The Way You Do The Things You Do

"The Way You Do The Things You Do" by Rita Coolidge

There's a special pleasure in hearing a great singer breathe new life into a beloved classic, and that is exactly what Rita Coolidge offered at the close of the 1970s. Coolidge was a respected vocalist with a warm, soulful voice and a gift for interpretation, an artist who had built a career on bringing her own sensibility to songs both new and familiar. By the late 1970s she was enjoying a successful run on the charts, and she turned her attention to a Motown gem from an earlier era.

An Interpreter of Note

Rita Coolidge made her name as a singer of considerable skill and emotional warmth, often finding success with thoughtful covers that she reshaped in her own image. She had a particular talent for taking established songs and revealing fresh dimensions in them, drawing on her soulful, expressive delivery. By the time she recorded this track, she was an established star with a string of hits, an artist whose interpretations carried genuine weight and earned her a loyal following.

Reviving a Motown Classic

"The Way You Do The Things You Do" was originally a landmark hit for The Temptations, one of the songs that helped define the early Motown sound. Coolidge's decision to cover it brought the classic to a new generation and a new context. Her version reframed the upbeat original in her own warm, melodic style, smoothing it into a sound that fit the late-1970s pop landscape. That ability to honor the original while making it her own was a hallmark of her best work.

A Successful Chart Run

On the Billboard Hot 100, Coolidge's version performed well. It debuted at number 84 on January 14, 1978, then climbed steadily, reaching number 73, then 58, then 38 over successive weeks. The song continued to rise and eventually peaked at number 20 on March 11, 1978, cracking the top twenty. It spent a solid 11 weeks on the chart, confirming Coolidge's standing as a reliable hitmaker and her skill at turning a classic into a contemporary success.

The Art of the Cover

Coolidge belonged to a tradition of artists who understood that a cover version is its own form of creativity. The challenge is not simply to repeat a beloved song but to find something fresh within it, to reveal a new angle while respecting what made the original great. She approached this Motown classic with that mindset, softening its bounce and infusing it with her own soulful warmth rather than chasing a faithful imitation. The result honored the source material while standing comfortably on its own, a balance that requires real taste and judgment. Her success with the song demonstrated how a skilled interpreter could make familiar material feel new, a skill that defined the most rewarding parts of her catalog. In an age when many singers built careers on writing their own material, Coolidge proved that the art of interpretation was every bit as valuable and demanding.

Part of a Soulful Legacy

Rita Coolidge's career was built on a series of well-chosen, beautifully delivered songs, and this cover was a notable entry among them. It demonstrated her knack for selecting strong material and interpreting it with warmth and taste. Her reputation as a gifted vocalist and interpreter rests on recordings like this one. For fans of late-1970s soft soul and pop, her take on the Motown classic remains a satisfying and graceful listen.

Press play and hear a soulful voice reimagine a Motown treasure for a new decade. Coolidge's warmth gives the familiar song a fresh glow, the work of a singer who understood that the finest covers honor their sources while bringing something genuinely new, and who did exactly that with grace and taste.

"The Way You Do The Things You Do" — Rita Coolidge's singular moment on the 1970s charts.