Smokey Robinson- My what a voice and songs.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by johnny33, Apr 11, 2009.

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  1. johnny33

    johnny33 New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    usa
    So basically he wrote all those hits he sang with the Miracles in the 60's. Incredible.
     
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  2. il pleut

    il pleut New Member

    not all but most. (mickey's monkey was h-d-h i think). some of the miracles get credit with smokey on some of them, though the story is that he would often give them a credit for just contributing a line or two just to spread some of the money around, which says something about the kind of guy he is.

    i probably respect smokey more than any other pop music figure of the 60s except for maybe brian wilson. he could write, perform, arrange, and produce at a level far beyond almost any of his contemporaries. besides the miracles, he was the main figure behind a lot of mary wells, temps, and marvelettes records as well.
     
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  3. zebop

    zebop Well Known Stranger

    Yep, I'm playing the Miracles Greatest Hits From the Beginning and it's H/D/H and they also wrote one of early favorites, "Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying."
     
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  4. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    For the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' output, this box fits the bill for me. It has the mono mixes, too, and was mastered by Mr. Bill Inglot:
     

    Attached Files:

  5. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I also have this set. Stereo hounds and fans of remixes will love this set:
     

    Attached Files:

  6. Popmartijn

    Popmartijn Senior Member

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    I'm not sure how complete the list is on this webpage (The Songwriters Hall Of Fame): http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/songs/C176
    It lists about 300 songs (so not the 4000 that some wiki is claiming), which is still a lot. And the usual suspects are there, like:
    Ain’t That Peculiar
    Choosey Beggar
    Come Spy With Me
    Composer, The
    Cruisin
    Don’t Look Back
    Fading Away
    Floy Joy
    Going To A Go Go
    Hunter Gets Captured By The Game, The
    I Like It Like That
    I Second That Emotion
    I’ll Be Doggone
    Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage, The
    My Girl
    My Guy
    Quiet Storm
    Shop Around
    Tears Of A Clown, The
    Tracks Of My Tears, The
    Way You Do Things, The
    You Beat Me To The Punch
    You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me

    Just wow!
    :edthumbs:
     
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  7. Popmartijn

    Popmartijn Senior Member

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    That set, The 35th Anniversary Collection, was my introduction to Smokey. Excellent boxset indeed! :thumbsup:
     
  8. il pleut

    il pleut New Member

    yeah, that's my major source for smokey and the miracles too. great box.
     
  9. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Why are people so surprised that Smokey is a successful songwriter?
     
  10. zebop

    zebop Well Known Stranger

    Sometimes I forget how prolific Smokey is...

    The Love I Saw In You Was Just a Mirage
    My Baby Must Be A Magician
    Take This Heart of Mine
    One More Heartache
    The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game
    What Love Has Joined Together
    Still Water Love
    Don't Mess With Bill

    The songs are so different from the other and that's just a few. Strange he couldn't get big hits off the early '70s Supremes but then again after a while no one was.
     
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  11. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    I love Smokey - he belongs on the Mount Rushmore of great American singers and songwriters. From the very beginning he had a way with words like no other.
     
  12. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    Maybe because they are not as steeped in Motown history as you, or me, or others here?
     
  13. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    "Floy Joy" was #5 on the R&B chart and #16 on the pop chart. Not too bad...


    Smokey only produced one album for the Jean Terrell-era Supremes. The others were produced by Frank Wilson, and later, Jimmy Webb (plus another, unreleased album with multiple producers)


    Not to divert the thread but hits or not, those early 70's Supremes albums are fantastic. For those who don't know, Hip-O Select compiled all of them on a 3-CD set. Highly recommended.


    Now back to Smokey...
     
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  14. johnny33

    johnny33 New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    usa
    Im not surprised he is sucessful. Who wouldnt be with that kind of songwriting credit. But I never knew ANY one person could write that magnitude of song and have that kind of talented voice to back it up. Very few do to that level and consistently. Dylan has some kind of writing skills but isnt exactly what you'd call a beautiful singer. But with Smokey I am not sure there has ever been a fusing of both singer and songwriter in such a beautiful way.

    I was just completely ignorant that he was the writer. I was under the impression that many MoTown artists/singers/bands were a bit like Tin Pan Alley. Others wrote the hits and the incredible talents showed them off.
     
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  15. 80sjunkie

    80sjunkie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, Texas
    Anyone know how Smokey Robinson's "One Heartbeat" was recorded? Picked up the CD yesterday, and it is startling devoid of hiss, but not in the NR kind of way. I've heard digital recordings before, but they never sounded quite like this.

    Mastering overall sounds noticably different to me. Got me curious about how it was put together. Liner notes don't say much.

    He wrote a song on it called "It's Time to Stop Shoppin' Around". Lol...
     
  16. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    Someday? He already is. Didn't Dylan call him America's greatest living poet years ago?

    People talk about his songwriting and production a great deal and neglect he was in fact one of the great vocalists, his voice is beautiful. I don't think anyone at Motown comes close tbh.

    His strong point was love songs though, and as the 70's came and the likes of Marvin, Stevie, Curtis and the rest moved into more serious stuff he kinda got left behind.

    I find it really touching he wrote 'More Love' for his wife who had (I think) a miscarriage. It's a beautiful song.
     
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  17. maccafan

    maccafan Senior Member

    Smokey Robinson is still the man, one of the most iconic falsettos in music history, along with the Temps Eddie Kendricks.
     
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  18. Roninblues

    Roninblues 猿も木から落ちる。

    Nice to see this thread get a bump as I have been in a Motown & Soul listening phase. Ooo Baby Baby was the song that got me started as a kid along with Smokey's songs sung by the Temptations (David Ruffin)! :righton:
     
  19. robertawillisjr

    robertawillisjr Music Lover

    Location:
    Hampton, VA
    They shouldn't be. Didn't Bob Dylan say that Smokey was one of America's greatest poets?

    I often think that the emotional appeal of his singing overshadowed the appreciation of his writing.

    Sorry that this post is a duplicate of #41. I missed it somehow.
     
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