Throwing back to the week of Oct. 12, 1974, we find Billy Preston atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Nothing from Nothing,’ one of his three #1 hits, and one I’ve already featured on the blog.
At #2 that week was a collaboration between Dionne Warwick and The Spinners — ‘Then Came You’ — that eventually gave both artists their first chart-topping hit.
Warwick’s only other #1 hit came in 1985 with the charity single That’s What Friends Are For,’ recorded with Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder to raise money for AIDS research.
The Spinners came close, with two #2 hits, but never reached the top spot again.
If you look closely at the album cover pictured above, you’ll see that Warwick spelled her name with an ‘e’ at the end. She did this in the early 70s on the advice of an astrologer friend who said it would bring her more success. She eventually changed it back after a drought in her sales.
Ever since I met you
Seems I can’t forget you
The thought of you
Keeps running through the back of my mind
Every time I’m near ya
I get that urge to feel ya
Just touching you
And loving you makes everything right
(Tell me how you feel, baby)
[Chorus]
I never knew love before (Oh, no)
Then came you, you
Then came you
I never knew love before
Then came you
Then came you
You
[Verse 2]
Now that I have found ya
How did I live without ya?
(I don’t know, baby)
It’s plain to see
You’re all I need to satisfy me
I’m so darned proud of ya
I wanna sing about ya
(Sing it, sing it, sing it, baby)
All I know
You made love grow
By touching my hand
Oh, oh
[Chorus]
I never knew love before
Then came you (You)
Then came you, ooh
I never knew love before
Then came you (Ooh)
Then came you
Hey, then came you
[Chorus]
Whoa-oh-oh
I never knew love before
Then came you
Then came you
I never knew love before
Then came you, you
Then came you
[Outro]
Whoa-oh-oh
I never knew love before
(They told me all about you)
Then came you (And uh, I got to love you)
Then came you (Then came you) (You, you)
I never knew love before, hey
Then came you
(With your loving touch) (You, you, you, you, you, you)
Then came you (Yeah) (Hey, hey)
You know that I never knew love before
(I got to hand it to you, baby) (Oh)
Then came you (Then came you)
(Got the power of love)
Then came you (Then came you)
(Got the power of love, baby)
I never knew love before
Then came you
(I wanna tell you that your lovin’, ha, I gotta get it)
Then came you
(Hey, hey, yeah)
(Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh) I never knew love before
Then came you (Oh baby)
Then came you
(I got your lovin’, honey)
I never knew love before
(I’m a contented man)
Then came you
(‘Cause you’re sweeter, sweeter, sweeter, sweeter, sweeter)
Then came you
(Hey, hey, baby) (You, you, you, you, you)
You know that I never knew love before (Oh)
Meet Me In Montauk 
We just saw Saturday Night with Jon Batiste doing a great imitation of Preston performing “Nothing from Nothing.” We then came home and watched the actual performance on the first Saturday Night. Good stuff!