The group signed to Motown Records, but weren't given top priority, as other female vocal groups were attracting audiences and recording hits. While the group awaited their chance at stardom, they recorded backing vocals for more established Motown girl groups, including The Marvelettes, Martha & The Vandellas, and The Supremes.
The Velvelettes got their break in 1964 with "Needle In A Haystack" which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-1964. The group recorded its follow-up, "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'", and spent time on various Motown-sponsored tours as an opening act.
With a song on the charts and a place on several concert tours, The Velvelettes began recording an album. Despite burgeoning success, the members of the group began to disagree about the music they were recording. Half wanted to record more mature songs and thought the material was trite, while the other half didn't want to rock the boat so early in their career.
Motown became apprehensive about the group's potential, and wary of the expense of the recordings. Not wanting to let good time and money go to waste, the label released two additional singles, "Lonely Lonely Girl Am I" and "A Bird In The Hand," as the group endured several line-up changes. Both singles flopped, and Motown cancelled the scheduled release of the group's eponymous debut album.
The last Velvelettes recordings included "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You," which became their last American single. They officially broke up in early to mid 1970.
The group reunited in 1984, when the Gill sisters and Barbee cousins re-recorded their original hits with some new songs for the album One Door Closes. The group continues to tour today.
Since You've Been Loving Me
The Velvelettes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You′ve filled with happiness
Since you've been loving me
Baby, since you′ve been loving me
You've changed my world of emptiness
Into a world of tenderness
Since you've been loving me
Baby, since you′ve been loving me
Since you came into my life
I dream a different kind of dream at night
Instead of crying myself to sleep
I think of the next time oh yes we′ll meet
Instead of closing my eyes, counting the tears
I visualize our love growing through the years
With these words you speak so sweet
You make me feel, feel so complete
So darlin' keep on
(Keep on lovin′ me the way that you're lovin′ me
Keep on lovin' me the way that you′re lovin' me
Keep on needin' me the way that you′re needin′ me)
The way that you're needing me
′Cause baby baby, since you've been loving me
You′ve made my life more worthwhile
So sweet, so complete, so keep on loving me
The Velvelettes's song Since You've Been Loving Me is a love song that expresses the way the singer's world has changed since they met their lover. The song is a perfect example of how love can transform someone's life completely. The first verse of the song talks about how the lover has brought happiness in the singer's world of loneliness. The singer had a life of emptiness until their lover arrived and brought love and tenderness. The second verse goes in-depth about how things have changed since they met their lover. They dream of different and positive things now, and they no longer cry themselves to sleep. The idea of meeting again fills the singer's heart with joy, and instead of counting tears, they visualize a growth in their relationship.
The chorus of the song is an affirmation of the singer's love for their partner. They want their partner to keep on loving them as they are doing. The way their partner loves them has made their life more worthwhile, sweet, and complete, and they couldn't be happier. It all comes down to how love can make one feel more alive and completely transform an empty and lonely life. The song is a tribute to the power of love and how it can change our lives entirely.
Line by Line Meaning
My world of loneliness
The singer is referring to their world as a lonely one.
You've filled with happiness
The person being addressed has brought happiness into the singer's life.
Since you've been loving me
The happiness that has been brought into the singer's life has been due to the love shown by the addressee.
Baby, since you've been loving me
The artist refers to the addressee as 'baby', and reiterates that the change in their life has been due to the love shown by the addressee.
You've changed my world of emptiness
The addressee has brought about a significant change in the artist's life, which used to be empty.
Into a world of tenderness
The addressee's love has transformed the singer's empty life into one that is full of tenderness.
Since you've been loving me
The singer reiterates that the change in their life has been due to the love shown by the addressee.
Baby, since you've been loving me
The artist reiterates that the love shown by the addressee has been the reason for the positive changes in their life.
Since you came into my life
The artist is referring to the time when the addressee entered their life.
I dream a different kind of dream at night
The artist's dreams have changed since the addressee entered their life.
Instead of crying myself to sleep
The singer used to cry themselves to sleep before the addressee entered their life.
I think of the next time oh yes we'll meet
Now, the artist thinks about the next time they will meet the addressee.
Instead of closing my eyes, counting the tears
Before the addressee entered their life, the singer used to count their tears before closing their eyes.
I visualize our love growing through the years
Now, the singer visualizes their love growing over the years.
With these words you speak so sweet
The addressee's sweet words have had an impact on the singer.
You make me feel, feel so complete
The addressee's love and sweet words make the artist feel complete.
So darlin' keep on
The artist addresses the addressee as 'darlin', and urges them to continue showing love.
(Keep on lovin' me the way that you're lovin' me
The singer wants the addressee to continue loving them in the same way that they are currently doing so.
Keep on needin' me the way that you're needin' me)
The singer wants the addressee to continue needing them in the same way that they are currently doing so.
′Cause baby baby, since you've been loving me
The artist addresses the addressee as 'baby baby', and reiterates that their life has changed due to the love shown by the addressee.
You′ve made my life more worthwhile
The addressee has made the artist's life more meaningful and worthwhile.
So sweet, so complete, so keep on loving me
The artist is overwhelmed by the sweetness and completeness that the addressee brings into their life, and urges them to continue showing love.
Writer(s): Edward Holland Jr., Marv Johnson
Contributed by Avery H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
008BUCKINSSR
SUPER! SUPER! AWESOME! TUNE!
Stephen Bynum
Since You've Been Loving Me By The Velvelettes
M M
😂😂
Mike Cook (Cookie) All Things Soulful ✊️
Thanks for the information 👍
I was having a bitch of a time trying to figure out who the artists were and the song title. You would think the person who posted it would have put that in the title instead of us having to look through the comments and hope to hell there is someone as thoughtful as you who could leave the information for others to see. Well done you 👏
Not only that, there was no fookin about by dressing it up with a comment about the actual record itself... just the artists & title; nothing else, just that 👏 👏 👏