"Beechwood 4-5789" | ||||
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Single by The Marvelettes | ||||
from the album Playboy | ||||
B-side | "Someday, Someway" | |||
Released | July 11, 1962 | |||
Format | 7" single | |||
Recorded | May 19, 1962 | |||
Genre | Rock and roll, soul, doo-wop, R&B | |||
Length | 2:13 | |||
Label |
Tamla T 54065 |
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Writer(s) |
Marvin Gaye William "Mickey" Stevenson George Gordy |
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Producer(s) | William "Mickey" Stevenson | |||
The Marvelettes singles chronology | ||||
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"Beechwood 4-5789" | ||||
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Single by The Carpenters | ||||
from the album Made in America | ||||
B-side | "Two Sides" | |||
Released | January 1982 | |||
Format | 7" single | |||
Recorded | 1980–1981 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:06 | |||
Label |
A&M 2344 |
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Writer(s) |
Marvin Gaye William "Mickey" Stevenson George Gordy |
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Producer(s) | Richard Carpenter | |||
The Carpenters singles chronology | ||||
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"Beechwood 4-5789" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and George Gordy. It was a 1962 hit single for the Motown girl group The Marvelettes on Motown's Tamla subsidiary record label. The song became a hit again when it was covered by the pop duo The Carpenters in 1982.
The lyrics are about the singer wanting a man she just met to call her number in order to "have a date, any ol' time." Like with all the Marvelettes' other singles during the first phase of the group's career, the lead vocal was by Gladys Horton. The song's co-writer Marvin Gaye played drums on the track, which William Stevenson produced. The single was taken from the group's album, Playboy.
The song's title is derived from the now-defunct use of telephone exchange names in telephone numbers. In this case, the significant portions of the exchange name were the first two letters of "Beechwood" (BE), and the remainder of the number. In conventional modern use, this telephone number would be 234-5789.
"Beechwood 4-5789" has become a signature hit of Motown's early period but was not one of the label's biggest hits.However, it did reach the Pop Top 20, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the autumn of 1962. The track also reached the R&B Top Ten where in fact the single enjoyed double A-side status with "Beechwood 4-5789" reaching number 7 and the flip "Someday, Someway" number 8; the latter track was a ballad from the writing-&-production team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Freddie Gorman and featured Berry Gordy Jr's wife Raynoma Liles as organist.
A remake of "Beechwood 4-5789" was featured on Made in America, a 1981 album by the Carpenters whose 1975 remake of the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" had reached number one.