the role of a lead vocalist. In search of new material, Shelby Singleton handed the song to the group after rejecting 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. Nonetheless, it was recorded together with a lead vocal by Eric Stewart with 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 Worldon 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 getting the label of being a one-hit wonder there. "A Groovy Kind of Love" is also credited with bringing the word "groovy"