"Shop Around" is a song originally recorded by

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 ...

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 subsidiary label. It 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 ...

and Motown Records founder

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 la ...

. It became a smash hit in 1960 when originally recorded by the Miracles, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, number one on the ''Cashbox'' Top 100 Pop Chart, and number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It was the Miracles' first million-selling hit record, and the first-million-selling hit for the Motown Record Corporation. This landmark single was a multiple award winner for the Miracles, having been inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2006, inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of The 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, and honored by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' as #500 in their list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

, dropping it 5 spots from #495 in the 2004 version.

The Miracles original version

Background

The original version of "Shop Around" by

(credited as "The Miracles featuring Bill 'Smokey' Robinson"), was released in 1960 on

Motown 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 ...

's Tamla label, catalog number T 54034. The song, written by Smokey Robinson and

, depicts a mother giving her now-grown son advice about how to find a woman worthy of being a girlfriend or wife ("My mama told me/'you better shop around'"). The original version of the song had a strong

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

influence, and was released in the local area of

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 ...

, before Gordy decided that the song needed to be re-recorded to achieve wider commercial appeal. At 3 a.m. one morning, the Miracles (Robinson, Claudette Rogers,

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 ...

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 ...

, and Pete Moore) recorded a new, poppier version of the song that became a major national hit. The original record label credits Bill "Smokey" Robinson as the writer, with Berry Gordy as producer. On the ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (previously abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacr ...

'' program of July 4, 1987,

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

reported that Gordy had previously rejected 100 songs by Robinson as "garbage" before accepting the 101st, "Shop Around," as "a hit." The single was the first Motown record to be released in the UK, on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

label. Pictured in the infobox is the subsequent EP release, coupling the "Shop Around" single with its follow-up, "Ain't It Baby". The two singles and the EP were the only Motown releases on the London label.

Reception

"Shop Around" was a big hit for the Miracles, becoming the group's first number 1 hit on the ''

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 ...

R&B singles chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

, spending eight weeks at the top, and also hitting No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, behind "

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

" by

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, tele ...

. "Shop Around" also reached No. 1 on the '' Cashbox'' magazine Top 100 pop chart and is also noted for being the first million-selling record for the Miracles and for the Motown Record Corporation, as well as a 2006

inductee. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "Shop Around", "

Who's Lovin' You "Who's Lovin' You" is a Motown soul song, written in 1960 by William "Smokey" Robinson. The song has been recorded by many different artists including The Miracles, who recorded the 1960 original version, The Temptations, The Supremes, Terence ...

", also saw a plethora of covers, including a version by

The Jackson 5 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 ...

in 1969. "Shop Around" inspired an

answer record An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

, "Don't Let Him Shop Around" by

Debbie Dean Debra "Debbie" Dean is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Jodi Albert. She first appeared in 2002, before Albert quit the role in 2004. She made her final appearance during 2005, before making a ...

. Dean's "Don't Let Him Shop Around" charted No. 92 on the Hot 100 in February 1961 and was Dean's only chart entry.

later recorded a sequel song for his 1987 album ''

One Heartbeat ''One Heartbeat'' is a million-selling 1987 album by R&B singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson. It hit number 26 on the US '' Billboard'' Album Chart and number 1 on the US Billboard R&B album chart. The album contains Robinson's last two US '' Bi ...

'', entitled "It's Time to Stop Shopping Around".

Awards and accolades

* The

Record Corporation's first million-selling hit record. * Inducted into the

in 2006. * The Motown Record Corporation's first ''

'' number-one R&B hit. It held the No. 1 position on the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart for 8 consecutive weeks. * Ranked as No. 500 on ''

''s list of "

". * Reached number one on the ''

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 ...

'' magazine Pop chart. * The first Motown Records song to reach the top 5 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart (No. 2). * Honored by the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

as one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".

Track listings

# "Shop Around" – 2:50 # "Who's Lovin' You" – 3:06

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

The Miracles *

- lead vocals, writer *

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 ...

- guitar *

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 *

- background vocals *

- background vocals Additional personnel *

- piano, writer, producer *

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 ** Joe Hunter - keyboards **

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases u ...

- bass **

Benny Benjamin William "Benny" Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall o ...

- drums **Ron Wakefield - tenor saxophone ** Mike Terry - baritone saxophone

Captain & Tennille version

Background

In 1976, the American

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

duo

Captain & Tennille Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinu ...

released their version of "Shop Around" for their second studio album, '' Song of Joy'', issued on the

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

label.

Toni Tennille Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille (born May 8, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist, best known as one-half of the 1970s duo Captain & Tennille with her former husband Daryl Dragon; their signature song is "Love Will Keep Us ...

changed the lyrics slightly so that they were sung from a woman's perspective. The "Shop Around" single was produced by the duo and featured the song "Butterscotch Castle" as its

. The single first entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on May 1, 1976, at number 62.

Reception

Released as the second single of Captain & Tennille from the ''Song of Joy'' album, their version of "Shop Around" was a success. The single reached number 4 in Canada on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' singles chart and peaked at number 4 on the US Hot 100 chart on July 9, 1976. While not out-charting The Miracles' original, their version became a gold record, and also topped the ''Billboard''

easy listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

for one week in 1976.

Track listings

# "Shop Around" - 3:29 # "Butterscotch Castle" - 3:19

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

- piano, vocals, background vocal *

Daryl Dragon Daryl Frank Dragon (August 27, 1942 – January 2, 2019) was an American musician, known as Captain from the pop musical duo Captain & Tennille with his then-wife, Toni Tennille. Career Born into a musical family, Dragon was the son of El ...

- guitar, bass guitar, keyboards *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

- drums, percussion *Gary Sims - bass vocal

References

*''Hits Of The Sixties: The Million Sellers'' by Demitri Coryton & Joseph Murrells, Batsford Ltd., 1990, , (pg 43).

Notes

External links

* * {{Authority control 1960 singles 1960 songs 1976 singles The Miracles songs Captain & Tennille songs Johnnie Ray songs Madness (band) songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Songs written by Smokey Robinson Songs written by Berry Gordy Tamla Records singles A&M Records singles Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy

The Miracles original version

Background

Reception

Awards and accolades

Track listings

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

Captain & Tennille version

Background

Reception

Track listings

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

See also

References

Notes

External links