle, and laments that “loving both of you is breaking all the rules”. Mary MacGregor recorded it at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 1976 and it became the title track of her first album.
Chart performance
“Torn Between Two Lovers” reached No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart in February 1977 and achieved the same position on the Easy Listening chart in the final week of 1976 and first week of 1977. It also hit No. 1 on the Canadian charts, and peaked at No. 3 on the country charts of both nations. In March 1977, it was No. 4 in the United Kingdom.
Weekly charts
| Chart (1976–77) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 1 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) | 14 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) | 1 |
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM) | 1 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM) | 1 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 5 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 11 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) | 4 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio) | 6 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) | 1 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) | 3 |
| US Cashbox Top 100 | 1 |
| West Germany (Official German Charts) | 40 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1977) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia | 7 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 9 |
| New Zealand | 46 |
| UK | 58 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 19 |
| U.S. Cash Box | 5 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | Gold | 50,000^ |
| ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Cover versions
In 1977, Gracie Rivera recorded “Torn Between Two Lovers” as the first track for her debut album, Gracie. The song became a hit with Hong Kongers and carved her name in their music scene in the ’70s.
“Torn Between Two Lovers” has also been recorded by Johnny Rodriguez for his 1977 album Practice Makes Perfect,
Anna-Lena Löfgren for her 1979 album Lev Som Du Lär and Anita Meyer for her 1984 album Face to Face.
Connie Francis recorded “Torn Between Two Lovers” for her 1989 album release Where the Hits Are which was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and contained a number of songs whose original versions were Muscle Shoals recordings.
Sharon Cuneta recorded her version for her album Isn’t It Romantic Volume 2 in 2007.
Joey Sontz recorded his version for his debut album Chasing the Dream in 2012.
“Torn Between Two Lovers” has been rendered in a number of languages, including Cantonese, “中間人” by Faye Wong from the album Shirley Wong;
German, “Zwischen zwei Gefühlen” by Penny McLean;
Portuguese, “Só, entre dois amores” by Celly Campello (pt);
Dutch, “Hulpeloos verloren” by Conny Vandenbos;
French, “Drame entre deux amours” by Claude François;
Swedish, “Ge mig dina tankar” by Wizex;
and Spanish, “Entre dos amores” by Christie Lee.
The song was mentioned in the lyrics of Dolly Parton‘s 1984 country single “God Won’t Get You“.
- Torn Between Two Lovers – Dave Monk
- Susan Wong – Torn Between Two Lovers
- Teresa- Torn between two lovers
- Torn Between Two Lovers (cover on guitar by Eric )
TV movie
“Torn Between Two Lovers” inspired the title of a television movie aired in 1979, starring Lee Remick, George Peppard and Joseph Bologna, in which the song is played.
Torn Between Two Lovers (album)
| Torn Between Two Lovers | |
|---|---|
| |
| Studio album by Mary MacGregor | |
| Released | 1976 |
| Studio | Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama |
| Genre | Pop |
| Label | Ariola America |
| Producer | Peter Yarrow, Barry Beckett |
| Mary MacGregor chronology | |
| Torn Between Two Lovers (1976)…In Your Eyes (1978) | |
Torn Between Two Lovers is the debut album by Mary MacGregor. It was produced and partly written by Peter Yarrow, and released in 1976.
Release and promotion
The album was released in 1976 and reached the number 17 position on the Billboard 200 chart. Three singles were released in promotion of the album, all reaching both the Country singles and Hot 100 pop charts. The title track was a number-one hit on the pop and adult contemporary charts.
Critical reception
Reviewing in Christgau’s Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau gave the record a “C” and said, “I consider it significant that Peter Yarrow’s first commercial success of the decade is an Olivia Newton-John substitute, albeit one who’s willing to admit she fucks around.”
Track listing
Side one
- “Mama” (Stephen Ferguson)
2. “This Girl (Has Turned Into a Woman)” (Peter Yarrow, Mary MacGregor)
3. “Good Together” (Gretta Larson)
4. “It’s Too Soon (To Let Our Love End)” (Jim Salestrom)
5. “Why Did You Wait (To Tell Me)” (Peter Yarrow)
Side two
- “The Lady I Am” (Gretta Larson)
2. “For a While” (Peter Yarrow, Kevin Hunter)
3. “I Just Want to Love You” (Randy Sharp)
4. “Take Your Love Away” (Randy Sharp)
5. “Torn Between Two Lovers” (Phil Jarrell, Peter Yarrow)
Personnel
- Tim Henson – keyboards
- David Hood – bass guitar
- Roger Hawkins – drums
- Tom Roady – percussion
- Pete Carr – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
- Jimmy Johnson – rhythm guitar
- Ken Bell – acoustic guitar
- Larry Byrom – acoustic guitar on “Good Together”
- Stu Basore – pedal steel guitar
- Barry Beckett – keyboards, synthesizer
- David Campbell – string arrangements and conducting
- Muscle Shoals Horns (Charles Rose, Harrison Calloway, Harvey Thompson, Ronnie Eades)
- Ginger Holladay, Lisa Silver, Sheri Kramer – background vocals
Charts
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 35 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 17 |
| U.S. Country Albums | 3 |
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