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The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey
''The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey'' is an album by The Miracles, released in 1963 by Tamla Records. It includes the group's Top 10 smash single " Mickey's Monkey", written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland, which was later recorded by several other artists. "Mickey's Monkey" popularized "The Monkey" as a novelty dance. Also included is another H-D-H dance-oriented single, " I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying", a ''Billboard'' Top 40 hit. The album peaked at No. 113 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Much of the rest of the album is made up of popular dance songs, including " The Twist", " Twist and Shout" and The Contours' Motown hit " Do You Love Me". Miracles member Bobby Rogers co-wrote a song, "Dancin' Holiday", for the album. Miracle Claudette Robinson takes the lead on the Miracles' remake of The Orlons' hit, " The Wah-Watusi". ''The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey'' was released on CD by Motown Records in 1986, in a two-for-one set with their ''Away We A Go-Go'' album, ...
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The Miracles
The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups in pop, rock and roll, soul and R&B music history. Referred to as Motown's "soul supergroup", the Miracles recorded 26 Top 40 Pop hits, sixteen of which reached the ''Billboard'' Top 20, seven top 10 singles, and a number one single ("The Tears of a Clown") while the Robinsons and Tarplin were members. Following the departure of Tarplin and the Robinsons, the rest of the group continued with singer Billy Griffin and managed by Martin Pichinson who helped rebuild the Miracles, they scored two final top 20 singles, "Do It Baby" and " Love Machine", a second No. 1 hit, which topped the charts before the group departed for Columbia Records in 1977, recording as a quintet with Billy's brother Donald Griffin replacing Marv Tarplin, where afte ...
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Novelty Dance
Novelty and fad dances are dances which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them, like the Twist, Y.M.C.A. and the Hokey Pokey, have shown much longer-lasting lives. They are also called dance fads or dance crazes. Fad dances As the pop music market got bombed in the late 1950s, dance fads were commercialized and exploited. From the 1950s to the 1970s, new dance fads appeared almost every week. Many were popularized (or commercialized) versions of new styles or steps created by African-American dancers who frequented the clubs and discothèques in major U.S. cities like New York, Philadelphia and Detroit. Among these were the Madison (dance), Madison, "The Swim", the "Mashed Potato (dance), Mashed Potato", "Twist (dance), The Twist", "Frug (dance), The Frug" (pronounced ), "Watusi (dance), The Watusi", "The Shake (dance), The Shake" and "Hitch hike (dance), The Hitch hike". Many 1950s and 1960s dance crazes had animal names, including "The Chicken ...
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Dave Appell
David Appell (March 24, 1922 – November 18, 2014) was an American musician, musical arranger and record producer born in Philadelphia. Career Appell (pronounced "AP-el") is associated mainly with the Cameo-Parkway record label, in whose history he played a substantial part. He started working as an arranger for several United States Navy big bands in the mid-1940s during his service in World War II, including Jimmie Lunceford's black orchestra. He later arranged for dance orchestras, including Benny Carter and Earl "Fatha" Hines. He recorded for a while on Decca Records as the Dave Appell Four, until Paul Cohen of Decca suggested he change the group name to the Applejacks. Appell also became a publisher, joining ASCAP in 1955, collaborating with Max Freedman. He appeared prominently in the 1956 Alan Freed film, ''Don't Knock the Rock'', and worked for a while as the studio band and music director on the Ernie Kovacs TV and radio shows in Philadelphia. Next Appell and the ...
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Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the " King of Soul" for his distinctive vocals, notable contributions to the genre and significance in popular music. Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi and later relocated to Chicago with his family at a young age, where he began singing as a child and joined the Soul Stirrers as lead singer in the 1950s. Going solo in 1957, Cooke released a string of hit songs, including "You Send Me", " A Change Is Gonna Come", "Cupid", " Wonderful World", " Chain Gang", "Twistin' the Night Away", " Bring It On Home to Me", and "Good Times". During his eight-year career, Cooke released 29 singles that charted in the Top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart, as well as 20 singles in the Top Ten of ''Billboard'' Black Singles chart. In ...
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Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades. As a songwriter, he composed or co-composed a number of hits including "Lonely Teardrops" and "That's Why" ( Jackie Wilson), "Shop Around" (the Miracles), and "Do You Love Me" (the Contours), all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit "Reet Petite" ( Jackie Wilson). As part of the Corporation, he wrote many hit songs for the Jackson 5, including "I Want You Back" and "ABC". As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Stevie Wonder. He was known for carefully directing the public image, dress, manners, an ...
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Stanley Mouse
Stanley George Miller (born October 10, 1940), better known as Mouse or Stanley Mouse, is an American artist who is notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert A rock concert is a performance of rock music. During the 1950s, several American musical groups experimented with new musical forms that fused country music, blues, and swing genre to produce the earliest examples of "rock and roll." The coin ... poster designs and album covers for the Grateful Dead, Journey (band), Journey, and other bands. Personal life Born in Fresno, California, Miller grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He was given the nickname ''Mouse'' as a ninth grader. He was expelled from Mackenzie High School (Michigan) in 1956 for mischievously repainting the facade at The Box, a popular restaurant across the street from Mackenzie. Following his junior year at nearby Cooley High School, Mouse completed his formal education at Detroit's Society of Arts and Crafts. By 1958, Mouse had become fascinated by the ...
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The Wah-Watusi
"The Wah-Watusi" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell and performed by The Orlons. It reached No.2 on the U.S. pop chart behind Bobby Vinton's "Roses Are Red (My Love)", No.5 on the U.S. R&B chart, and No. 12 in Canada in 1962. It was featured on their 1962 album ''The Wah-Watusi''. "The Wah-Watusi" sold over one million copies and was awarded gold disc status. The song ranked No.24 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 100 singles of 1962. Other versions *Dee Dee Sharp, on her 1962 compilation album ''All the Hits by Dee Dee Sharp''. *Annette, as a single in 1964, but it did not chart. *The Miracles, on their 1963 album ''The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey''. *The Ronettes included their version on the 2011 various artists album ''The Philles Album Collection''. Their rendition had originally been released on The Crystals' 1963 album ''The Crystals Sing the Greatest Hits Volume 1'', but The Crystals received credit for the song. In popular culture *The Orlons' versi ...
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Claudette Robinson
Claudette Annette Rogers Robinson ( Rogers; born June 20, 1938) is an American singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Miracles from 1957 to 1972. Her brother Emerson "Sonny" Rogers was a founding member of the group, which before 1957 was named "The Matadors". Claudette replaced her brother in the group after he was drafted into the U.S. Army. In 2012, Claudette was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the original Miracles, including her cousin Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronald White, and Marv Tarplin. She was inducted alongside her former husband, Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson. Biography Claudette Rogers and Smokey Robinson were married on November 7, 1959. Smokey and Claudette had plans to raise a family, but the rough music touring life caused Claudette to have seven miscarriages. Robinson co-wrote the number-one Motown single " My Girl" with Miracles member Ronald White in dedication to Claudette, a song performed most n ...
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Bobby Rogers
Robert Edward Rogers (February 19, 1940 – March 3, 2013) was an American musician and tenor singer, best known as a member of Motown vocal group the Miracles from 1956 until his death. He was inducted, in 2012, as a member of the Miracles to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to singing, he also contributed to writing some of the Miracles' songs. Rogers is the grandfather of R&B singer Brandi Williams from the R&B girl group Blaque and is a cousin of fellow Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. Life Rogers was the son of Robert and Lois Rogers. He was born in Detroit on February 19, 1940, the same day and in the same Detroit hospital as fellow Miracles member Smokey Robinson, although the two would not meet until 15 years later. On December 18, 1963, Rogers married Wanda Young of Inkster, Michigan, a member of Motown group the Marvelettes. Together they had a son Robert Rogers III and a daughter Bobbae. Rogers and Young divorced in 1975 after twelve years of ma ...
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Do You Love Me
"Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 1988. As with many American R&B songs of the 1960s, "Do You Love Me?" was recorded by several British Invasion groups. A 1963 version by Brian Poole and the Tremeloes reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. It also became a hit for the Dave Clark Five, reaching number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1964. Background and recording Berry Gordy wrote "Do You Love Me" and earmarked it for the Temptations, who had no top-40 hits to their name yet. However, when Gordy was looking for the group to record it, he could not find them; they had gone to church to see gospel groups the Dixie Hummingbirds, the Harmonizing Four and the Swan Silvertones. Instead, the Contours, who had turned up to the studio to record their song "It Must Be Love", we ...
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The Contours
The Contours is one of the early American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records. The group is best known for its classic chart-topping 1962 hit, "Do You Love Me", which sold over 1 million copies and became a major hit again in 1988. History Establishment and "Do You Love Me" Joe Billingslea (born November 14, 1937) and Billy Gordon founded a singing group called the Blenders in their native Detroit, Michigan in 1959. They completed the group with Billy Hoggs and Billy Rollins, who had responded to an ad placed in the local newspaper by Billingslea. The group soon added Leroy Fair (in place of Billy Rollins), and bass singer Hubert Johnson, and changed the name to "The Contours". In the fall of 1960, the group auditioned for Berry Gordy's Motown Records. Gordy turned the act down, prompting the group to pay a visit to the home of Johnson's cousin, R&B star and Gordy associate Jackie Wilson. Wilson in turn got the Contours a second audition with Gordy, at which they sang t ...
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Twist And Shout
"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, including the Beatles, Salt-N-Pepa, and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions. Original version The Top Notes, an American R&B vocal group, recorded "Twist and Shout" at the Atlantic Studios on February 23, 1961. The session was arranged by Teddy Randazzo and produced by Phil Spector.The Top Notes' Howard "Howie" Guyton provided the lead vocals, with accompaniment by saxophonist King Curtis, guitarist John Pizzarelli, drummer Panama Francis, and backing vocalists the Cookies. In a song review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger described the Top Notes recording as "a Latin-tinged raveup with a drab generic R&B melody" that he felt was "not very good". ...
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