Born Agatha Nathalia Weston in Detroit, Michigan, she was signed to Motown Records in 1961, scoring a minor hit with "Love Me All the Way" (R&B #24, Pop #88). Weston's biggest solo hits with Motown were "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" (R&B #4, Pop #50, 1965, later covered by The Isley Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Doobie Brothers, and "Helpless" (R&B #13, Pop #56, 1966, previously recorded by The Four Tops on their Second Album LP). Her biggest claim to fame was singing the classic hit "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye in 1966 and her later recording of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing". It was the success of "It Takes Two" that caused Motown to partner Gaye with Tammi Terrell, spawning even more success for the label.
Weston left Motown in 1967 and later sued the label over disputes about royalties. She and her then-husband William "Mickey" Stevenson (former A&R head at Motown) both went to MGM Records. Weston cut a couple of singles for MGM, "I Got What You Need," and "Nobody," which went largely unnoticed due to lack of airplay and promotion. She made an album for the label, This Is America, which included her popular version of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This was released as a single and featured in the movie Wattstax. All the money from the single was donated to the United Negro College Fund.
She recorded several more albums for various labels, Stax/Volt among them, and also made an album of duets with Johnny Nash. None of these recordings charted, and Weston reportedly relocated to Israel, where she worked with young singers.
Weston made a guest appearance on The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971), in episode #50 in March 1971.
Along with many former Motown artists, she signed with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records in the 1980s, releasing the single "Signal Your Intention", which peaked at #1 in the UK Hi-NRG charts. It was followed by the album Investigate (1990), which included some re-recordings of her Motown hits as well as new material. A second album for the label, Talking Loud (1992), was never released, although all the songs were included on the compilation The Best Of Kim Weston (1996).
Today Weston is a disc jockey on a local Detroit radio station, where she sponsors the summer events at Hart Plaza. She also tours sporadically, often alongside former Motown colleagues Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves and Brenda Holloway. She is also featured on the 2006 four-CD release of the Motortown Revue series. In Cleveland, Ohio On August 17, 2013 Kim Weston was the 1st women to be inducted into The Official R&B Music Hall of Fame.
Love
Kim Weston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That lived within the heart of me
All too soon my secret love
Became impatient to be free
So I told a friendly star
The way that dreamers often do
Just how wonderful you are
Now, I shout it from the highest hills
Even told the golden daffodils
At last my hearts an open door
My secret love's no secret anymore
You're my secret love
The song "Love" by Kim Weston is a classic love ballad that talks about how love can no longer be kept as a secret. The song opens with a narration about a secret love that was hidden within the heart of the singer. The tone of the song is deep and the lyrics are insightful as they explore the emotions associated with unrequited love that is hidden from the world. The vocalist expresses how the secret love became impatient to be free, prompting her to reveal her feelings for her lover.
In the next verse, she tells the story of how she confided in a friendly star, just like dreamers do, about how wonderful her lover is, and why she is so in love with him. The star here represents a friend or confidant with whom the singer could share her deepest emotional feelings about her lover. The euphony of the lyrics highlights the beauty of the singer's vocals as she expresses an emotionally charged piece on love.
The chorus of the song is deep and powerful, as the singer belts out how she can shout it from the highest hills and even tells the golden daffodils about her secret love. She emphasizes how her heart is now an open door, and how her secret love is no longer a secret anymore. The song emphasizes the depth of the singer's emotional attachment to the lover, making it a classic love song.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I had a secret love
In the past, I harbored a love that I kept hidden from others
That lived within the heart of me
This love was something that resided deeply within my innermost being
All too soon my secret love
Unexpectedly, my concealed love started to become impatient
Became impatient to be free
It longed to be out in the open, not kept hidden away
So I told a friendly star
To someone or something comforting and approachable, I confided in secret
The way that dreamers often do
I confided in the same manner as a dreamer would share their aspirations
Just how wonderful you are
I expressed passionately how amazing you are
And why I'm so in love with you
I articulated why I have such an intense love for you
Now, I shout it from the highest hills
Now, I boldly proclaim it to everyone, even from the peaks of mountains
Even told the golden daffodils
I shared my love with even the flowers, to demonstrate how widespread my love is
At last my hearts an open door
My heart is now a welcoming portal for love, free of secrets and reservations
My secret love's no secret anymore
The love that I had once kept hidden from society is now out in the open for all to see
You're my secret love
You are my love that I had kept hidden
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Paul Francis Webster, Sammy Fain
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@creolelady4096
This is my favorite song by Ms
Kim. They played this a lot on Black Radio in Philly. I can remember my mother in the kitchen cooking and singing along on that old radio we had sitting on the window sill. What wonderful memories. Yeeeeeees indeed 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍💯💯💯💯💯💯🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
@RosePerrin
One of the best vocalist I ever heard When I was 12 years old, my mother played this song so much that it grew on me. I could tell that she was a hurting woman because of "The other woman." Still' at 72 years old' it's still one of my all time favorite songs. I didn't understand what this song meant to my mother until I met a man that still wanted to be home and in the streets at the same time. Truly music can tell a timeless story.. This was mine.
@chiefdixon9723
That wonderful, raspy voice just gets me every time I play this song.
@nathanielhill9421
kim sang the sh$t out of this song.Love it.I listened to it over and over.
@sharonavictoria7155
This song is timeless ❤
@oliviaholguin3183
I LOVE THIS SONG I WAS ASKED TO LISTEN TO THIS SONG BACK IN 2014 ITS A BEAUTIFUL SONG ITS A SONG YOU CAN HEAR OVER AND OVER 💖💞😎 I JUST CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE
@megaoldskool76
This is the first song I ever downloaded about 20 yrs ago for my godfather. Kim belted out this song like she was in church, and those background singers, FORGET ABOUT IT!!!! Classic!!
@niceywilliams9408
This is a real love song. ❤
@darrylevans4401
This is greatest record Kim Weston ever made she kills it on this one. Play it all the time on my internet radio show Classic Soul me the Masterblaster mercy.
@MrKingGator
I love Kim Weston I still DJ this 2020