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Music – 1983 – Smokey Robinson – You Better Shop Around + Tears Of A Clown – Live At MoTown 25th Anv

The Tears of a Clown is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder….and was originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label….which was a subsidiary of Motown….as it first appeared on the 1967 album Make It Happen…..when it was re-released in the United Kingdom as a single in July 1970….and it became a # 1 hit on the UK Singles Chart.  Subsequently, Motown released “The Tears of a Clown” as a single in the United States as well….where it quickly became a # 1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts.  This song is an international multi-million seller….and a 2002 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee…..as the success of the song led then Miracles lead singer, songwriter and producer Smokey Robinson….who had announced plans to leave the act….to stay until 1972. 

 “Shop Around is a song originally recorded by The Miracles on Motown Records’ Tamla subsidiary label. It was written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. It became a smash hit in 1960 when originally recorded by The Miracles….while reaching # 1 on the Billboard R&B chart….# 1 on the Cash Box Magazine Top 100 Pop Chart….and # 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was The Miracles first million-selling hit record….as well as the first-million-selling hit for the Motown Record Corporation. This landmark single was a multiple award winner for The Miracles….after having been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2006…..while being 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 as # 500 in their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

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