A Penny for Your Thoughts (song)

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“A Penny for Your Thoughts” is a song by the R&B/disco group Tavares, released in September 1982 from their album New Directions. It was written by Kenny Nolan and produced by Jay Senter and Nolan. The B-side is “The Skin You’re In.” The track runs 3:52 and is listed as soul/R&B.

The song became Tavares’s eighth and final US Top 40 hit, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 28 on the Cash Box Top 100. It did not chart in Canada. The song was originally recorded by Marion Jarvis in 1975.

Kenny Nolan wrote many hits, and “A Penny for Your Thoughts” was his ninth of ten songs to reach the U.S. charts. In the early 2000s Capitol Records released three collections of the group’s work, but the song wasn’t included among their other hits due to RCA label changes. The B-side’s creator, Nolan, also wrote “Masterpiece,” which later became a Top 10 hit for Atlantic Starr.

At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, “A Penny for Your Thoughts” received a nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocals.