"What Love Has Joined Together" is a song written and composed by

Miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

members

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

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 ...

, and was recorded by six Motown acts:

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

Smokey Robinson & 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 ...

Barbara McNair Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and theater, television, and film actress. McNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage. McNair's professional career began in music dur ...

Syreeta 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 ...

, and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

(after her years at Motown) and was issued as

B-sides 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 company ...

to hits by Wells and The Temptations; "

Your Old Standby "Your Old Standby" is a song written by Motown songwriters Smokey Robinson and Janie Bradford and released as a single by Motown star Mary Wells in 1963. The record marked her third top forty pop single to come out in 1963. Song information In t ...

" for Wells, released in 1963, and "

It's Growing "It's Growing" is a 1965 in music, 1965 hit single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Written by The Miracles, Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Warren "Pete" Moore, Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, the song was a top 20 pop s ...

" by The Temptations, released in 1965.Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. .

Song information

The song talks about a person professing their love to their loved one regardless of people's comments trying to separate them, with the person stressing the point that "what love has joined together can nobody take it apart". The song was originally recorded by the Miracles in 1962. Wells would record her version a year later while the Temptations covered it for their '' The Temptations Sing Smokey'' album in 1965.

recorded her version in 1968 for a proposed album "Barbara McNair Sings Smokey." It remained unreleased until 2004. Syreeta's version appeared on her debut album for Motown's MoWest label which was released in 1972. The Miracles also would record a special extended version of the song in 1970, as the title cut from their album of the same name. (See What Love Has...Joined Together ) . Queen Latifah's version appeared on her 2007 " Trav'lin Light" CD.

Personnel

Mary Wells version

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by the Love Tones *Instrumentation by

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 ...

The Temptations version

*Lead vocals by

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptatio ...

*Background vocals by Paul Williams,

David Ruffin David Eli Ruffin (born Davis Eli Ruffin;Ribowsky, p. 88 January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Clas ...

Melvin Franklin David Melvin English (October 12, 1942 – February 23, 1995) better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin, or his nickname "Blue", was an American bass singer. Franklin was best known for his role as a founding member of Motown singing g ...

and

Otis Williams Otis Williams (born Otis Miles Jr.; October 30, 1941) is an American baritone singer.Ribowsky, Mark (2010). ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Endearing Soul of the Temptations''. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 7–9 He is o ...

*Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers

Barbara McNair version

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by

the Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Mar ...

*Instrumentation by LA musicians

The Miracles version

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by

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 ...

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 ...

, Pete Moore and

*Guitar by

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 ...

*Other instrumentation by the Funk Brothers

Syreeta version

*Vocals by

*Instrumentation by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Queen Latifah version

*Vocals by

*No further information available

External links

* * * * * *

References

{{Mary Wells 1962 songs 1963 singles Motown singles The Miracles songs Mary Wells songs The Temptations songs Songs written by Smokey Robinson Songs written by Bobby Rogers