When She Was My Girl - Misplaced Pages

"When She Was My Girl" is a 1981 single released by American vocal group the Four Tops. The song, their first release off Casablanca Records, helped to return the former signature Motown act to the American pop Top 40 charts, peaking at No. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 10 on the Cashbox chart, and reaching No. 1 on the R&B charts.

Internationally, it reached No. 9 in Canada, No. 6 in New Zealand, and also became their first top 10 hit in the UK in nine years, reaching No. 3. Their top 40 showing made the group one of the few acts to have top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in three consecutive decades. Record World called it an "infectious dancer." "When She Was My Girl" was a Grammy nominee for best R&B song. Bruce Springsteen recorded the song for his 2022 studio album, Only the Strong Survive.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary	3
Canadian RPM Top Singles	9
Ireland	7
New Zealand (RIANZ)	6
UK	3
US Billboard Hot 100	11
US Billboard Adult Contemporary	9
US Cashbox Top 100	10
US Billboard R&B	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Rank
UK	59
US American Top 40	88
US Cash Box	77

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	250,000
Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Credits

Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs and Renaldo "Obie" Benson
Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir and Lawrence Payton
Music Contractor Frank DeCaro

References

Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 212.
"Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. August 22, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
"Item". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013.
The Irish Charts, November 8, 1981
"NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1982-01-10. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 91.
Whitburn, Joel (2005). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research.
"Chartfile Top 100" Record Mirror 26 December 1981: 27
"American Top 40 Year-End Survey 1981" (PDF). charismusicgroup.com. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1981
"British single certifications – Four Tops – When She Was My Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 1, 2022.

External links

v t e Four Tops
Ronnie McNeir Lawrence "Roquel" Payton, Jr. Alexander Morris Michael Brock Harold Bonhart Levi Stubbs Renaldo "Obie" Benson Lawrence Payton Theo Peoples Abdul "Duke" Fakir
Studio albums	Four Tops Four Tops Second Album On Top On Broadway Reach Out Yesterday's Dreams Four Tops Now! Soul Spin Still Waters Run Deep Changing Times Keeper of the Castle Main Street People Meeting of the Minds Night Lights Harmony Catfish The Show Must Go On At the Top Tonight! One More Mountain Back Where I Belong Magic Indestructible Christmas Here with You
Albums with The Supremes	The Magnificent 7 The Return of the Magnificent Seven Dynamite
Compilations and live albums	Four Tops Live! The Four Tops Greatest Hits Live & in Concert The Ultimate Collection
Singles	"Baby I Need Your Loving" "Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)" "Ask the Lonely" "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" "It's the Same Old Song" "Something About You" "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" "Reach Out I'll Be There" "Standing in the Shadows of Love" "Bernadette" "7 Rooms of Gloom" "Walk Away Renée" "If I Were a Carpenter" "Yesterday's Dreams" "I'm in a Different World" "It's All in the Game" "Still Water (Love)" "A Simple Game" "Keeper of the Castle" "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" "When She Was My Girl" "Loco in Acapulco"
Related topics	Discography The Andantes Holland–Dozier–Holland The Supremes

v t e Four Tops singles discography
1960s	1964 "Baby I Need Your Loving" "Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)" 1965 "Ask the Lonely" "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" "It's the Same Old Song" "Something About You" 1966 "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" "Reach Out I'll Be There" "Standing in the Shadows of Love" 1967 "Bernadette" "7-Rooms of Gloom" / "I'll Turn to Stone" "You Keep Running Away" 1968 "Walk Away Renée" "If I Were a Carpenter" "Yesterday's Dreams" "I'm in a Different World" 1969 "What Is a Man" "Do What You Gotta Do" "Don't Let Him Take Your Love from Me"
1970s	1970 "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" (re-issue) "It's All in the Game" "Still Water (Love)" "River Deep – Mountain High" (with The Supremes) 1971 "Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life)" "You Gotta Have Love in Your Heart" (with The Supremes) "In These Changing Times" "MacArthur Park (Part II)" 1972 "A Simple Game" "Bernadette" (re-issue) "Walk with Me, Talk with Me, Darling" "(It's the Way) Nature Planned It" "Keeper of the Castle" 1973 "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" "Are You Man Enough" "Sweet Understanding Love" 1974 "I Just Can't Get You Out of My Mind" "One Chain Don't Make No Prison" "Midnight Flower" 1975 "Seven Lonely Nights" "We All Gotta Stick Together" 1976 "Catfish" "I'm Glad You Walked into My Life"
1980s	1981 "When She Was My Girl" "Don't Walk Away" 1982 "Let Me Set You Free" "Back to School Again" "Sad Hearts" "Tonight I'm Gonna Love You All Over" 1983 "I Believe in You and Me" "I Just Can't Walk Away" 1985 "Sexy Ways" 1988 "Reach Out I'll Be There" (re-issue) "If Ever a Love There Was" (with Aretha Franklin) "Indestructible" "Loco in Acapulco" 1989 "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine"

Four Tops singles discography

1960s

1964: "Baby I Need Your Loving"; "Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)"

1965: "Ask the Lonely"; "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"; "It's the Same Old Song"; "Something About You"

1966: "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)"; "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever"; "Reach Out I'll Be There"; "Standing in the Shadows of Love"

1967: "Bernadette"; "7-Rooms of Gloom" / "I'll Turn to Stone"; "You Keep Running Away"

1968: "Walk Away Renée"; "If I Were a Carpenter"; "Yesterday's Dreams"; "I'm in a Different World"

1969: "What Is a Man"; "Do What You Gotta Do"; "Don't Let Him Take Your Love from Me"

1970s

1970: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" (re-issue); "It's All in the Game"; "Still Water (Love)"; "River Deep – Mountain High" (with The Supremes)

1971: "Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life)"; "You Gotta Have Love in Your Heart" (with The Supremes); "In These Changing Times"; "MacArthur Park (Part II)"

1972: "A Simple Game"; "Bernadette" (re-issue); "Walk with Me, Talk with Me, Darling"; "(It's the Way) Nature Planned It"; "Keeper of the Castle"

1973: "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)"; "Are You Man Enough"; "Sweet Understanding Love"

1974: "I Just Can't Get You Out of My Mind"; "One Chain Don't Make No Prison"; "Midnight Flower"

1975: "Seven Lonely Nights"; "We All Gotta Stick Together"

1976: "Catfish"; "I'm Glad You Walked into My Life"

1980s

1981: "When She Was My Girl"; "Don't Walk Away"

1982: "Let Me Set You Free"; "Back to School Again"; "Sad Hearts"; "Tonight I'm Gonna Love You All Over"

1983: "I Believe in You and Me"; "I Just Can't Walk Away"

1985: "Sexy Ways"

1988: "Reach Out I'll Be There" (re-issue); "If Ever a Love There Was" (with Aretha Franklin); "Indestructible"; "Loco in Acapulco"

1989: "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine"

Bruce Springsteen songs

1970s

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.	"Blinded by the Light" "Growin' Up" "Mary Queen of Arkansas" "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" "Lost in the Flood" "The Angel" "For You" "Spirit in the Night" "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City"
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle	"4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" "Incident on 57th Street" "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
Born to Run	"Thunder Road" "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" "Night" "Backstreets" "Born to Run" "She's the One" "Meeting Across the River" "Jungleland"
Darkness on the Edge of Town	"Badlands" "Adam Raised a Cain" "Racing in the Street" "The Promised Land" "Prove It All Night" "Darkness on the Edge of Town"

1980s

The River	"The Ties That Bind" "Sherry Darling" "Independence Day" "Hungry Heart" "Out in the Street" "The River" "Point Blank" "Cadillac Ranch" "Fade Away" "Stolen Car" "Ramrod" "Wreck on the Highway"
Nebraska	"Nebraska" "Atlantic City" "Johnny 99" "Highway Patrolman" "Open All Night" "My Father's House"
Born in the U.S.A.	"Born in the U.S.A." "Cover Me" "Darlington County" "Working on the Highway" "Downbound Train" "I'm on Fire" "No Surrender" "Bobby Jean" "I'm Goin' Down" "Glory Days" "Dancing in the Dark" "My Hometown"
Tunnel of Love	"Tougher Than the Rest" "Spare Parts" "Tunnel of Love" "Brilliant Disguise" "One Step Up"

1990s

Human Touch	"Human Touch " "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" "Pony Boy"
Lucky Town	"Better Days" "If I Should Fall Behind"
The Ghost of Tom Joad	"The Ghost of Tom Joad" "Youngstown" "The New Timer"

2000s

The Rising	"Lonesome Day" "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" "The Rising" "My City of Ruins"
Magic	"Radio Nowhere" "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" "Long Walk Home"
Working on a Dream	"Outlaw Pete" "My Lucky Day" "Working on a Dream" "The Wrestler"

2010s

Wrecking Ball	"We Take Care of Our Own" "Death to My Hometown" "Wrecking Ball" "Rocky Ground" "Land of Hope and Dreams"
High Hopes	"High Hopes" "American Skin (41 Shots)" "Just Like Fire Would" "Hunter of Invisible Game" "Dream Baby Dream"
Western Stars	"Tucson Train" "Western Stars" "There Goes My Miracle" "Hello Sunshine"

2020s

Letter to You	"Letter to You" "Last Man Standing" "The Power of Prayer" "Ghosts" "I'll See You in My Dreams"
Only the Strong Survive	"Only the Strong Survive" "Nightshift" "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" "Turn Back the Hands of Time" "When She Was My Girl" "Hey, Western Union Man" "I Wish It Would Rain" "Don't Play That Song" "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" "7 Rooms of Gloom" "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" "Someday We'll Be Together"

Other singles

Other songs

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