''A Pocket Full of Miracles'' (TS306) is a 1970 album by Motown Records R&B group

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 group ...

, (AKA ''"Smokey Robinson & The Miracles"'') issued on its Tamla subsidiary label, one of three albums the group released that year. This album charted at #56 on the '' Billboard'' pop albums chart, and reached the top ten of the magazine's R&B albums chart, peaking at #10 (one of eleven Miracles albums that reached the top ten of that chart). It was released on September 30 of that year. Hit singles on the album included "

Point It Out "Point It Out" is a 1969 recording by Motown Records R&B group The Miracles (AKA "Smokey Robinson & The Miracles") on that label's Tamla subsidiary (Tamla 54189). This mid-tempo song was a national Billboard Top 40 Pop hit, reaching #37 on the H ...

" and the topical

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

written-and-produced song "Who's Gonna Take the Blame", a sad, dark song about a girl that is turned out as a prostitute (unusually serious lyric content for The Miracles). Also included is the charting flip side "Darling Dear", B-side of "Point It Out", which reached #100 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart, and spawned a cover version by

The Jackson Five The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

. The album's name takes its title from the 1961 Frank Capra comedy film ''

Pocketful of Miracles ''Pocketful of Miracles'' is a 1961 American comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Bette Davis, produced and directed by Frank Capra, filmed in Panavision. The screenplay by Hal Kanter and Harry Tugend was based on Robert Riskin's screenplay for ...

''. However, that is where the similarities end. Its cover depicts four of The Miracles, Smokey Robinson,

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 t ...

, Pete Moore, and

Ronnie White Ronald Anthony White (April 5, 1939 – August 26, 1995), usually referred to as Ronnie White, was an American singer, best known as the co-founder of The Miracles and its only consistent original member. White was also known for bringing Stevi ...

, sitting inside a huge cartoon "pocket", (thus the name 'Pocket Full of Miracles'). Other original songs in the collection included "Flower Girl", the powerful potential hit "Backfire" (that was not released as a single), and the melancholy "The Reel of Time". Miracles members

Marv Tarplin Marvin Tarplin (June 13, 1941 – September 30, 2011) was an American musician, 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 bigges ...

and

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 befor ...

are featured on the songs "You've Got the Love I Need" (a ballad with rock overtones) and "Don't Take It So Hard", respectively. However, they are not featured on the album's cover (apparently because the "pocket" would then have ''too many'' Miracles). Covers include versions of Simon and Garfunkel's " Bridge over Troubled Water",

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

and Maxine Brown's "Something You Got", included in a medley with The Beatles' "

Something Something may refer to: Philosophy and language *Something (concept) *Something, an English indefinite pronoun Music Albums * ''Something'' (Chairlift album), 2012 * ''Something'' (Shirley Bassey album), 1970 * ''Something'' (Shirley Scott ...

", and Smokey's composition for

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

, " Get Ready", which features an arrangement borrowed from the

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

hit " Sunshine of Your Love". Motown staff songwriters contributing to this project included

William "Mickey" Stevenson William "Mickey" Stevenson (born January 4, 1937) is an American former songwriter and record producer for the Motown group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967. Life and career He was born William Stevenson and, a ...

, Horgay Gordy, Robert Gordy, Robert Jones, and Miracles members Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. This album, like several of The Miracles' post-1969 albums, has never been released in the CD format. It was re-released in edited form a few years later, by the defunct independent label Pickwick International, under license from Motown, with a different cover, and the modified name ''Pocketful''.

Track listing

Side one

#"Flower Girl" ( Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore,

) #"Who's Gonna Take the Blame" (

Nick Ashford Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

Valerie Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

) #"Darling Dear" (Horgay Gordy, Robert Gordy, Allen Story) #"You've Got the Love I Need" (Robinson, Robert Jones) #" Get Ready" (Robinson) #" Bridge Over Troubled Water"* ( Paul Simon)

Side two

/Something You Got"* ( George Harrison / Chris Kenner) #"

" (Robinson, Tarplin,

Al Cleveland Al Cleveland (born Alfred W. Cleveland; March 11, 1930 – August 14, 1996) was an American songwriter for the Motown label. Among his most popular co-compositions are 1967's "I Second That Emotion" and 1969's " Baby, Baby Don't Cry" performed by ...

) #"Don't Take It So Hard" ( Terry Johnson, Charles Johnson, Willie Schofield) #"Backfire" (Robinson, Cleveland, Johnny Bristol) #"The Reel of Time"* (

Janie Bradford Janie Bradford (born June 2, 1939 in Charleston, Missouri, United States) is an American songwriter, most known for her tenure with Motown. With Berry Gordy, she co-wrote "Money (That's What I Want)", originally recorded by Barrett Strong, and ...

, Jack Goga) #"Wishful Thinking" (

Marv Johnson Marvin Earl Johnson (October 15, 1938 – May 16, 1993) was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song " Come to Me," which was the first record iss ...

) * *(deleted from the Pickwick re-release).

Personnel

The Miracles

* Bill "Smokey" Robinson – lead vocals * Claudette Rodgers Robinson – soprano vocals * Robert "Bobby" Rodgers – tenor vocals * Ronald "Ronnie" White – baritone vocals *

Warren "Pete" Moore Warren Thomas "Pete" Moore (November 19, 1938 – November 19, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and record producer, notable as the bass singer for Motown group the Miracles from 1955 onwards, and was one of the group's original members. H ...

– bass vocals * Marvin "Marv" Tarplin – guitar

Other Credits

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 stud ...

– instrumentation

References

External links

''A Pocket Full Of Miracles'' (Original Motown cover image)

* ttps://archive.today/20130201033941/http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/smokey_robinson_and_the_miracles/a_pocket_full_of_miracles/ From the "Rate Your Music" website
Tamla-Motown ''European'' Cover Image

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - ''A Pocket Full of Miracles'' (1970) album review by Andrew Hamilton, credits & releases
at

AllMusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - ''A Pocket Full of Miracles'' (1970) album releases & credits
at Discogs.com
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - ''A Pocket Full of Miracles'' (1970) album to be listened
as stream on Spotify.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Pocket Full Of Miracles, A 1970 albums The Miracles albums Tamla Records albums Albums produced by Smokey Robinson Albums produced by Ashford & Simpson Albums arranged by Paul Riser Albums recorded at Hitsville U.S.A.