Continuing our look at the best soul/R&B songs from that classic year of 1970, here’s today’s classic 1970 song of the day, “Love on a Two-Way Street” by the Moments. This single was released in March of 1970 and rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart) on May 30th. Billboard ranked the record as the #25 song of the entire year.
“Love on a Two-Way Street” was written by Sylvia Robinson and Bert Keyes in 1968. Formerly half of Mickey & Sylvia (with hits like 1957’s “Love is Strange”), Ms. Robinson had several hits of her own, most notably 1973’s “Pillow Talk.” She later went on to found the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records and was responsible for producing the groundbreaking rap hits “Rapper’s Delight” for the Sugarhill Gang and “The Message” for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Bert Keyes previously worked as a pianist and arranger for R&B legends like Ruth Brown and Lavern Baker. He later moved into composing and arranging soundtracks for TV shows and movies.
Their song, “Love on a Two-Way Street,” was originally recorded by Lezli Valentine. You probably haven’t heard that version because you haven’t heard of Ms. Valentine. No worries; the songwriters then took the song to the Moments, who recorded it for Stang Records (apparently with the very same backing track) and made it a hit.
I particularly like this complex multi-syllable rhyme in the verse:
She held me in desperation
I thought it was a revelation
And then she walked out
The Moments first got together in the mid-60s, but their biggest hit came with “Love on a Two-Way Street” at the turn of the decade. There’d been a few personnel changes over the years and the Moments at that moment consisted of singers John Morgan, Al Goodman, and Billy Brown. Morgan left the group shortly after that single was recorded and was replaced by Harry Ray. Under that configuration, they renamed themselves Ray, Goodman & Brown and had another top-ten hit with “Special Lady” in 1979.
Ray, Goodman & Brown continued to perform over the years. Harry Ray died of a stroke in 1992 and Al Goodman passed away in 2010. Billy Brown continues to perform as Ray, Goodman & Brown on the oldies circuit, with the requisite replacement members.
“Love on a Two-Way Street” was a hit again (as “I Found Love on a Two-Way Street”) in 1981 for then-14 year-old Stacy Lattisaw. It’s fairly faithful to the original but definitely has an early-80s sheen to it, with slightly more majestic orchestration. Her version peaked at #25 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart.
