"More Love" is a 1967 hit single recorded by the American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

group

The Miracles The Miracles (later known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most ...

for

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

' Tamla label. The single, included on the group's 1967 album '' Make It Happen'', later reissued in 1970 as ''The Tears of a Clown''.

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. A veteran writer of many of her own hits, as well as those for numerous other artists, she began her career in 1966 as ...

's 1980 cover of the song reached the Top 10 of ''

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 advertis ...

''s Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 charts.

The Miracles' original version

This song's origins are born from real-life heartbreak and personal tragedy. Miracles lead singer

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

wrote, produced, and sings lead on "More Love", which he considers one of his most personal compositions.George, Nelson (1985). ''Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound''.New York: St. Martin's. P. 66 Robinson wrote the song for his wife, Miracles member

Claudette Rogers Robinson Claudette Annette Rogers Robinson ( Rogers; born June 20, 1942) 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 befo ...

. Claudette had been a member of the Miracles since 1957, but retired from touring in 1964 after a series of miscarriages. She had a total of 8 miscarriages, which forced her off the road, never to tour with The Miracles again, though she continued to record with them as a non-touring member. On one occasion, the Robinsons had a set of twins that were

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. T ...

.Hackel, Stu (1997). ''Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: The Ultimate Collection'' iner Notes New York: Motown Records/Polygram. According to Smokey Robinson:

After she had a miscarriage laudettewould always tell me she was sorry she had let me down. I would explain that she had not let me down because she was there, she was alive; I wanted the babies, but I didn't know them. I wrote 'More Love' to let her know how I felt about her.

Unlike most other Miracles songs, the track for "More Love" was recorded by

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

s, instead of in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

by Motown session band

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 ...

and Miracles guitarist Marv Tarplin. Smokey and Claudette Robinson would eventually have two healthy babies, both named after aspects of the Motown corporation: a boy named Berry (after Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr.) and a girl, Tamla, after the Miracles' record label,

Tamla Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''motor'' ...

(the Motown Records' subsidiary label for which The Miracles recorded). ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

'' called it "a feelingful, building romancer...that should appeal to thousands of teen-age listeners." "More Love" peaked at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the weeks of July 29 and August 5, 1967 and number 19 on the ''

'' Top 100 in the United States, and was a Top 10 Billboard R&B hit, peaking at number five. Although not quite reaching the Pop Top 10 nationally, it was a regional smash, reaching #1 on the Cleveland Ohio Pop Charts for the week of August 11, 1967. The song's "B" side, "Swept For You Baby", was also a popular regional hit, and has inspired cover versions by The Sylvers,

The Blenders The Blenders is a vocal quartet based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (not to be confused with the 1960s vocal quartet of the same name that appeared on the ''Lawrence Welk Show'' for two years, and disbanded in 1967, or the R&B ...

, and The Tamlins (as "Sweat For You Baby"). In Canada, however, The Miracles' "More Love" became a Top 10 Pop hit, reaching number 8, charting higher than

' subsequent cover version in that country on the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts (#3) years later.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

The Miracles

– lead vocals *

– background vocals * Ronnie White – background vocals *

Bobby Rogers Robert Edward Rogers (February 19, 1940 – March 3, 2013) was an American musician and tenor singer, best known as a founding member of Motown vocal group the Miracles from 1956 until his death. He was inducted, in 2012, as a member of the Mira ...

– background vocals * Pete Moore – background vocals *Assorted Los Angeles studio musicians – instrumentation

Kim Carnes version

The most successful recording of "More Love" was a 1980 version by American singer

, included on her fifth studio album '' Romance Dance'' (1980). Carnes' version of "More Love" peaked at number ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the weeks of August 16, 23 and 30, 1980, spent two weeks at number nine on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 and reached number six on ''Billboard's''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. A

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

-language version of the song, "Más Amor", was also recorded and released in some territories in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. The single was the first top-ten solo hit for Carnes, formerly of

The New Christy Minstrels The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including "Green, Green (song), Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Tod ...

. Despite "More Love" being a success, the follow-up, "

Cry Like a Baby Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state or physical pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, joy, and fear. Crying can also be caused by relief from a perio ...

", would miss the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

, peaking at number 44. This song would be Carnes' biggest solo hit until "

Bette Davis Eyes "Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974. It was recorded by DeShannon that year but made popular by Kim Carnes in 1981 when it spent nine non-consecutive weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard ...

" in 1981.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* *
"More Love" song review by Joel Francis

List of cover versions of "More Love"
at SecondHandSongs.com {{authority control The Miracles songs Songs written by Smokey Robinson Tamla Records singles 1967 singles 1980 singles Kim Carnes songs Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson 1967 songs EMI Records singles Songs based on actual events Songs inspired by deaths