That Day When She Needed Me
Encyclopedia
"That Day When She Needed Me" is a 1964 R&B song by the Motown Records group The Contours
. Issued as the "B" side of their hit "Can You Jerk Like Me
", this song broke out as a hit on its own, reaching #37 on the Cash Box R&B listings that year.
Written, composed, and produced by Miracles
lead singer Smokey Robinson
, this song was different from every other tune the Contours had recorded up to that point. A unique counterpoint to the group's trademark rough, raucous delivery, "That Day" was a soft, quiet, and heart-felt ballad with a unique call and response
delivery that would have seemed more appropriate recorded by Smokey's own group. Though the song wasn't on the "A" side, it still became a hit, making it The Contours' only charting flip-side hit.
The song shows Billy Gordon, the lead singer of the Contours, in a rare moment of quiet sensitivity. In the song, Billy is the group's narrator, while the rest of the group (Billy Hoggs, Sylvester Potts, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and guitarist Huey Davis) serve as his inquisitors, projecting sweet sympathy behind him in a question and answer session. The song serves as a cautionary tale on how he lost the love of his life.
Between the second and third verses, Billy lets out one of his characteristic sandpaper-like screams of "Yeah-Yeah-Yeah !", as if to remind the listener that although it may be a Smokey Robinson ballad, it is still a Contours song. As the song concludes, he warns the listener to "never let your baby down" and to "always be there when she needs you around" or you'd end up "as lonely as I can be" like him.
This song has inspired a cover version by the Los Angeles-based R&B group The Performers and has been issued on several Contours and Motown "greatest hits" collections including The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 4 and the now out-of-print Motown CD collection, The Very Best of the Contours.
Music by The Funk Brothers
The Contours
The Contours were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records.The group is best known for its Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a million-selling song that peaked twice in the Top 20....
. Issued as the "B" side of their hit "Can You Jerk Like Me
Can You Jerk Like Me
Can You Jerk Like Me is a 1964 song by Motown Records R&B group The Contours, issued on its Gordy Records subsidiary. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #57, and a Top 20 hit on its R&B chart, reaching # 16...
", this song broke out as a hit on its own, reaching #37 on the Cash Box R&B listings that year.
Written, composed, and produced by 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...
lead singer 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...
, this song was different from every other tune the Contours had recorded up to that point. A unique counterpoint to the group's trademark rough, raucous delivery, "That Day" was a soft, quiet, and heart-felt ballad with a unique call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
delivery that would have seemed more appropriate recorded by Smokey's own group. Though the song wasn't on the "A" side, it still became a hit, making it The Contours' only charting flip-side hit.
The song shows Billy Gordon, the lead singer of the Contours, in a rare moment of quiet sensitivity. In the song, Billy is the group's narrator, while the rest of the group (Billy Hoggs, Sylvester Potts, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and guitarist Huey Davis) serve as his inquisitors, projecting sweet sympathy behind him in a question and answer session. The song serves as a cautionary tale on how he lost the love of his life.
Between the second and third verses, Billy lets out one of his characteristic sandpaper-like screams of "Yeah-Yeah-Yeah !", as if to remind the listener that although it may be a Smokey Robinson ballad, it is still a Contours song. As the song concludes, he warns the listener to "never let your baby down" and to "always be there when she needs you around" or you'd end up "as lonely as I can be" like him.
This song has inspired a cover version by the Los Angeles-based R&B group The Performers and has been issued on several Contours and Motown "greatest hits" collections including The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 4 and the now out-of-print Motown CD collection, The Very Best of the Contours.
Credits The Contours
- Billy Gordon
- Billy Hoggs
- Joe Billingslea
- Sylvester Potts
- Hubert Johnson
- Huey Davis
Music by The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...