Shop Around – The Miracles (featuring Bill “Smokey” Robinson) | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#2) and R&B (#1 for 8 weeks); 1961

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

An early morning session re-recording of a song already released resulted in the first big hit for The Miracles. Prior to that fateful record, Smokey Robinson and his group had already stumbled when Got A Job, their answer to the Silhouettes #1 Get A Job, struck out as did its follow-up.

A third disc, Bad Girl, spent all of two weeks on the Hot 100 in late 1959, then Way Over There – the group’s first official 45 for Motown – stiffed in the spring of 1960. As the year wound down, Smokey approached label head Berry Gordy Jr. with a slow bluesy song he’d penned for Barrett “Money” Strong called Shop Around.

Gordy insisted the Miracles cut it instead. Post-release Berry rang up Smokey at three o’clock in the morning and demanded that the Miracles get down to the studio immediately to redo Shop Around.

With Berry subbing for a no-show piano player, the group laid down a faster, simpler version which promptly raced up the R&B and Pop charts.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

  • Berry Gordy

Lyrics Written by:

  • Smokey Robinson
  • Berry Gordy