Shop Around

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"Shop Around"
Hitsville USA (Studio A)
Genre
Length
  • 3:04 (Detroit version)
  • 2:50 (national hit version)
LabelTamla
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Berry Gordy
The Miracles singles chronology
"Way Over There"
(1960) 		"Shop Around"
(1960) 		"Who's Lovin' You"
(1960)
Official audio
"Shop Around" on
YouTube

"Shop Around" is a song originally recorded by

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

The 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, and honored by Rolling Stone as #500 in their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
, dropping it five spots from number 495 in the 2004 version.

The Miracles original version

Background

The original version of "Shop Around" by the Miracles (credited as "The Miracles featuring Bill 'Smokey' Robinson"), was released in 1960 on Motown's Tamla label, catalog number T 54034.[3] The song, written by Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy, 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'").[4] The original version of the song had a strong blues influence, and was released in the local area of Detroit, Michigan, before Gordy decided that the song needed to be re-recorded to achieve wider commercial appeal. At 3 a.m. one morning, the Miracles (Robinson, Claudette Rogers Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, and Pete Moore) recorded a new, poppier version of the song that became a major national hit.[5] The original record label credits Robinson as the writer, with Berry Gordy as producer. On the American Top 40 program of July 4, 1987, Casey Kasem 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' London 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 1 hit on the

B-side to "Shop Around", "Who's Lovin' You", also saw a plethora of covers, including a version by the Jackson 5
in 1969.

"Shop Around" inspired an

answer record, "Don't Let Him Shop Around" by Debbie Dean. Dean's "Don't Let Him Shop Around" charted No. 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

Personnel

The Miracles

Additional personnel[11]

Chart performance

Captain & Tennille version

"Shop Around"
Single by Captain & Tennille
from the album Song of Joy
B-side"Butterscotch Castle"
Released1976
GenrePop
Length3:29
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Daryl Dragon, Toni Tennille
Captain & Tennille singles chronology
"Lonely Night (Angel Face)"
(1976) 		"Shop Around"
(1976) 		"Muskrat Love"
(1976)

Background

In 1976, the American

B-side. The single first entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on May 1, 1976, at number 62.[18]

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 singles chart and peaked at number 4 on the US Hot 100 chart on July 9, 1976.[19] While not out-charting The Miracles' original, their version became a gold record, and also topped the Billboard easy listening chart for one week in 1976.[20]

Chart performance

Personnel

Other versions

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

See also

  • List of number-one R&B singles of 1961 (U.S.)
  • List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.)

References

  • Hits of the Sixties: The Million Sellers by Demitri Coryton & Joseph Murrells, Batsford Ltd., 1990,
    ISBN 978-0713458510
    , (pg 43).

Notes

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "The Supremes - "Where Did Our Love Go". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 52.
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (March 19, 2018). "The Number Ones: Lawrence Welk's "Calcutta"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 8, 2023. ...the Miracles came close to #1 with "Shop Around," an absolutely perfect pop song...
  3. ^ "45cat - The Miracles - Shop Around / Who's Lovin You - Tamla - USA - T-54034".
  4. ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 25 – The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 4]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  5. ISBN 9781317269632
    .
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 404.
  7. ^ "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-516779-5
    .
  9. ^ "Inductee explorer | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame". Rockhall.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  10. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  11. ^ The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 1: 1959–1961 [liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
  12. ^ Laing, Dave (6 February 2007). "Obituary: Joe Hunter". The Guardian.
  13. ISBN 9780881888829
    .
  14. ^ Thornton, Jason H. 'The Andrew "Mike" Terry Story', There's That Beat! The Rare Soul Magazine, Issue 4, 2007, UK
  15. ^ "CHUM Tribute Charts, January 30, 1961".
  16. ^ a b "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1961". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  17. ^ "Chart Toppers: Hot 100 for 1961".
    ISSN 0006-2510
    .
  18. ^ "The Hot 100 – week of May 1, 1976". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  19. ^ "Chart History: Captain & Tennille – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  20. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 45.
  21. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-07-03. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  22. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-06-19. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
  23. ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART.
  24. ^
    ISBN 978-0898201550
  25. ^ "Top 100 1976-06-26". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  26. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1976". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  28. ISBN 978-1-61374-529-8
    .
  29. ISBN 978-0-85712-360-2
    .
  30. ISBN 978-0472-0368-68
    .
  31. ISBN 978-1-365-05412-9
    .
  32. ^ "The Miracles – "Shop Around"".
  33. ^ "The Astronauts – Astronauts Orbit Kampus". July 4, 1964 – via www.discogs.com.
  34. ^ "45cat - Don Bryant - Shop Around / I'll Go Crazy - Hi - USA - 45-2143".
  35. ^ "Allusions – The Allusions Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  36. ^ "Clarence Reid – 1969 – Dancin' With Nobody But You Babe Free Download". April 20, 2009.
  37. ^ "45cat - Merryweather And Carey - If I Were You / Shop Around - RCA - USA - SP-45-249".
  38. ^ "Merryweather & Carey – Vacuum Cleaner". November 4, 1971 – via www.discogs.com.

External links

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