"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, reaching number one on the Billboard R&B chart., number one on the Cash Box Magazine Top 100 Pop Chart, and number 2 on the Bill Board Hot 100 chart.
It was The Miracles first million-selling hit record, and the first-million-selling hit for the Motown Record Corporation.
This landmark single was a multiple award winner for The Miracles, having been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2006, inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll , and honored by Rolliung Stone as #500 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The original version of "Shop Around" (credited as "The Miracles featuring Bill "Smokey" Robinson", was released in 1960 on Motown's Tamla label,
The song 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'").
The original version of the song had a strong blues influence, and was released in the local area of Detroit before Gordy decided that the song needed to be re-recorded to achieve wider commercial appeal.
At 3 a.m. one morning, the Miracles recorded a new, poppier version of the song that became a major national hit. The original record label credits Bill "Smokey" Robinson as the writer, with Berry Gordy as producer.
The single was the first Motown record to be released in the UK, on Decca Records London label.
Comments