''Flying High Together'' is an album by

Smokey Robinson and 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 ...

on Motown Records' Tamla label, released in 1972. It is noted as The Miracles' last studio album with original lead singer Smokey Robinson, who retired from the act to concentrate on his duties as Vice President of The Motown Record Corporation. The album charted at #46 on the '' Billboard'' Pop Album chart, and featured two singles: the appropriately named "We've Come Too Far to End It Now", which matched the parent album's chart position on the ''Billboard'' singles chart, charting at #46, and reached the Top 10 of the ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart, charting at #9, and "I Can't Stand to See You Cry", which charted at #45 Pop, and #21 R&B. The album also featured a cover of

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All ...

' 1971 hit " Betcha By Golly Wow", the " Theme from ''Love Story''", and covers of the

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

solo hit, "

Got to Be There ''Got to Be There'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972, four weeks after the Jackson 5's ''Greatest Hits'' (1971). It includes the song of the same name, which was released ...

" (featuring outstanding guitar work by Miracle

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

The Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, The group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, ...

'#1 hit, "

Oh Girl "Oh Girl" is a song written by Eugene Record and recorded by American soul vocal group the Chi-Lites, with Record on vocals and also producing. It was released as a single on Brunswick Records in 1972. Included on the group's 1972 album '' A Lon ...

". The album also features songs composed by

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, ...

, Stevie Wonder and Syretta Wright, Bobby Miller, who was responsible for

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

' long string of hits, and Motown producer Johnny Bristol, but curiously neither Smokey nor any of the other Miracles contributed to the writing on this album and Smokey himself produced only two tracks, the aforementioned "Got to Be There" and "Love Story". The release of this album coincided with the group's final nationwide tour, before replacing Smokey with

Billy Griffin William L. Griffin (born August 15, 1950) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for replacing Smokey Robinson as lead singer of The Miracles in 1972. Biography Griffin was born and raised in West Baltimore, Maryland. He attende ...

. As of 2018, ''Flying High Together'' has yet to be issued on CD, but several of its songs have shown up on various Miracles foreign and domestic CD compilations. The Miracles' next studio album was 1973's

-led ''

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

''.

Track listing

Side one

# "I Can't Stand to See You Cry" ( Johnny Bristol, Wade Brown, Jr., David Jones, Jr.) # " Theme from ''Love Story''" (

Francis Lai Francis Albert Lai (; 26 April 19327 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film ''Love Story''. The so ...

, Carl Sigman) # "

We've Come Too Far to End It Now We've Come Too Far to End It Now was a 1972 single by Motown Records R&B group The Miracles (AKA 'Smokey Robinson & The Miracles') on its Tamla Label subsidiary (T54220F) and taken from their 1972 album, '' Flying High Together'', the group's fin ...

" (Bristol, Brown, Jones) # "Flying High Together" (Bristol, Brown, Jones) # "With Your Love Came" (Bristol, Brown, Jones) # "It Will Be Alright" ( Stevie Wonder,

Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright (February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights we ...

)

Side two

# "

" (

Eugene Record Eugene Booker Record (December 23, 1940 – July 22, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the Chicago-based vocal group The Chi-Lites from their formation in 1959 un ...

) # " You Ain't Livin' till You're Lovin'" (

Nickolas 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, ...

) # "We Had a Love So Strong" (Wonder, Wright) # "

" (

Elliot Willensky Elliot A. Willensky (August 6, 1943 – March 29, 2010) was an American composer, lyricist and music producer. He wrote Michael Jackson's first solo hit " Got to Be There" and the Jermaine Jackson/Whitney Houston duet "If You Say My Eyes Are Beaut ...

) # "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1 ...

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...

)

Personnel

The Miracles

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

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 ...

– backing vocals (bass) * Marvin "Marv" Tarplin – guitar

Additional

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 ...

– other instrumentation *

H.B. Barnum HB or Hb may refer to: Academia * H-b index, an extension of the h-index used in determining academic impact * H-B Woodlawn, a secondary education program in Arlington, Virginia, US * Hathaway Brown School, an all-girls private school in Shaker He ...

– arranger *

David Van De Pitte David J. Van De Pitte (October 28, 1941 – August 9, 2009) was an American music arranger and bass player. He is best known for his work at Motown Records during the 1960s and early 1970s, when he was responsible for arranging many of the be ...

– arranger * Eddie Nucilli – arranger

References

External links

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - ''Flying High Together'' (1972) album review by John Lowe, credits & releases
at

AllMusic 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 databa ...

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - ''Flying High Together'' (1972) album releases & credits
at

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Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - ''Flying High Together'' (1972) album to be listened
as stream on

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{{Authority control 1972 albums The Miracles albums Albums produced by Smokey Robinson Albums produced by Johnny Bristol Tamla Records albums Albums produced by Stevie Wonder Albums produced by Ashford & Simpson