Reunited

Album

2 Hot

Label

Polydor Records

Genre

Rhythm & Blues

Composer(s)

Dino Fekaris;Freddie Perren

Entered Chart

Mar 17, 1979

Peak Date

May 5, 1979

Released

March 1979

Recorded

1978

Catalog #

Polydor 14547

B-Side

Easy As Pie

The original Peaches and Herb were Herbert "Herb" Feemster and Francine "Peaches" Barker (nicknamed thus as a child because of her prim demeanor). They had a Top 10 US single in 1967 with "Close Your Eyes." When Barker got married in 1970, Feemster left the music business and joined the police. He returned in 1975 with Linda Greene, who was recommended to him by the record producer Van McCoy. They retained the name Peaches & Herb and successfully recorded a disco-oriented million seller "Shake Your Groove Thing." The follow-up was the ballad "Reunited," the words about lovers getting back together again so touched Greene that she cried when she first heard the song. It became their biggest hit in both the UK and US. As detailed in a 2009 interview with The Washington Post, Herb Feemster has been a court security officer since 1986, performing on occasion as Peaches & Herb with various versions of Peaches. Feemster doesn't have to work, as he makes plenty of money from royalty payments. But, says Feemster, "I want to work till I die. I don't believe in retirement." The song was written by the team of Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren, and produced by Perren at the studio he owned in Los Angeles called Mom & Pop's Company Store. Perren and Fekaris formed their own production company after working at Motown Records, where Perren co-wrote several Jackson 5 hits as part of "The Corporation" team that included label head Berry Gordy. 1979 was big for the duo, which placed two songs at #1 in the US that year - "Reunited" and "I Will Survive." This is one of those songs that sounds like it came from the heart, but according to Freddie Perren, it was really the result of two professional songwriters coming up with a suitable ballad for one of their acts. They started writing it with Perren at the piano in his recording studio. Dino Fekaris, who handled most of the lyrics, worked on the song that night and showed up the next day with the title. When the song made Peaches cry, they knew they had something special. Musicians on this song included Bob "Boogie" Bowles and Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin on guitar, Scott Edwards on bass, and James Gadson on drums. These were some of the top studio musicians of the era, and as Edwards told Songfacts, the producers gave them a lot of leeway when it came to crafting the track. Said Edwards: "Most of the hits were stuff that we came up with ourselves. We'd have a basic chord chart, because at the time the people who were arranging had good ideas for the strings and horns. But as far as the rhythm section, most people, if they were smart, they left the rhythm section alone. Because to get the drums and bass to really lock and still be functional, you really can't control them too much if you're not a drummer or a bass player yourself." This was by far the biggest hit for Peaches & Herb, but it wasn't the first single from the album. "Shake Your Groove Thing" was released first, charting at #5 in March 1979. When some radio stations started playing "Reunited" off the album, the song was quickly issued, going to #1 in May. It was fitting that Peaches & Herb would be reunited, as they had a #46 hit in 1968 with a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff called "United."

I was a fool to ever leave your side
Me minus you is such a lonely ride
The breakup we had has made me lonesome and sad
I realize I love you 'cause I want you bad, hey, hey

I spent the evening with the radio
Regret the moment that I let you go
Our quarrel was such a way of learnin' so much
I know now that I love you 'cause I need your touch, hey, hey

Reunited, and it feels so good
Reunited 'cause we understood
There's one perfect fit
And, sugar, this one is it
We both are so excited 'cause we're reunited, hey, hey

I sat here starin' at the same old wall
Came back to life just when I got your call
I wished I could climb right through the telephone line
And give you what you want so you will still be mine, hey, hey

I can't go cheatin', honey, I can't play
I found it very hard to stay away
As we reminisce on precious moments like this
I'm glad we're back together 'cause I missed your kiss, hey, hey

Reunited, and it feels so good
Reunited 'cause we understood
There's one perfect fit
And, sugar, this one is it
We both are so excited 'cause we're reunited, hey, hey

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Baby

Lover, lover, this is solid love
And you're exactly what I'm dreamin' of
All through the day
And all through the night
I'll give you all the love I have with all my might, hey, hey

Reunited, and it feels so good
Reunited 'cause we understood
There's one perfect fit
And, sugar, this one is it
We both are so excited 'cause we're reunited, hey, hey