"Choosey Beggar" was a 1965 song recorded by Motown R&B group The Miracles

The Miracles

The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...

on its Tamla label subsidiary. It was issued as the B-side

A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 of the group's top-20 million-selling single, "Going to a Go-Go

Going to a Go-Go

Going to a Go-Go is a 1965 album by The Miracles', the first to bill the group as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. It includes four of the Miracles' Top 20 hits: "Ooo Baby Baby", "The Tracks of My Tears", "Going to a Go-Go", and "My Girl Has Gone"...

", and was taken from the group's Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Top 10 Pop album of the same name.

Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson

William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...

 and Pete Moore

Pete Moore

Pete Moore is an African American soul singer, record producer, and songwriter, notable as the bass singer for Motown group The Miracles from 1955 onwards, and is one of the group's original members...

 and produced by Robinson, this song also became a national hit, reaching number 35 on the Billboard R&B chart. As the song's narrator, lead singer Smokey Robinson, using a play on the old axiom, "Beggars can't be choosers", portrays a man who simply refuses to accept just "any girl":

Beggars can't be choicey, I know...that's what the people say...But though my heart is begging for love ...I've turned some love away..." Only one girl is right for him... "I'm a choosey beggar...and you're my choice..."

"Choosey Beggar" has inspired cover versions by Debby Boone

Debby Boone

Deborah Anne Boone is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, "You Light Up My Life," which spent a then record ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year...

 , and Jazz artist Chazz Dixon, and has been included in the Miracles' compilation album Greatest Hits-Vol.2, along with several other Miracles "Greatest Hits" compilations.

Personnel – The Miracles

• Smokey Robinson
  Smokey Robinson
  William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
  
   – lead vocals, co-writer, producer
• Claudette Rogers Robinson
  Claudette Rogers Robinson
  Claudette Rogers Robinson is an African-American soul singer, a member of The Miracles from 1957 to 1972. Her brother Emerson "Sonny" Rogers was an original member of the group, which was originally called "The Matadors" before 1957; Claudette Rogers took her brother's place after he was drafted...
  
   – background vocals
• Pete Moore
  Pete Moore
  Pete Moore is an African American soul singer, record producer, and songwriter, notable as the bass singer for Motown group The Miracles from 1955 onwards, and is one of the group's original members...
  
   – background vocals, co-writer
• Ronnie White – background vocals
• Bobby Rogers
  Bobby Rogers
  Bobby Rogers is an American soul singer and songwriter, notable as a member of Motown Records' first signed act and first million selling group The Miracles from 1956 to present. He is also the grandfather of R&B singer Brandi Williams from R&B girl group Blaque-Life:Rogers is the son of the late...
  
   – background vocals
• Marv Tarplin
  Marv Tarplin
  Marvin "Marv" Tarplin was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for The Miracles from the 1950s through the early 1970s. He was one of the group's original members and co-wrote several of their biggest hits, including the 2007 Grammy Hall Of Fame inducted "The Tracks...
  
  – guitar

External links

• The Miracles-"Choosey Beggar", Youtube video