The Definitive Performances (1963-1987)
Encyclopedia
The Definitive Performances (1963-1987) is an anthology of performances by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
. It was produced by Reelin' in the Years Productions and the Universal Music Group International
,in conjunction with Motown.In addition to the musical performances,this DVD also features the first - ever in depth interview with original Miracles members Smokey Robinson
, Bobby Rogers
, and Pete Moore . Strangely, original members Marv Tarplin
& Claudette Robinson are not present,but are mentioned throughout the disc. (Original member Ronnie White is now deceased.)The disc also features 2 hit songs by the group featuring Smokey's replacement, Billy Griffin
, and three of Smokey's Post- Miracles solo hits.During the interview, the three Miracles discuss the history of the group, the formation of Motown , and detailed stories behind the creation of some of their greatest hits. According to David Peck, producer of the disk for Reelin' In The Years, The Miracles' "Definitive DVD" has been awarded Certified Gold status by the RIAA http://www.amazon.com/review/R1ERXR72YIKBLF?ASIN=B000JMK6IK&nodeID=#wasThisHelpful .
Note : the foreign release of this DVD includes an extra track not included in the U.S. release: "Yesterday
" from The Ed Sullivan Show-1968. Miracles member Marv Tarplin
is featured prominently in this performance.
All tracks have been remastered for this release.
Personnel: 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...
. It was produced by Reelin' in the Years Productions and the Universal Music Group International
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
,in conjunction with Motown.In addition to the musical performances,this DVD also features the first - ever in depth interview with original 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...
, 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...
, and Pete Moore . Strangely, original members 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...
& Claudette Robinson are not present,but are mentioned throughout the disc. (Original member Ronnie White is now deceased.)The disc also features 2 hit songs by the group featuring Smokey's replacement, Billy Griffin
Billy Griffin
Billy Griffin is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for replacing Smokey Robinson as lead singer of The Miracles in 1972.-Biography:...
, and three of Smokey's Post- Miracles solo hits.During the interview, the three Miracles discuss the history of the group, the formation of Motown , and detailed stories behind the creation of some of their greatest hits. According to David Peck, producer of the disk for Reelin' In The Years, The Miracles' "Definitive DVD" has been awarded Certified Gold status by the RIAA http://www.amazon.com/review/R1ERXR72YIKBLF?ASIN=B000JMK6IK&nodeID=#wasThisHelpful .
Track listing
- "Shop AroundShop Around"Shop Around" is a 1960 single by The Miracles for the Tamla label, catalog number T 54034. It is notable as being the label's first #1 hit on the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart, and also hit #2 on the Hot 100....
" (from Teen TownTeen Town (TV series)Teen Town was a Detroit based music variety show that ran in syndication in the mid-1960s. It was hosted by Robin Seymour. In its brief run, the show featured well-known acts like the Temptations, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Supremes, Stevie Wonder and the Parliaments and clips from the...
- February 1965) - "You've Really Got a Hold on MeYou've Really Got a Hold on Me"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" is a 1962 Top 10 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla label. One of the group's most covered tunes, this million-selling song is a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee...
/ Bring It On Home To MeBring It On Home to Me"Bring It On Home to Me" is a 1962 soul song written and recorded by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. The song, about infidelity, was a hit for Cooke and has become a pop standard covered by numerous artists of different genres. It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped...
" (from Motortown Revue at The Apollo - April 1963) - "Mickey's Monkey (song)Mickey's Monkey (song)"Mickey's Monkey" was a 1963 song recorded by the R&B group The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label. It was written and produced by Motown's main songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, who later went on to write 2 more Miracles hit singles, the Top 40 "I Gotta...
" (from Hollywood A Go-GoHollywood A Go-GoHollywood A Go-Go was a Los Angeles based music variety show that ran in syndication in the mid-1960s. It was hosted by Sam Riddle, with music by The Sinners and dancing by The Gazzarri Dancers.-History:...
- November 20, 1965) - "Ooo Baby BabyOoo Baby Baby"Ooo Baby Baby" is a 1965 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla label, today considered the group's signature song. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song #262 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time....
" (from Murray The K - It's What's Happening, BabyMurray The K - It's What's Happening, BabyMurray The K – It's What's Happening, Baby was a television special on CBS-TV hosted by Murray the K. The show aired on June 28, 1965. The special featured performances by many of the popular artists of the day like Jan & Dean, Mary Wells, the Dave Clark Five, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The...
- June 28, 1965) - "The Tracks of My TearsThe Tracks of My Tears"The Tracks of My Tears" is a much recorded love ballad introduced in 1965 by The Miracles on Motown's' Tamla label. This song is considered to be among the finest recordings of The Miracles, and it sold over one million records within two years, making it The Miracles' fourth million-selling...
" (from Swingin' TimeSwingin' TimeSwingin' Time was a music variety show, similar to American Bandstand, hosted by WKNR-AM personality Robin Seymour . It ran in syndication in the late-1960s...
- December 8, 1965) - "Going to a Go-GoGoing to a Go-Go (song)"Going to a Go-Go" is a 1965 single recorded by The Miracles for Motown's Tamla label. Issued in December 1965, "Going to a Go-Go" peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States the following spring...
" (from Swingin' Time - December 8, 1965) - "My Girl Has GoneMy Girl Has Gone"My Girl Has Gone" is a 1965 R&B single recorded by The Miracles for Motown's Tamla label. Included on their 1965 album Going to a Go-Go, "My Girl Has Gone" was the follow-up to the group's number 16 Billboard Hot 100 million-selling hit "The Tracks Of My Tears".Written by Miracles members Smokey...
" (from Swingin' Time - December 8, 1965) - "I Second That EmotionI Second That Emotion"I Second That Emotion" is a 1967 song primarily composed by Smokey Robinson and originally released as a single from his band Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Motown label. The song peaked for three weeks in the United States at #4 on the Billboard pop singles chart in December 1967...
" (from The Mike Douglas ShowThe Mike Douglas ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
- February 29, 1968) - "The Tears of a ClownThe Tears of a Clown"The Tears of a Clown" is a song by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla label, originally released on the 1967 album Make It Happen. It was re-released in the United Kingdom as a single in September 1970, where it became a #1 hit on the UK singles chart...
" (from The Don Knotts ShowThe Don Knotts ShowThe Don Knotts Show was a variety program aired by NBC as part of its 1970-71 lineup.Long relegated to the role of sidekick, which he had portrayed for many years in several television series and films, Don Knotts was the headliner here. Each week, he and his guests put on standard TV variety fare...
- October 20, 1970) - "Do It BabyDo It Baby"Do It Baby" is a 1974 single recorded and released by the Motown R&B group The Miracles and marked the soul quintet's first top forty hit over a year and a half after the departure of the group's most important member, former leader Smokey Robinson and the inclusion of Billy Griffin, who took over...
" (from Dinah!Dinah!Dinah! is a daytime talk show hosted by singer and actress Dinah Shore, which aired in American syndication markets through 20th Century Fox Television from its premiere on September 9, 1974 until the summer of 1980...
- March 11, 1976) - "Love MachineLove Machine (The Miracles song)"Love Machine" is a 1976 number-one single recorded by Motown group The Miracles, taken from their album City of Angels. This single was one of two Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hits recorded by The Miracles with Billy Griffin as lead vocalist; the other is 1973's "Do It Baby". Griffin had replaced...
" (from Dinah!Dinah!Dinah! is a daytime talk show hosted by singer and actress Dinah Shore, which aired in American syndication markets through 20th Century Fox Television from its premiere on September 9, 1974 until the summer of 1980...
- March 11, 1976) - "Crusin'Cruisin' (song)"Cruisin" is a 1979 single written, produced, and recorded by Smokey Robinson for Motown Records' Tamla label. One of Robinson's most successful singles outside of his work with The Miracles, "Cruisin'" was a Top 10 Billboard Pop hit, peaking at number four not only on the Billboard Hot 100 but on...
" (from Going Platinum - 1980) - "Being With You" (from the Don Lane ShowDon LaneDon Lane , born Morton Donald Isaacson, was an American-born talk show host and singer. Don Lane is best known for hosting The Don Lane Show, which was aired on The Nine Network in Australia from 1975 to 1983....
- October 19, 1981) - "Just to See HerJust to See Her"Just to See Her" is a 1987 top ten hit song recorded by the American R&B and pop singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson. Released as the first single from his million-selling Motown album, One Heartbeat, "Just to See Her" peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June of 1987. It also reached #2...
" (from Power Hits - 1987)
Note : the foreign release of this DVD includes an extra track not included in the U.S. release: "Yesterday
Yesterday (song)
"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. The song first hit the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. The song remains popular today with more than 1,600 cover versions, one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded...
" from The Ed Sullivan Show-1968. Miracles member 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...
is featured prominently in this performance.
All tracks have been remastered for this release.
Personnel: The MiraclesThe MiraclesThe 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...
- Smokey RobinsonSmokey RobinsonWilliam "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...
- Bobby RogersBobby RogersBobby 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...
- Claudette Rogers RobinsonClaudette Rogers RobinsonClaudette 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...
- Ronald WhiteRonald WhiteRonald "Ronnie" White was an African American soul singer and songwriter, notable as a founding member of The Miracles, and the only member to survive all of that group's line-up changes...
- Pete MoorePete MoorePete 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...
- Billy GriffinBilly GriffinBilly Griffin is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for replacing Smokey Robinson as lead singer of The Miracles in 1972.-Biography:...
- Marv TarplinMarv TarplinMarvin "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...
External Links and Reviews
- 1)http://blackgrooves.org/?p=295
- 2)http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000JMK6IK/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
- 3)http://soulinterviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=180
- 4)http://www.reelinintheyears.com/