The Mindbenders: A Groovy Kind Of Love - 1966 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit)

The Mindbenders: A Groovy Kind Of Love - 1966 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit)

Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders had enjoyed a cross-Atlantic hit with the song "The Game of Love", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number two in the UK's Record Retailer. However, towards autumn of 1965 Fontana suddenly left the band to embark on a solo career. The trio continued performing however, with guitarist Eric Stewart, later of 10cc, taking the role of a lead vocalist. Shelby Singleton handed the song "A Groovy Kind of Love" to the group after deciding not to record it with Lesley Gore. However, in an interview with Keith Altham from New Musical Express, Mindbenders bassist Bob Lang claimed he found a demo of "A Groovy Kind Of Love" on their manager Danny Betesh's desk. Alternatively, other sources claim Jack McGraw, who ran the Screen Gems offices in London, discovered the song and thought it was a perfect match for Stewart's voice.

It was recorded with lead vocal by Eric Stewart and vocal backing consisting of Lang, drummer Ric Rothwell and a female singer in 1965 with Jack Baverstock producing. The single was released in the United Kingdom by Fontana Records on December 10, 1965, as the trio's first single without Wayne Fontana. According to Lang, the single initially failed to take off due to the Christmas rush, but eventually charted. It entered the Record Retailer chart on January 19, 1966, at number 34 before peaking at number two on March 16. It was kept from the number one spot by "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra. It exited the chart on April 20 at a position of 37 after spending 14 weeks on the chart. In the US, the single entered the Billboard Hot 100 on April 10 at a position of 78, before reaching its peak of number two on May 28, 1966, a position it would hold for two weeks. "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge kept the song from reaching the top spot. It exited on July 9 at a position of 44 after spending 13 weeks on the chart.

Upon the single reaching the top ten in the US, Toni Wine phoned her mother, stating that she "was quitting her job" due to the success. Coincidentally, it reached number one on the Cashbox Top 100 and in Record World on the day of her nineteenth birthday, June 4. Pre-orders for the single were estimated to be 250 thousand copies in the UK alone and it would go on to sell over a million copies there in total. It was the trio's only top-fifty single in the US, which has led them to being labeled a one-hit wonder there. "A Groovy Kind of Love" is also credited with bringing the word "groovy" back into the mainstream vocabulary of the 1960s. According to Randy McNutt, in the modern day, "many excellent songs are dated just by one reference to the word 'groovy'" (such as "Groovin'" by The Young Rascals).

It was favorably reviewed in the press upon release. Writing for New Musical Express, Derek Johnson states that it was a "commendable first disc", stating it to be an "attractively harmonized rockaballad". However, he also states that the record "needs a few more spins" in order to register and claims that he was uncertain if it would become a hit. In Cashbox magazine, the staff writer describes the single as a "soft, slow telling of a touching love tale", with "sweet sweeping" orchestration. Following the single's success, it was issued on the Mindbenders eponymous debut album in the UK, while it was the title track of said album in the US.