"I Second That Emotion" is a 1967 song written 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 chi ...

and

Al Cleveland Al Cleveland (born Alfred W. Cleveland; March 11, 1930 – August 14, 1996) was an American songwriter for the Motown label. Among his most popular co-compositions are 1967's " I Second That Emotion" and 1969's "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" performed by ...

. First charting as a hit for

Smokey Robinson and 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 ...

on the Tamla/

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 ''mot ...

label in 1967, "I Second That Emotion" was later a hit single for the group duet

Diana Ross & the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

and

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 ...

, also on the Motown label.

Song origin

One morning in 1967, Robinson and Cleveland were shopping at

Hudson's The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the talles ...

, a

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 ...

department store. Robinson found a set of

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium ca ...

s for his wife, Claudette. "They're beautiful." he said to the salesperson. "I sure hope she likes them." Cleveland then added "I second that emotion." Both songwriters laughed at Cleveland's

malapropism A malapropism (also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to ...

; he had meant to say "I second that motion." The two were immediately inspired to write a song using the incorrect phrase.

The Miracles' original version

The Miracles' original version of the song finds lead singer and co-writer Smokey Robinson courting a girl who, weary of the game of love, prefers to string her men along and not get romantically involved. Robinson "wants no part" in such a relationship, but promises that if the girl changes her mind, he'll be around (''"If you feel like lovin' me/if you've got the notion/I second that emotion."'') This version peaked for three weeks in the United States at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in December 1967. It became the Miracles highest charting popular single since "

Shop Around "Shop Around" is a song originally recorded by the Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla subsidiary label. It was written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. It became a smash hit in 1960 when originally re ...

". In this song, guitarists Eddie Willis and Robert White came up with their own guitar licks and riffs for this song based on a chord chart that was given to them by Robinson (this is a classic example of the creativity

the Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group 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 ...

brought to the table during the recording sessions they participated in at the Snake Pit). Regular Miracles guitarist

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 ...

was also present on the song. The song also topped the ''Billboard'' Best Selling R&B Singles chart and was a million-selling hit for The Miracles, their sixth overall. The song was also a top 30 hit in the UK in 1967, reaching No. 27. '' Cash Box'' called it an "electrically sparkling slow-midspeed session" with "outstanding lead and the well worked team sound."

Personnel

The Miracles * 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 ...

, Pete Moore,

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

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 ...

. * Guitar by

* Other instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group 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 ...

Eddie Willis Eddie "Chank" Willis (June 3, 1936 – August 20, 2018) was an American soul musician. Willis played electric guitar and occasional electric sitar for Motown's in-house studio band, The Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s. Career B ...

- guitar ** Robert White - guitar

Charts

Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations version

The song was covered and released by a group duet of Motown labelmates

and

in 1969. This version peaked at No. 18 in the UK.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

and

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 Temptati ...

* Background vocals by Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong,

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations, on Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang ...

Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul O. Williams (1935–2009), American science-fiction author and poet * Paul L. Williams (author) (born 1944), FBI consultant, journalist * Paul Williams (journalist) (1948–2013), American founder of mu ...

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 ...

, and

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 gr ...

* Instrumentation by

* Guitar by

Track listing

7" single (1969) (United Kingdom) #"I Second That Emotion" – 2:55 #"The Way You Do the Things You Do" – 1:39

Charts

Japan version

"I Second That Emotion" was covered by British new wave band Japan, originally released as a single in 1980 without success. The single was re-released in 1982, on the back of the band's increased success in 1981, peaking at number 9 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in July, making it their second most successful single after " Ghosts".

Releases

The song was first released in March 1980 in the UK with a

fade-out In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theatre lighting in much the same way (see fade (filmmaking) and fade (lighting)). A re ...

version of "

Quiet Life ''Quiet Life'' is the third studio album by English new wave band Japan, first released on 17 November 1979 in Canada by record label Hansa (it would be released in the UK some weeks later). The album was a transition from the glam rock-infl ...

" on the B-side. In Japan, "Quiet Life" had been released as a single in 1979, so " European Son" was released as the B-side instead. In 1982, the song was remixed by

Steve Nye Steve Nye is an English music producer for several artists. Career Nye started out as a tape op at AIR Studios in London in 1971, where producer Rupert Hine discovered him. There he got into engineering (and later producing) many well-know ...

and released as a single, with the B-side "Halloween" originally released on the album ''

''. In Australia, the single was released with the B-side as the 1978 re-recorded version of " Adolescent Sex", originally from the band's debut album of the same name.

Track listings

7": Ariola Hansa / AHA 559 (1980, UK) # "I Second That Emotion" – 3:45 # "

" – 3:51 7": Ariola Hansa / VIPX-1501 (1980, Japan) # "I Second That Emotion" – 3:46 # " European Son" – 3:40 7": Hansa / HANSA 12 (1982, UK) # "I Second That Emotion" – 3:52 # "Halloween" – 4:23 12": Hansa / HANSA 12-12 (1982, UK) # "I Second That Emotion" (extended remix) – 5:15 # "Halloween" – 4:23 7":

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

/ 104039 (1982, Australia) # "I Second That Emotion" – 3:50 # " Adolescent Sex" – 4:10

Personnel

David Sylvian David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt, 23 February 1958) is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan. The band's androgynous look and increasingly ...

– vocals, guitar, keyboards *

Richard Barbieri Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), more recently he is known as the keyboar ...

– keyboards *

Rob Dean Rob Dean (born 23 April 1955) is a British musician turned professional illustrator, who rose to prominence playing lead guitar as a member of the British new wave band Japan from 1975 to 1981. Biography He is from the Clapton district of ...

– guitar *

Mick Karn Andonis Michaelides (Greek: Αντώνης Μιχαηλίδης; 24 July 1958 – 4 January 2011), better known as Mick Karn, was an English-Cypriot musician and songwriter who rose to fame as the bassist for the art rock/ new wave band Japan. ...

– fretless bass, saxophone *

Steve Jansen ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

– drums *

John Punter John Punter (born 27 January 1949) is a former English record producer and recording engineer. He has worked with many bands and musicians, such as Japan, Procol Harum, Roxy Music, Doctors of Madness, Sad Café and Slade. His career in music s ...

– producer * Nigel Walker – engineer *

– remixing (1982)

Charts

In popular culture

The song was often performed by the

Jerry Garcia Band The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly tour ...

. Between the years 1976 to 1994, the Jerry Garcia Band performed the song 154 times, not including seven live performances by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. In 1983, the song appeared on ''

The Big Chill Big Chill can refer to: *The Big Chill (music festival), an annual music and comedy festival held in England * ''The Big Chill'' (film), a 1983 American film directed by Lawrence Kasdan *The Big Chill at the Big House, a 2010 U.S. college ice hock ...

'' soundtrack Disc 1, Track 8. " I Second That Emotion" is the title of a 1999 '' Futurama'' episode. On June 18, 2012, ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwr ...

'' named "I Second That Emotion" its "Lyric of The Week". The publication wrote: the song "marches to the beat of its own drum, thanks to three stanzas of crafty doo-wop poetry and one punny one-liner—a malapropism, if you want to get technical—that never really loses its novelty appeal".

Song origin

The Miracles' original version

Personnel

Charts

Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations version

Personnel

Track listing

Charts

Japan version

Releases

Track listings

Personnel

Charts

In popular culture

References

Further reading