Search - Smokey Robinson :: Going to a Go-Go / Away We Go-Go

THE FIRST MOTOWN GROUP....AND STILL THE BEST !!!

willgee | ca | 07/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the passing of time, people tend to forget that in the years before The Temptations, the Supremes, & the Four Tops were even heard of, THE MIRACLES reigned as the number one MOTOWN group.Their hits actually BUILT THE LABEL, and their importance can not be overstated (although fans of some of the aforementioned groups try to UNDERSTATE IT from time to time). They also have the distinction of having had more two- sided hit singles than ANY OTHER MOTOWN GROUP. Too many people reviewing this , and other MIRACLES albums, tend to mistakenly and unfairly credit only SMOKEY for this group's success. They don't realize the tremendous TALENT posessed by ALL the members of the MIRACLES. ALL OF THEM WERE SONGWRITERS,AND HAD A SHARE IN WRITING THEIR MANY HITS.Look at the writing credits for the GOING TO A GO GO ALBUM. YOU'LL SEE ALL THEIR NAMES, NOT JUST SMOKEY'S. PETE MOORE , for example , was , FOR YEARS, the groups' uncredited vocal arrainger. In the early years , BOBBY ROGERS,RONNIE WHITE , AND EVEN CLAUDETTE were featured lead vocalists in the group just like Smokey. Miracle MARV TARPLIN'S fantastic guitar licks punctuated each hit, and he CO- WROTE many of them . AND ALL OF THE MIRACLES (except CLAUDETTE) have won the prestigious BMI award for songwriting . Can you say that about the Temptations, Supremes, or Four Tops ? THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME WAS DONE A GREAT DISSERVICE to this fantastic group by only inducting their lead singer , especially since other , more highly - praised MOTOWN groups who HAVE BEEN INDUCTED, never wrote A SINGLE LYRIC OF MUSIC !!! THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER GROUP LIKE THE MIRACLES. THEIR MUSIC LAUNCHED THE ENTIRE MOTOWN PHENOMONON !! And , the GOING TO A GO GO ALBUM ( A BILLBOARD TOP 10 POP SMASH ), WAS ONE OF THEIR ALL- TIME BEST !!!!

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