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Laughing Boy (song)
"Laughing Boy" is a song written and produced by Smokey Robinson and recorded and released as a single by early Motown star Mary Wells in 1963. The single is notable for being the song to break a consecutive streak of top ten hits Wells had scored between mid-1962 and early-1963. Overview Song information In this song, the narrator consoles her boyfriend whom she feels is feeling "gloomy and blue" despite his public image that shows him in a happier mood. Appearing to think she doesn't love him, Wells tries pleading to her boyfriend to "smile once more" saying she still loves him "as she did before". The song features background singers imitating the man's appropriated laughter in a solemn tone. Release and reaction When the song was set for release, Motown executives were confident the record would continue Wells' streak of top ten hits which included "The One Who Really Loves You", "You Beat Me to the Punch" and " Two Lovers". However, the single stalled at number 15 on the Bil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the Four Tops, Wells was said to have been part of the charge in black music onto radio stations and record shelves of mainstream America, "bridging the color lines in music at the time." With a string of hit singles composed mainly by Smokey Robinson, including "The One Who Really Loves You (song), The One Who Really Loves You", "Two Lovers (Mary Wells song), Two Lovers", and the Grammy Award, Grammy-nominated "You Beat Me to the Punch", all in 1962, plus her signature hit, "My Guy" (1964), she became recognized as "The Queen of Motown" until her departure from the company in 1964, at the height of her success. Life and career Early life and initial recordings Mary Esther Wells was born near Detroit's Wayne State University on May 13, 1943, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The One Who Really Loves You (song)
"The One Who Really Loves You" is a single recorded by Mary Wells on the Motown label in 1962. It was written and composed by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles and peaked at number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number two on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. The song, written by Smokey Robinson, talks about a woman who's telling her boyfriend not to fall for other girls, because they don't want him, and their love isn't true, but hers is, so she's telling him that he "better wake up" before they "break up". The single was the first of a trio of Top Ten hits with Robinson in the year (followed by "You Beat Me to the Punch" and "Two Lovers"). It featured vibraphone production and brought out a softer sound in Wells' voice that hadn't been shown in her earlier releases. The single was the highest-charting single of her career at the time. Jessica Sanchez sampled the song for her song "Still in Love". Personnel *Lead vocal by Mary Wells *Background vocals by The Love Ton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songs Written By Smokey Robinson
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition and variation of sections. Written words created specifically for music, or for which music is specifically created, are called lyrics. If a pre-existing poem is set to composed music in classical music it is an art song. Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called chants. Songs composed in a simple style that are learned informally "by ear" are often referred to as folk songs. Songs that are composed for professional singers who sell their recordings or live shows to the mass market are called popular songs. These songs, which have broad appeal, are often composed by professional songwriters, composers, and lyricists. Art songs are composed by trained classical composers fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motown Singles
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''motor'' and ''town'', has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels (including Tamla Motown, the brand used outside the US) were the most of the Motown sound, a style of soul music with a mainstream pop appeal. Motown was the most successful soul music label, with a net worth of $61 million. During the 1960s, Motown achieved 79 records in the top-ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 between 1960 and 1969. Following the events of the Detroit Riots of 1967, and the loss of key songwriting/production team Holland–Dozier–H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Wells Songs
Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blessed Virgin Mary * Mary Magdalene, devoted follower of Jesus * Mary of Bethany, follower of Jesus, considered by Western medieval tradition to be the same person as Mary Magdalene * Mary, mother of James * Mary of Clopas, follower of Jesus * Mary, mother of John Mark * Mary of Egypt, patron saint of penitents * Mary of Rome, a New Testament woman * Mary, mother of Zechariah and sister of Moses and Aaron; mostly known by the Hebrew name: Miriam * Mary the Jewess one of the reputed founders of alchemy, referred to by Zosimus. * Mary 2.0, Roman Catholic women's movement * Maryam (surah) "Mary", 19th surah (chapter) of the Qur'an Royalty * Mary, Countess of Blois (1200–1241), daughter of Walter of Avesnes and Margaret of Blois * Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1963 Singles
Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove River, Sydney, Australia. * January 2 – Vietnam War – Battle of Ap Bac: The Viet Cong win their first major victory. * January 9 – A January 1963 lunar eclipse, total penumbral lunar eclipse is visible in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, and is the 56th lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 114. Gamma has a value of −1.01282. It occurs on the night between Wednesday, January 9 and Thursday, January 10, 1963. * January 13 – 1963 Togolese coup d'état: A military coup in Togo results in the installation of coup leader Emmanuel Bodjollé as president. * January 17 – A last quarter moon occurs between the January 1963 lunar eclipse, penumbral lunar eclipse and the Solar eclipse of January 25, 1963, annular solar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history. Among their hits are " My Girl", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Baby Love", " I Was Made to Love Her", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", "The Tears of a Clown", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", and "Heat Wave". Some combination of the members played on each of Motown's 100-plus U.S. R&B number one singles and 50-plus U.S. Pop number ones released from 1961 to 1972. There is no undisputed list of the members of the group. Some writers have claimed that virtually every musician who ever played on a Motown track was a "Funk Brother". There are 13 Funk Brothers identified in Paul Justman's 2002 documentary film ''Standing in the Shadows of Motown'', based on Allan Slutsky's book of the same name. These 13 memb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Andantes
The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers, among others. It is estimated they appeared on 20,000 recordings. The Andantes provided back-up singing on Motown singles starting in 1962. The group was most prominently used on all of the Four Tops' Holland–Dozier–Holland-produced hits, including "Baby I Need Your Loving", "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)", "Reach Out I'll Be There", and more. Motown began to use the Andantes as background vocal substitutes for the vast majority of recordings for its girl groups beginning with the Marvelettes recordings in 1965, Martha & the Vandellas in 1966, and major p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online magazine with weekly charts and occasional special print issues. In addition to the music industry, the magazine covered the amusement arcade industry, including jukebox machines and arcade games. History Print edition charts (1952–1996) ''Cashbox'' was one of several magazines that published record charts in the United States. Its most prominent competitors were '' Billboard'' and '' Record World'' (known as ''Music Vendor'' prior to April 1964). Unlike ''Billboard'', ''Cashbox'' combined all currently available recordings of a song into one chart position with artist and label information shown for each version, alphabetized by label. Originally, no indication of which version was the biggest seller was given, but from October 25, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Beat Me To The Punch
"You Beat Me to the Punch" is a soul single by Motown singer Mary Wells, released on the Motown label in 1962. It was co-written by Smokey Robinson of the Miracles, who was responsible for the majority of hits released by Wells - and another Miracles member, Ronnie White - while Wells was a Motown artist. Following the success of the previous single, "The One Who Really Loves You", Motown released "You Beat Me to the Punch" shortly after it was produced and it performed similarly to "The One Who Really Loves You", becoming a '' Billboard'' Top 10 Pop smash, peaking at number nine on the pop chart and becoming her first number one hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart. It also won Wells a Grammy nomination for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording. Like "The One Who Really Loves You" before it, the song was produced with a mock- calypso beat. It inspired an "answer" song by soul singer Gene Chandler called "You Threw A Lucky Punch" which used the same music and different lyrics and b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Your Old Standby
"Your Old Standby" is a song written by Motown songwriters Smokey Robinson and Janie Bradford and released as a single by Motown star Mary Wells in 1963. The record marked her third top forty pop single to come out in 1963. Song information In the song, the narrator opens up about a man who is still in a troubling relationship with one woman while having a relationship with another woman. The other woman struggles to comprehend why her lover refuses to leave his past flame so she could "be with him permanently" as she puts it in the end. Chart performance After the successful but modest response to " Laughing Boy", this song was rushed trying to compete with that record's top 15 peak. However, this song got as high as number 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (it did however reached number 8 on the U.S. R&B chart). Wells' next Robinson-penned hit, "What's So Easy for Two is Hard for One" would fare better for Wells. Personnel *Lead vocal by Mary Wells *Background vocals by The An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two Lovers And Other Great Hits
''Two Lovers and Other Great Hits'' is an album released by Motown singer Mary Wells, the third album she released while recording for the label. It debuted on the Billboard album chart March 16, 1963 reaching #49, remaining on the chart for eight weeks. The album composed of Wells' third top ten hit, " Two Lovers", the follow-up hit, " Laughing Boy" and the b-side to the "Two Lovers" single, " Operator", the latter song later re-recorded as a minor hit for fellow Motown female crooner, Brenda Holloway. Track listing Side one #" Two Lovers" (Smokey Robinson) #"Guess Who" (Jo Anne Belvin) #"My 2 Arms - You = Tears" (Clarence Paul, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Marvin Gaye) #"Goody Goody" (Matty Malneck, Johnny Mercer) #"Stop Right Here" (Mary Wells, Melvin Franklin) Side two #" Laughing Boy" (Smokey Robinson) #" Looking Back" ( Belford Hendricks, Brook Benton, Clyde Otis) #"(I Guess There's) No Love" (Berry Gordy) #"Was It Worth It?" (Berry Gordy) #" Operator" (Smokey Robins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
