"Standing in the Shadows of Love" is a 1966 hit single recorded by The Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, the song is one of the most well-known Motown tunes of the 1960s. A direct follow-up to the #1 hit "Reach Out I'll Be There" (even featuring a similar musical arrangement), "Standing in the Shadows of Love" reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.

This song is referenced in the John Mellencamp hit "Lonely Ol' Night" from the 1985 Scarecrow album: "Radio playing softly some singer's sad sad song. He's singing about standing in the shadows of love; I guess he feels awfully alone." In 1990, rock band Aerosmith released the single "The Other Side", which Holland-Dozier-Holland claimed had a riff strongly resembling "Standing in the Shadows of Love". To avoid a lawsuit, Aerosmith's lawyers arranged to give Holland-Dozier-Holland a songwriting credit on "The Other Side".

It is ranked #464 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

[edit] Cover versions

The song has been covered by many artists, like The Jackson 5 in their first album aired in 1969 Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, Barry White, in his 1973 album I've Got So Much To Give (with an extended instrumental intro), or France Joli in her 1983 dance album Attitude.