"Cruisin'" is a 1979 single written, produced, and recorded by
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 ...
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. One of Robinson's most successful singles outside of his work with
The Miracles, "Cruisin'" hit number one on the U.S. ''
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 ...
'' Top 100 and was also a major ''
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 ...
'' Pop hit, peaking at number four the week of February 2, 1980. It was a Top Five hit on the Soul chart as well.
Background
The song was co-written by fellow Miracle
Marv Tarplin. "Cruisin'" was an even bigger hit in New Zealand, hitting number one on that country's chart. It is included on Robinson's ninth studio album, ''
Where There's Smoke...''.
Reportedly, Robinson had a cold when he recorded the song. It was originally intended as a B-side for a remake of "
Get Ready".
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
D'Angelo version
Neo soul musician
D'Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...
recorded a cover of the song for his 1995 album ''
Brown Sugar''. The cover was released as the album's second single on October 12, 1995, and was commercially successful charting within the top ten of the US R&B charts.
[ Billboard Singles: ''Brown Sugar'' AllMusic. Retrieved on 2010-05-09.] the album reached sales of 500,000 copies in the United States by October 1995.
[Ayers, Anne.]
D'Angelo Cruisin' Through His First Tour
'' USA Today'': 14.D. November 1, 1995.
This version appeared in the third episode of the
UPN sitcom,
Moesha
''Moesha'' () is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with her upper middle class famil ...
in 1996.
Composition and arrangement
"Cruisin", a cover of
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 ...
's 1979 hit of the same name, here features a predominant string section.
[Shapiro (2006), p. 104.] The longest track on the album, it employs
violin,
viola and
cello, as well as
shaker
Shaker or Shakers may refer to:
Religious groups
* Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect
* Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination
Objects and instruments
* Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone
* Cock ...
s and light percussion, while
sleigh bells are featured in the chorus.
[Metal Lungies: Remix Tuesdays - D’Angelo Part 4](_blank)
Metal Lungies. Retrieved on 2009-02-01. Flutist Lauryn Vivino contributes with
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
. The track also features steady piano-playing by D'Angelo,
[W & A's Record Reviews: D'Angelo](_blank)
Warr.org. Retrieved on 2009-02-01. with
Brooklyn Funk Essentials
Brooklyn Funk Essentials is a music collective who mix jazz, funk, and hip hop, featuring musicians and poets from different cultures. The band was conceived in 1993 by producer Arthur Baker and bassist and musical director Lati Kronlund. In ...
-member
Bob "Bassy" Brockmann playing the trumpet.
[Discogs: Bob "Bassy" Brockmann Discography](_blank)
Discogs. Retrieved on 2009-02-01.
Track listing
#"Cruisin'"
#"Brown Sugar"
Charts
Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis version
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...
and
Huey Lewis performed a cover of the song in the 2000 film ''
Duets''. The song is included on the soundtrack of the film and released as a single on September 11, 2000. The duet spent one week at number one on the US
Adult Contemporary chart. It was an even bigger hit in Australia and New Zealand, reaching number one on both country's singles charts, and in Iceland, where it climbed to number four in November 2000.
Track listing
Australian and German CD single
# "Cruisin'" (by Paltrow and Lewis) – 4:51
# "Feeling Alright" (by Lewis) – 4:02
# "Beginnings / Endings" (by
David Newman) – 1:59
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Other covers
* In 1988,
crossover thrash band
Beowülf
Beowülf is an American crossover thrash metal band formed in Venice Beach, California, in 1981 by Michael Alvarado, Dale Henderson, Mike Jensen and Paul Yamada. The group never gained a large mainstream success, but is considered one of the f ...
covered the song on their album ''
Lost My Head... But I'm Back on the Right Track''.
* Canadian jazz singer
Holly Cole included a cover of "Cruisin'" on her 1990 album ''
Girl Talk''.
* In 2001, saxophonist
Jaared
Jaared (pronounced "Jared"; born Ralph Jaared Arosemena, January 20, 1967) is an American contemporary jazz saxophonist
Jazz saxophonists are musicians who play various types of saxophones ( alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone ...
covered this song on his album ''Foreword''. Three years later, the late bassist
Wayman Tisdale included a cover of the song on his album ''Hangtime''.
* Filipino acoustic band
MYMP released their version on the album ''The Unreleased Acoustic Collection'' and again on ''Back to Acoustic'' in 2013.
* Japanese singer
Maki Ohguro (大黒 摩季 Ōguro Maki) released her version on the 2007 compilation album ''Best of Best 1000''.
*
Coolio
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo ...
has also sampled this song. Although the verse lyrics are changed in his song, the chorus is the same.
Popular culture
*In 2009,
''Essence'' magazine included the song in their list of the "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time".
*Robinson's version appears in the 2013 videogame
Grand Theft Auto V
''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...
inside the radio station The Lowdown 91.1.
*Robinson's version appears in a
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
TV commercial for
Allstate
The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Northfield Township, Illinois, near Northbrook since 1967. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993 but still partially owned by S ...
.
See also
*
List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2000
*
List of ''Cash Box'' Top 100 number-one singles of 1980
References
External links
Lyrics of this song*
{{authority control
1979 singles
1995 singles
2000 debut singles
Smokey Robinson songs
D'Angelo songs
Gwyneth Paltrow songs
Cashbox number-one singles
Number-one singles in Australia
Songs written by Smokey Robinson
Songs written by Marv Tarplin
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson
1979 songs
Motown singles
Hollywood Records singles
Tamla Records singles
Cooltempo Records singles
Rhythm and blues ballads
Soul ballads
1970s ballads