"More Love" is a 1967 hit single recorded by the American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

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 groups ...

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 single, included on the group's 1967 album '' Make It Happen'', later reissued in 1970 as ''The Tears of a Clown''.

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a sess ...

's 1980 cover of the song reached the Top 10 of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 charts.

The Miracles' original version

This song's origins are born from real-life heartbreak and personal tragedy. 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 ...

wrote, produced, and sings lead on "More Love", which he considers one of his most personal compositions.George, Nelson (1985). ''Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound''.New York: St. Martin's. P. 66 Robinson wrote the song for his wife, Miracles member

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 ...

. Claudette had been a member of the Miracles since 1957, but retired from touring in 1964 after a series of miscarriages. She had a total of 8 miscarriages, which forced her off the road, never to tour with The Miracles again, though she continued to record with them as a non-touring member. On one occasion, the Robinsons had a set of twins that were

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term i ...

.Hackel, Stu (1997). ''Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: The Ultimate Collection''

iner Notes Iner or INER may refer to: * Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, or INER * Iner Souster FemBots are a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto formed in 1998. FemBots are known for their unique sound of combining instrumental everyday items, junk ...

New York: Motown Records/Polygram. According to Smokey Robinson:

After she had a miscarriage laudettewould always tell me she was sorry she had let me down. I would explain that she had not let me down because she was there, she was alive; I wanted the babies, but I didn't know them. I wrote 'More Love' to let her know how I felt about her.

Unlike most other Miracles songs, the track for "More Love" was recorded by

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s, instead of in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

by Motown session band

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 ...

and Miracles guitarist

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 ...

. Smokey and Claudette Robinson would eventually have two healthy babies, both named after aspects of the Motown corporation: a boy named Berry (after Motown founder

Berry Gordy, Jr. 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 l ...

) and a girl, Tamla, after the Miracles' record label,

Tamla 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 ''moto ...

(the Motown Records' subsidiary label for which The Miracles recorded). ''

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 ...

'' called it "a feelingful, building romancer...that should appeal to thousands of teen-age listeners." "More Love" peaked at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 19 on the ''

'' Top 100 in the United States, and was a Top 10 Billboard R&B hit, peaking at number five. Although not quite reaching the Pop Top 10 nationally, it was a regional smash, reaching #1 on the Cleveland Ohio Pop Charts for the week of August 11, 1967. The song's "B" side, "Swept For You Baby", was also a popular regional hit, and has inspired cover versions by

The Sylvers The Sylvers were an American R&B family vocal group from Watts, Los Angeles, California. The Sylvers were a popular act during the 1970s, recording the hit singles "Fool's Paradise", "Boogie Fever", and "Hot Line (song), Hot Line". Prior to bec ...

The Blenders The Blenders are a vocal quartet based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (not to be confused with the 1960s vocal quartet of the same name that was led by Steve Smith (singer), Steve Smith, appeared on the ''Lawrence Welk Show'' f ...

, and

The Tamlins The Tamlins are a Jamaican reggae vocal group formed in the late 1960s, known for their hits such as "Baltimore", and their work with artists such as Peter Tosh. History The group originally comprised Carlton Smith, Junior Moore and Winston Mor ...

(as "Sweat For You Baby"). In Canada, however, The Miracles' "More Love" became a Top 10 Pop hit, reaching number 8, charting higher than

' subsequent cover version in that country on the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts (#3) years later.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

The Miracles

– lead vocals *

– background vocals *

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 ...

– background vocals *

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 ...

– background vocals * Pete Moore – background vocals *Assorted Los Angeles studio musicians – instrumentation

Kim Carnes version

The most successful recording of "More Love" was a 1980 version by American singer

, included on her fifth studio album ''

Romance Dance ''Romance Dance'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kim Carnes. It was released on June 2, 1980 by EMI America. It became Carnes' first charting album, peaking at no. 57 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Nine tracks were produced by ...

'' (1980). Carnes' version of "More Love" peaked at number ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, spent two weeks at number nine on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 and reached number six on ''Billboard's''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. A

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

-language version of the song, "Más Amor", was also recorded and released in some territories in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. The single was the first top-ten solo hit for Carnes, formerly of

The New Christy Minstrels The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including " Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and " ...

. Despite "More Love" being a success, the follow-up, "

Cry Like a Baby "Cry Like a Baby" is a 1968 song written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, and performed by The Box Tops. The song reached #2 in April 1968 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. It was kept out of the top spot by ...

", would miss the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

, peaking at number 44. This song would be Carnes' biggest solo hit until "

Bette Davis Eyes "Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974. It was originally recorded by DeShannon in that year for her album '' New Arrangement'' but it was made popular by American singer Kim Carnes in 1981 wh ...

" in 1981.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* *
"More Love" song review by Joel Francis

List of cover versions of "More Love"
at SecondHandSongs.com {{authority control The Miracles songs Songs written by Smokey Robinson Tamla Records singles 1967 singles 1980 singles Kim Carnes songs Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson 1967 songs EMI Records singles Songs based on actual events Songs inspired by deaths