"That Day When She Needed Me" (also known as "I was a Thousand Miles Away That Day When She Needed Me"), is a 1964 R&B song by the

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 ...

Records group

The Contours The Contours are an American rhythm and blues vocal group. They recorded for Motown Records. They are known for their 1962 hit single "Do You Love Me", which sold over 1 million copies and became a major hit again in 1988. History Establishment ...

, on the label's Gordy Records subsidiary imprint. Issued as the "B" side of their hit " Can You Jerk Like Me", this song broke out as a hit on its own, reaching No. 37 on the ''

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 ...

'' R&B listings that year.(Billboard had temporarily suspended its R&B Chart in 1964.) Written, composed, and produced 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 ...

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 ...

, this song was different from every other tune the Contours had recorded up to that point. A unique counterpoint to the group's trademark rough, raucous delivery, "That Day" was a soft, quiet, and heart-felt ballad with a unique

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

delivery,(structured like a ''"question and answer session"''). Though the song wasn't on the "A" side, it still became a hit, making it The Contours' only charting flip-side hit. In the song, Billy Gordon, the lead singer, acts as the narrator, while the rest of the group (Billy Hoggs, Sylvester Potts, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and guitarist Huey Davis) ask him questions. The song serves as a cautionary tale on how he lost the love of his life. This song has inspired a cover version by the Los Angeles–based R&B group ''The Performers'' and the Los Angeles–based group '' Sly Slick and Wicked'', and has been issued on several Contours and Motown "greatest hits" collections including ''The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 4'' and the now out-of-print Motown CD collection, ''The Very Best of the Contours''. However, the song was ''originally'' slated to appear on the 1964 unreleased second Contours album for Motown entitled "The Contours: Can You Dance" (Gordy 910). This album has since been made available as a digital download on certain internet sites. (''Note'': Unlike the "A" side, "Can You Jerk Like Me", which featured the new, reconstituted Contours, THIS song featured the ORIGINAL Contours (Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, Sylvester Potts, and Huey Davis) along with Billy Gordon, in their final chart appearance, recorded just prior to their departure).

Credits

* Lead vocals by Billy Gordon * Background vocals by Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Sylvester Potts, and Hubert Johnson * Guitar by Huey Davis * Other 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 ...

References

External links

Day When She Needed Me'' - by ''The Contours'' (1964 )YouTube videoAllmusic Guide
{{The Contours 1964 songs The Contours songs Songs written by Smokey Robinson Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson Gordy Records singles

Credits

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References

External links