Released February 16, 1967 Genre Soul, pop | Format 7" single Length 3:00 | |
B-side "Something About You" or "I Got a Feeling" Recorded Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A)
Detroit, Michigan; 1966 | ||
"Bernadette" is a 1967 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. The song was written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland, Motown's main songwriting team, and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier.
The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was The Four Tops's final Top 10 hit of the 1960s. On the soul chart, "Bernadette" went to number three. It also reached #8 in the UK on its first release and was a hit again in 1972, reaching #23.
The song is notable for its false ending, where the instruments drop out and the background singers hold a chord. The lead singer then shouts "Bernadette" and the song resumes, ending in a fade-out. Critic Maury Dean described the effectiveness of Stubb's shout of "BERNADETTE!!!" as being the key ingredient in getting listeners to buy the record, even if Bernadette herself may not have heard him.
Allmusic critic John Bush calls it "dramatic" and "impassioned."