HEAT WAVE^©

Whenever I'm with him
Something inside
Starts to burnin'
And I'm filled with desire

Could it be the devil in me
Or is this the way love's supposed to be

Just like a heat wave
Burning in my heart
Can't keep from cryin'
It's tearing me apart

Whenever he calls my name
So slow, sweet and plain
I feel, yeah, yeah, well I feel that burning flame

Has my blood pressure got a hold on me
Or is this the way love's supposed to be

Just like a heat wave
Burning in my heart
Can't keep from cryin'
It's tearing me apart

Sometimes I stare in space
Tears all over my face
I can't explain it, don't understand it
I 'ain't never felt like this before

But that doesn't mean it has me amazed
I don't know what to do, my head's in a haze

Just like a heat wave
Burning in my heart
Can't keep from cryin'
It's tearing me apart

Don't pass up this chance
This time it's a true romance

Written by brothers Brian and Edward Holland, and originally recorded by Martha And The Vandellas who released it on their 1963 album Heat Wave. HEAT WAVE was the only track on the album that was an original and not a cover. The song was a #4 Top 40 hit for them in 1963. The above lyrics refer to their original version.

Bruce played an instrumental riff from HEAT WAVE at the beginning of CIRCUS SONG on 31 Jan 1973 at Max's Kansas City, New York City, NY. Also played 30 years later during The Rising tour, on 21 Sep 2003 at Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, with Martha Reeves of Martha And The Vandellas.

The group "Martha And The Vandellas" was led by Martha Reeves, who became a secretary at Motown when she couldn't get an audition to sing. One of her duties was singing lyrics to new songs onto tapes so backup singers could learn the words. This led to fill-in work as a backup singer, where she impressed Motown executives with her voice. She convinced them to hire her former band mates, Annette Sterling and Rosalind Ashford, and let them record as a trio. After backing up Marvin Gaye on some of his songs, Motown gave them songs to sing on their own, including the hit HEAT WAVE.