"Shop Around" is a song originally recorded by

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 ...

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 subsidiary label. It was written by 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 ...

and Motown Records founder

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

. It became a smash hit in 1960 when originally recorded by the Miracles, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, number one on the '' Cashbox'' Top 100 Pop Chart, and number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It was the Miracles' first million-selling hit record, and the first million-selling hit for the Motown Record Corporation. The single was a multiple award winner for the Miracles, having been inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2006, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and honored by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' as number 500 in their list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

, dropping it five spots from number 495 in the 2004 version.

The Miracles original version

Background

The original version of "Shop Around" by

(credited as "The Miracles featuring Bill 'Smokey' Robinson"), was released in 1960 on

Motown 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 ...

's Tamla label, catalog number T 54034. The song, written by Smokey Robinson and

, depicts a mother giving her now-grown son advice about how to find a woman worthy of being a girlfriend or wife ("My mama told me/'you better shop around'"). The original version of the song had a strong

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

influence, and was released in the local area of

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, before Gordy decided that the song needed to be re-recorded to achieve wider commercial appeal. At 3:00 one morning, the Miracles (Robinson,

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 ...

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 ...

, Ronnie White, and Pete Moore) recorded a new, more

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

version of the song that became a major national hit. The original record label credits Robinson as the writer, with Berry Gordy as producer. On the ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...

'' program of July 4, 1987,

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

reported that Gordy had previously rejected 100 songs by Robinson as "garbage" before accepting the 101st, "Shop Around", as "a hit". The single was the first Motown record to be released in the UK, on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

label. The subsequent EP release, coupled the "Shop Around" single with its follow-up, "Ain't It Baby". The two singles and the EP were the only Motown releases on the London label.

Reception

"Shop Around" was a big hit for the Miracles, becoming the group's first number-one hit on the ''

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 ...

'' R&B singles chart, spending eight weeks at the top, and also hitting number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, behind "

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

" by

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

. "Shop Around" also reached number one on the '' Cashbox'' magazine Top 100 pop chart, and is also noted for being the first million-selling record for the Miracles and for the Motown Record Corporation, as well as a 2006

inductee. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to "Shop Around", "

Who's Lovin' You "Who's Lovin' You" is a Motown soul song, written in 1960 by William "Smokey" Robinson. The song has been recorded by many different artists including The Miracles, who recorded the 1960 original version, The Temptations, The Supremes, Terence T ...

", also had a plethora of covers, including a version by

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

in 1969. "Shop Around" inspired an

answer record An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

, "Don't Let Him Shop Around" by Debbie Dean, which charted at number 92 on the Hot 100 in February 1961 and was Dean's only chart entry. Smokey Robinson later recorded a sequel song for his 1987 album '' One Heartbeat'', entitled "It's Time to Stop Shopping Around".

Awards and accolades

* The

Record Corporation's first million-selling hit record * Inducted into the

in 2006 * The Motown Record Corporation's first ''Billboard'' number-one R&B hit: It held that position on the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart for eight consecutive weeks. * Ranked as number 500 on ''

''s list of "

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

". * Reached number one on the ''Cashbox'' magazine pop chart * The first Motown Records song to reach the top five on the ''Billboard'' pop chart * Honored by the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".

Personnel

The Miracles *

– lead vocals, writer * Marv Tarplin – guitar *

– background vocals * Pete Moore – background vocals * Ronnie White – background vocals *

– background vocals Additional personnel *

– piano, writer, producer *

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 ...

– other instrumentation ** Joe Hunter – keyboards **

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...

– bass **

Benny Benjamin William "Benny" Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall o ...

– drums **Ron Wakefield – tenor saxophone ** Mike Terry – baritone saxophone

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Captain & Tennille version

Background

In 1976, the American

duo

Captain & Tennille Captain & Tennille were an American recording duo whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinum a ...

released their version of "Shop Around" for their second studio album, '' Song of Joy'', issued on the

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

label. Toni Tennille changed the lyrics slightly so that they were sung from a woman's perspective. The "Shop Around" single was produced by the duo and featured the song "Butterscotch Castle" as its

. The single first entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on May 1, 1976, at number 62.

Reception

Released as the second single of Captain & Tennille from the ''Song of Joy'' album, their version of "Shop Around" was a success. The single reached number 4 in Canada on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' singles chart and peaked at number 4 on the US Hot 100 chart on July 9, 1976. While not out-charting The Miracles' original, their version became a gold record, and also topped the ''Billboard''

easy listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...

for one week in 1976.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

* Toni Tennille – piano, vocals, background vocal * Daryl Dragon – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– drums, percussion *Gary Sims – bass vocal

Other versions

"Shop Around" has been covered many times, including versions by: *

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 ...

(1961) *

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

(1961) * Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames (1964) * Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (1964) *

Helen Shapiro Helen Kate Shapiro (born 28 September 1946) is a British Pop music, pop and jazz singer and actress. While still a teenager in the early 1960s, she was one of Britain's most successful female singers. With a voice described by AllMusic as poss ...

(1964) *

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty- ...

(1965) * Russ Giguere (1971) * The Spinners (1983) *

The Astronauts ''The Astronauts'' (Polish language, Polish: ''Astronauci'') is a 1951 science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. It was Lem's first science fiction novel published as a whole: his earlier science fiction novel ''The Man from Mars ...

* Don Bryant * The Allusions * Clarence Reid * Neil Merryweather * Lynn Carey * Angela Miller

References

*''Hits of the Sixties: The Million Sellers'' by Demitri Coryton & Joseph Murrells, Batsford Ltd., 1990, , (pg 43).

Notes

External links

* * {{Authority control 1960 singles 1960 songs 1976 singles The Miracles songs Captain & Tennille songs Johnnie Ray songs Madness (band) songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Songs written by Smokey Robinson Songs written by Berry Gordy Tamla Records singles A&M Records singles Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy

The Miracles original version

Background

Reception

Awards and accolades

Personnel

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Captain & Tennille version

Background

Reception

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

Other versions

See also

References

Notes

External links