You're the Greatest Lover


"You're the Greatest Lover" is a single by Dutch girl group Luv'. It was first released in July 1978 by Philips/Phonogram Records. It appears on the 1978 debut album With Luv' and on compilations. It is the group's international breakthrough as it was successful in a large part of Continental Europe and South Africa. Luv' reached its peak with this million seller. It is often considered as the signature song of the female pop act.
A decade later, the German subsidiary of Philips re-issued the track on a CD single. In 1993, the Dutch Top 40 hit "Megamix '93" was backed with a Eurodance remix of "The Greatest Lover".

Background

In the spring of 1978, manager :nl:Han Meijer |Han Meijer filed a lawsuit against Patty Brard, José Hoebee and Marga Scheide who were not satisfied by the way he developed their career. Meijer considered the name of the formation as his ownership and took the three singers to court about the use of it. Finally, in early June 1978, the ladies won the legal action and were officially allowed to be named Luv'. Pim ter Linde became their new manager. They were ready to concentrate on their main goal: to have an international career.
After the success of "U.O.Me" in Benelux, Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer, the group's songwriters, noticed that the light pop/disco and Latin American arrangements were more appropriate than a more serious repertoire. They composed "You're the Greatest Lover" which featured Spanish guitars. It became a big selling record as it entered the charts in a dozen countries. This track was the first of a string of international hit singles. It reached the first position in some countries in Continental Europe. It was entitled "Sing Me, Sing Me a Chanson" to adapt the French market and succeeded in reaching the Top 20 in South Africa. A Spanish version was recorded, which permitted Luv' to have a minor hit in Spain.
Because Luv' performed "You're the Greatest Lover" on two famous German TV music shows, the female pop trio became a household group in German speaking countries. The song, which sold 600.000 units in Germany was part of the soundtrack of the fifty-fourth episode of Derrick .
The track was also used over the credits of a 1979 German sex comedy film called Sunnyboy und Sugarbaby, which received significant late-night airplay in the early days of HBO under its English-language title, She's 19 and Ready. The song was also popular behind the Iron Curtain, especially in East Germany, Poland and Hungary as it was frequently aired on communist radio stations. However, records distribution was limited in the Eastern Bloc. Sales were hard to evaluate in this part of the world.

Track listing and release

Philips/Phonogram licensed the rights for Luv's records to various labels around the world.

1978 Original release: 7" Vinyl

  1. "You're the Greatest Lover" - 2:50
  2. "Everybody's Shaking Hands On Broadway" - 3:27
CountriesYearLabelCatalog number
Netherlands/Belgium/Spain/New Zealand/Norway1978Philips/Phonogram Records6012828
France1978Philips/Phonogram Records6173627
Germany1978Carrere Records2044122
Italy1978Carrere RecordsCAR OO1
UK1978Carrere Records/EMIEMI 2888
Poland1978Tonpress735
Canada1978Mercury RecordsM-76005
South Africa1978Philips/Phonogram RecordsTOS 1192
Japan1978Carrere RecordsSFL 2374
Turkey1978WestW 29
Brazil1979Philips/Phonogram Records6012898

1989 Re-issue: Mini CD single

  1. "You're the Greatest Lover"
  2. "Everybody's Shaking Hands On Broadway"
  3. "Trojan Horse"

    Cover versions

"You're the Greatest Lover" was a #1 hit single in the Netherlands, Flanders, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. It was also successful in Austria and South Africa and to a lesser extent in France. Because of the good performance in the above-mentioned territories, the record reached the 5th position of the Europarade which combined the weekly charts of various European countries into a single countdown.
Chart Peak
position		Certification
Austria2
Belgium/Flanders1Gold
Denmark 1
Europarade 5-
France19
Germany1Gold
Netherlands 1Platinum
Netherlands 1-
South Africa15
Switzerland1

1989 reissue, appearance on compilations and 1993 remix

In 1989, Luv' was reformed by original member Marga Scheide and two other vocalists to promote new recordings released by Dureco Records. At the same time, Luv's first record company, Philips, decided to repackage the old repertoire of the pop act. That's why a Mini CD single came out in Germany only, which included three songs from the original group's back catalogue: the 1978 number one hits "You're the Greatest Lover" and Trojan Horse as well as the disco track Everybody's Shakin' Hands On Broadway. In 1993, a Dance remix was included on the CD single version of Megamix '93. Moreover, because of its popularity, "The Greatest Lover" was part of the track listings of Luv's main compilations.