Details vary as to how the Doris Troy version came to be released on Atlantic Records. According to the book Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, James Brown saw Troy performing in a nightclub, and introduced her to Atlantic. According to a more recent and detailed story in Soulful Divas, Payne recorded a studio demo of the song and took it to Sue Records first, but their lack of response led her to offer it to Jerry Wexler at Atlantic, where the label released the demo unchanged. The personnel on this song included Ernie Hayes on piano, Wally Richardson on guitar, Bob Bushnell on bass and Bernard Purdie on drums. The single's release was the first time she started using "Doris Troy" as her stage name, though her pen name remained Doris Payne. The album also lists the surname Payne in the songwriting credits.
Reception
In 1963, Doris Troy scored her only hit on the U.S. BillboardHot 100 chart with "Just One Look". The song spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 10, while reaching No. 3 on Billboards Hot R&B Singles chart, No. 8 on New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade", and No. 1 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade. The song also charted at No. 9 on the Cash Box Top 100, in a tandem ranking with the version by Andy and the Marglows, with Troy's version marked as a bestseller. The song was ranked No. 70 on Billboards end of year ranking "Top Records of 1963", while being ranked No. 80 on Cash Boxs "Top 100 Chart Hits of 1963", and No. 11 on Billboards "Top R&B Singles for 1963".
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
In television advertisements
Doris Troy's version of the song was featured in a 1991 Pepsi commercial starring Cindy Crawford, which was reaired during Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. An updated version of the ad, still featuring Cindy Crawford and Troy's version of the song aired in 2002. In 2015, Troy's version of the song was featured in an ad for Aspartame Free Diet Pepsi. The song was also used in a series of commercials for Mazda beginning in 1979 and continuing into the early 1980s, using a different version recorded for the ads.
The Hollies version
Background
"Just One Look" became a hit in the United Kingdom via a cover version by the Hollies which reached No. 2 on the Record Retailer chart in April 1964. It became the 37th biggest hit of the year. Although not a major U.S. hit in its original release, the Hollies' "Just One Look" marked the first appearance of the Hollies on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 98. A U.S. re-issue in 1967 reached No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Chart
Peak position
Canada
30
United States
44
Anne Murray version
Background
remade "Just One Look" for her 1974 Love Song album. The track was produced by Brian Ahern and issued as a single that October. Her cover reached No. 11 on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart, No. 12 on Canada's CHUM 30, and spent two weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 86. It also reached No. 50 on Billboards Easy Listening chart. The song's B-side, "Son of a Rotten Gambler", reached No. 1 on RPMs Adult Contemporary chart and No. 3 on RPMs Country chart in 1974.
Linda Ronstadt version
Background
remade "Just One Look" for her 1978 album Living in the USA. Her cover of the song was issued on Asylum Records as the album's third single on January 23, 1979 and was produced by Peter Asher. Ronstadt's single spent eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 44, while reaching No. 5 on Billboards Easy Listening chart. It also peaked at No. 46 on the Cash Box Top 100 and No. 54 on the Record World Singles chart.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Other versions
American Motown girlgroup Martha and the Vandellas recorded the song for their 1963 album Heat Wave.
