The 500 - #273 - Going To A Go-Go - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #273

Album Title: Going To The Go-Go

Artist: Smokey Robinson and The Miracles

Genre: Soul

Recorded: Hitsville USA, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Released: November, 1965

My age at release: 4 months

How familiar was I with it before this week: A Couple Tracks

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, At #412, dropping 139 spots since 2012

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Going To A Go-Go

"When Smokey sings, I hear violins,
When Smokey sings, I forget everything"

Those are lyrics taken from the song When Smokey Sings by the British band ABC – an homage to R&B artist Smokey Robinson. The track hit #2 on the charts here in Canada and was ubiquitous on local radio stations in the summer of 1987. ABC eschewed their usual new wave/synth-pop sound to record this song in the style of Blue Eyed Soul, a term coined to describe R&B music performed by white artists -- Tom Jones, Steve Winwood and Boz Scaggs are a few well known artists from the genre.

Album cover for the 12" single to When Smokey Sings by ABC

Whenever I hear the name Smokey Robinson, I am reminded of this catchy ditty. Sure, I'd heard of Robinson before 1987, his hits were staples on pop music or oldies radio stations and frequently used in movie soundtracks (The music of the ‘60s enjoyed a cultural renaissance in the ‘80s). However, I wasn't deeply familiar with his history until recently. I'd assumed he was just a crooner, singing hits that the factory of songwriters at Motown Records provided for him. It turns out that this was just one of several things I didn't have right.

William Robinson Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 19, 1940. He was given the nickname "Smokey Joe" by his Uncle Claude who regularly took young William to “shoot-’em-up” cowboy movies. Eventually dropping the "Joe", "Smokey" attended Northern High School in the mid- ‘50s, at the same time of Motown legend Aretha Franklin – The Queen of Soul. In fact, the pair had known each other since they were five and, for a time, lived a few houses apart.

Aretha "The Queen of Soul" Franklin

Robinson was an above average academic student and a capable athlete, but his real passion was music and he formed the doo-wop group The Five Chimes while attending high school. Two years later, Claudette Rogers joined the band and they rebranded as The Matadors. The quintet finally settled on The Miracles in 1959, around the same time Robinson and Rogers became husband and wife.

The Miracles (l-r) Robinson, Rogers, Ronald White, Pete Moore, 
and Bobby Rogers

Going To A Go-Go was released in 1965 and became the first to credit the group as Smokey Robinson and The Miracles -- capitalizing on Smokey's growing fame as the group's front-man. All The Miracles performers were vocalists, but were accompanied on this record by The Funk Brothers – a collective of Detroit-based session musicians who performed on dozens of Motown hits from 1959-1972.

One iteration of The Funk Brothers in studio with Stevie Wonder

Going To A Go-Go contained some new material, but was marketed with four previously released hits from The Miracles -- Oooh Baby Baby, Tracks Of My Tears, Going To A Go-Go and My Girl Has Gone. Curiously, Claudette Robinson (nee White) does not appear on the record cover, despite performing on it. Instead, The Miracles are depicted as Smokey and three men. It was suggested at the time that she had "retired" from touring with the band in 1964.

However, in a 2022 UDiscover Music magazine interview, Claudette said she wanted to stay on the road and be promoted as a member of the band. She says "I didn't retire, I was retired", based on a decision by Smokey and Motown Records' head executive Berry Gordy Jr. Claudette continued to record with the group until 1972 and remained married to Smokey until 1986. There is an upcoming biofilm entitled The First Lady Of Motown - The Claudette Robinson Story. It is scheduled for release this year. I expect the pic will shed more light on her "retirement" from The Miracles.

Becoming aware that The Miracles had a female member was not the only thing I learned in the process of writing this blog. It turns out that Smokey, and his band mates were prolific songwriters. Bob Dylan once called him  "America's Greatest Poet".  All but one track on Going To A Go-Go was penned by Robinson. In fact, he authored more than 4,000 tracks, including legendary hits often made famous by other artists such as My Girl, (You better) Shop Around, I Second That Emotion, My Guy and You Really Got A Hold On Me. Robinson was inducted into The Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1989.

Robinson with Whitney Houston, receiving his recognition
from The Songwriter's Hall Of Fame

In that Brit-pop hit I mentioned, When Smokey Sings, there was another “musical Easter-egg” waiting for me to discover. Beyond the rich lyrics, songwriters Martin Fry and Mark White left another clever homage. The bassline for the 1987 track, around which the entire song is built, is a close interpretation (often called an interpolation) of the bassline from The Tears Of A Clown.

This week’s featured album, Going To A Go-Go,  provided a delightful musical interlude; the music is compelling, the harmonies are rich and the lyrics capture love, celebration and heartbreak sublimely. It is one of those records you can play anywhere, at any time and it will be well received. ABC's Fry and White explained it far more eloquently when they sang:

"Debonair lullabies
In melodies revealed
In deep despair on lonely nights
He knows just how you feel
The slyest rhymes, the sharpest suits
In miracles made real

Like a bird in flight on a hot sweet night
You know you're right just to hold her tight
He soothes it right, makes it out of sight
And everything's good in the world tonight

When Smokey sings, I hear violins
When Smokey sings, I forget everything."