"Baby, Baby Don't Cry", released in December 1968, is a single recorded by The Miracles for

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

' Tamla label. The composition was written by Miracles lead singer

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

, Motown staff writers Al Cleveland and Terry Johnson, a former member of

The Flamingos The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and m ...

. Robinson, Johnson, and Miracles member Warren "Pete" Moore were the song's producers.

Background

The song is noted for Smokey's spoken recitation at the beginning as well as before the second verse. The spoken lines are: "Nothing so blue as a heart in pain/Nothing so sad as a tear in vain", and "You trusted him and gave him your love/A love he proved unworthy of". The song uses an extended bridge that repeats the minor and diminished chords before going up half a step for the final repeated Choruses. Although not given writing credit on this particular tune, Miracle Marv Tarplin's outstanding guitar work plays an important role in this song, his gentle but effective riffs being evident from the song's beginning, giving a "raindrop" effect reminiscent of someone crying (the song's main theme). The Miracles performed this song on a 1969 telecast of ''The Mike Douglas Show'', a performance that was re-broadcast many years later on VH-1. The success of this song ended a period of relatively mediocre chart action for The Miracles during 1968, and set the stage for their biggest hit ever with Smokey as lead singer, 1970's multi-million selling #1 hit " The Tears of a Clown".

Personnel: The Miracles

- lead vocals *

Claudette Rogers 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 ...

- background vocals * Pete Moore - background vocals * Ronnie White - background vocals * Bobby Rogers - background vocals * Marv Tarplin - guitar

Other Credits

* The Funk Brothers - instrumentation

Chart performance

"Baby Baby Don't Cry" was a top 10 pop hit for The Miracles, peaking at number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, and at a Top 10 R&B hit as well, peaking as number three on ''Billboard's '' R&B singles chart. It sold over one million copies,

Cover versions

* Gerald Wilson and His Orchestra *

Projekt Projekt is a Portland, Oregon-based independent record label started by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. Projekt releases music in the styles of darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include S ...

References

External links

See The MIRACLES Perform Baby Baby Don't Cry on YouTube''
Baby Baby Don't Cry - by ''The Miracles'' - A Review by Joel Francis
{{authority control The Miracles songs Songs written by Smokey Robinson Tamla Records singles 1968 songs 1969 singles Songs written by Terry "Buzzy" Johnson Songs written by Al Cleveland Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson