''The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey'' is an album 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 group ...

, released in 1963 by

Tamla Records 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 ...

. It includes the group's Top 10 smash single "

Mickey's Monkey Mickey's is a brand of malt liquor made by the Miller Brewing Company. It has a 5.6% ABV. The brand was created by Sterling Brewery in Evansville, Indiana, which brewed it from 1962 through 1972. It is known for its bright green barrel-shaped, ...

", written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland, which was later recorded by several other artists. "Mickey's Monkey" popularized "The Monkey" as a

novelty dance Novelty and fad dances are dances which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them, like the Twist, Y.M.C.A. and the Hokey Pokey, have shown much longer-lasting lives. They are also called dance fads or dance craze ...

. Also included is another H-D-H dance-oriented single, " I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying", a ''Billboard'' Top 40 hit. The album peaked at No. 113 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Much of the rest of the album is made up of popular dance songs, including " The Twist", "

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

" and

The Contours The Contours is one of the early American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records. The group is best known for its classic chart-topping 1962 hit, "Do You Love Me", which sold over 1 million copies and became a major hit again in 1988. His ...

' Motown hit "

Do You Love Me "Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 198 ...

". Miracles member

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 ...

co-wrote a song, "Dancin' Holiday", for the album. Miracle

Claudette 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 ...

takes the lead on the Miracles' remake of The Orlons' hit, "

The Wah-Watusi "The Wah-Watusi" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell and performed by The Orlons. It reached No.2 on the U.S. pop chart behind Bobby Vinton's " Roses Are Red (My Love)", No.5 on the U.S. R&B chart, and No. 12 in Canada in 1962. It wa ...

". ''The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey'' was released on CD by Motown Records in 1986, in a two-for-one set with their ''Away We A Go-Go'' album, and again by itself in a 1992 release.

Cover art

The album cover art is by

Stanley Mouse Stanley George Miller (born October 10, 1940), better known as Mouse or Stanley Mouse, is an American artist who is notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and album covers for the Grateful Dead, Journey, and other bands. P ...

; it was the artist's first album assignment.

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 l ...

often chose not to use pictures of his performers on the album covers of Motown's early releases, in order that the label not be defined strictly as a "black" record company.

Track listing

Side one

" ( Holland-Dozier-Holland) – 2:46 #"Dance What You Wanna" ( James Alexander, Sam Cooke, Clifton White) – 2:45 #"

" (

Dave Appell David Appell (March 24, 1922 – November 18, 2014) was an American musician, musical arranger and record producer born in Philadelphia. Career Appell (pronounced "AP-el") is associated mainly with the Cameo-Parkway record label, in whose his ...

Kal Mann Kal Mann (born Kalman Cohen; May 6, 1917 – November 28, 2001)
- accessed June 2010 was an American

The Twist" (

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of The Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

) – 2:29 #"Dancin' Holiday" (Diane Rogers, Fred Smith, Zelda Samuels) – 2:14 #" Land of a Thousand Dances" ( Chris Kenner) – 2:26

Side two

#" I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying" (Holland-Dozier-Holland) – 2:39 #" The Monkey Time" (

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

) – 2:51 #"The Groovey Thing" ( Smokey Robinson) – 2:43 #"

" (Phil Medley,

Bert Russell Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include " Twist and Shout", "Piece ...

) – 2:03 #"

" (

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 ...

) – 2:39

Personnel

* Smokey Robinson - lead vocals * Claudette Rogers Robinson - lead vocals (on "The Wah-Watusi"), background 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 * Pete Moore - background vocals *

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 The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

Production *

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 ...

- instrumentation *Smokey Robinson - producer *

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous h ...

- producer *

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

- producer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey 1963 albums The Miracles albums Tamla Records albums Albums produced by Smokey Robinson Albums produced by Brian Holland Albums produced by Lamont Dozier Albums recorded at Hitsville U.S.A.