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The Miracles – Got A Job (1958)
“Got a Job” was the very first single by a group now called the Miracles. Composed by Tyran Carlo (Berry Gordy & Billy Davis) and Smokey Robinson, this song was the start of something that is still going strong today: both The Miracles with their second lead singer Bill Griffin and the solo act Smokey Robinson are still performing! That is over a half a century of real longevity and talent.
Joslyn Layne, writing for Allmusic.com, sums up how the group known as the The Miracles came to be at Motown as follows:
“Scoring over 40 hits on the R&B Top 40 charts, the Miracles started out as the Five Chimes in the mid-’50s while the members were still in high school. The Detroit vocal group consisted of William “Smokey” Robinson, Warren “Pete” Moore, Clarence “Humble” Dawson, Donald Wicker, and James “Rat” Grice. Not too long after the group formed, Wicker and Grice left and were replaced by cousins Emerson “Sonny” Rogers and Bobby Rogers, who both sang tenor, and baritonist Ronnie White was in Dawson’s place. The vocal quintet then changed its name to the Matadors and in 1956 Claudette Rogers joined the band after her brother Sonny was drafted. The Matadors auditioned for Jackie Wilson’s manager, Nat Tarnopol, in 1956. Although Tarnopol wasn’t interested, finding the group too similar to the Platters, one of Wilson’s songwriters, Berry Gordy, Jr., was and he soon began producing the band, who now went by the name the Miracles. Gordy produced their first single, “Got a Job,” (an answer to the Silhouettes’ “Get a Job”) which was issued by the New York label End Records in 1958.”
More on The Miracles to come soon so stay tuned.
Musically Yours,
Related posts:
- "Yester Love" Performed By The Miracles (1968)
- "Much Better Off" Performed By The Miracles (1968)
- The Miracles To Get Walk Of Fame Star
- “Wichita Lineman” Performed by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1969) & Glenn Campbell (1968)
- "Lonely Teardrops"- Performed by Jackie Wilson (1958)
Filed under: Co-ed Vocal Groups, Fifties, Got A Job, Motown/Tamla, Pop/R&B, R&B/Doo-Wop, R&B/Motown, The Miracles, Tyran Carlo (Berry Gordy & Billy Davis) & Smokey Robinson
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sorry about the late response, but thanks for posting this – great to hear it again. A shame the end seems to be missing. The sound quality is fantastic, where did this come from?
Glad you enjoyed it radio nixon. Glad to hear from you.
Yeah the song does seem to end abruptly, but the essence is there (LOL).
I got the song from the 2 CD set “Ooo Baby Bay – The Anthology” of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. The quality is good on the entire set. It’s one of those more recent (2002) digitally remastered collections. I already had two Miracles Collections but couldn’t resist this one.