"That Day When She Needed Me" (also known as "I was a Thousand Miles Away That Day When She Needed Me"), is a 1964 R&B song by the

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 ...

Records group The Contours, on the label's Gordy Records subsidiary imprint. Issued as the "B" side of their hit " Can You Jerk Like Me", this song broke out as a hit on its own, reaching #37 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 ...

'' R&B listings that year.(Billboard had temporarily suspended its R&B Chart in 1964.) Written, composed, and produced 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 ...

, this song was different from every other tune the Contours had recorded up to that point. A unique counterpoint to the group's trademark rough, raucous delivery, "That Day" was a soft, quiet, and heart-felt ballad with a unique call and response delivery,(structured like a ''"question and answer session"''). Though the song wasn't on the "A" side, it still became a hit, making it The Contours' only charting flip-side hit. In the song, Billy Gordon, the lead singer, acts as the narrator, while the rest of the group (Billy Hoggs,

Sylvester Potts Sylvester Potts was a singer and composer as well as an off and on member of The Contours and a one time member of The Four Sonics. Songs that he has either composed or co-composed have been recorded by The Contours, Mamie Galore, Jimmy Ruffin a ...

, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and guitarist Huey Davis) ask him questions. The song serves as a cautionary tale on how he lost the love of his life. This song has inspired a cover version by the Los Angeles-based R&B group ''The Performers'' and the Los Angeles-based group '' Sly Slick and Wicked'', and has been issued on several Contours and Motown "greatest hits" collections including ''The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 4'' and the now out-of-print Motown CD collection, ''The Very Best of the Contours''. However, the song was ''originally'' slated to appear on the 1964 unreleased second Contours album for Motown entitled "The Contours: Can You Dance" (Gordy 910). This album has since been made available as a digital download on certain internet sites. (''Note'': Unlike the "A" side, "Can You Jerk Like Me", which featured the new, reconstituted Contours, THIS song featured the ORIGINAL Contours (Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, Sylvester Potts, and Huey Davis) along with Billy Gordon, in their final chart appearance, recorded just prior to their departure).

Credits

* Lead vocals by Billy Gordon * Background vocals by Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea,

, and Hubert Johnson * Guitar by Huey Davis * Other instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

References

External links

Day When She Needed Me'' - by ''The Contours'' (1964 )YouTube videoAllmusic Guide
{{The Contours 1964 songs The Contours songs Songs written by Smokey Robinson Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson Gordy Records singles

Credits

See also

References

External links