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More Love (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles song)

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"More Love" is a 1967 hit single recorded by the American soul group The Miracles for Motown Records' 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's 1980 cover of the song reached the Top 10 of Billboard's Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 charts.

"More Love"
Single by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
from the album Make It Happen
B-side"Swept for You Baby"
ReleasedMay 26, 1967
RecordedLos Angeles, California (instrumentation)
Hitsville USA (Studio A) (vocals); April 26, 1967
GenreSoul[1]
Length2:49
LabelTamla
T 54152
Songwriter(s)Smokey Robinson
Producer(s)Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles singles chronology
"The Love I Saw In You Was Just a Mirage"
(1967) 		"More Love"
(1967) 		"I Second That Emotion"
(1967)

The Miracles' original version

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This song's origins are born from real-life heartbreak and personal tragedy. Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson wrote, produced, and sings lead on "More Love", which he considers one of his most personal compositions.[2] Robinson wrote the song for his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. 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.[3] According to Smokey Robinson:

After she had a miscarriage [Claudette] would 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.[2]

Unlike most other Miracles songs, the track for "More Love" was recorded by Los Angeles session musicians, instead of in Detroit, Michigan by Motown session band The Funk Brothers and Miracles guitarist Marv Tarplin.[3]

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

Cash Box called it "a feelingful, building romancer...that should appeal to thousands of teen-age listeners."[4]

"More Love" peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 19 on the Cash Box Top 100 in the United States, and was a Top 10 Billboard R&B hit, peaking at number five.[5] 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.[6] 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, 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 Kim Carnes' subsequent cover version in that country on the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts (#3) years later.[7]

Chart performance

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Personnel

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The Miracles

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Kim Carnes version

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"More Love"
 
Single by Kim Carnes
from the album Romance Dance
B-side"Changin'"
ReleasedJune 4, 1980
Recorded1980
Genre
Length3:38
LabelEMI America
Songwriter(s)Smokey Robinson
Producer(s)
Kim Carnes singles chronology
""Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" (with Kenny Rogers)"
(1980) 		"More Love"
(1980) 		"Cry Like a Baby"
(1980)

The most successful recording of "More Love" was a 1980 version by American singer Kim Carnes, 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,[13][14] spent two weeks at number nine on the Cash Box Top 100 and reached number six on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.[15] A Spanish-language version of the song, "Más Amor", was also recorded and released in some territories in Latin America. The single was the first top-ten solo hit for Carnes, formerly of The New Christy Minstrels. Despite "More Love" being a success, the follow-up, "Cry Like a Baby", would miss the Top 40, peaking at number 44. This song would be Carnes' biggest solo hit until "Bette Davis Eyes" in 1981.

Chart performance

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References

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  1. ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 544. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
  2. ^ a b George, Nelson (1985). Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound.New York: St. Martin's. P. 66
  3. ^ a b Hackel, Stu (1997). Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: The Ultimate Collection [Liner Notes]. New York: Motown Records/Polygram.
  4. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 10, 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 404.
  6. ^ "WKYC 1100 Cleveland Survey 08/11/67". Las-solanas.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  7. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  8. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  9. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1967-08-05. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  10. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1967-09-09. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  11. ^ "Top 100 1967-08-12". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1967". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  13. ^ Billboard Hot 100, Week of August 16, 1980 – Billboard.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  14. ^ Billboard Hot 100, Week of August 30, 1980 – Billboard.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  15. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 47.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 0211." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0249a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  18. ^ "Kim Carnes Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  19. ^ "Kim Carnes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  20. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending August 23, 1980" (PDF). Cash Box. Retrieved September 19, 2023 – via World Radio History.
  21. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1980/Top 100 Songs of 1980". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  23. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1980". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
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