"Shop Around" | ||||
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Single by The Miracles | ||||
from the album Hi... We're the Miracles | ||||
B-side | "Who's Lovin' You" | |||
Released | September 27, 1960 (regional) October 15, 1960 (national) |
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Format | 7" single | |||
Recorded |
Hitsville USA (Studio A) 1960 |
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Genre | Soul | |||
Length |
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Label |
Tamla T 54034 |
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Writer(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Berry Gordy | |||
The Miracles singles chronology | ||||
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"Shop Around" | ||||
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Single by Captain & Tennille | ||||
from the album Song of Joy | ||||
B-side | "Butterscotch Castle" | |||
Released | April 1976 | |||
Format | 7" single | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:29 | |||
Label |
A&M 1817 |
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Writer(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Daryl Dragon, Toni Tennille | |||
Captain & Tennille singles chronology | ||||
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"Shop Around" is a song written by Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy. It became a popular hit in 1960 when originally recorded by the Miracles, reaching number one on the Billboard R&B chart and number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A 1976 cover version by the American husband and wife pop duo Captain & Tennille was also a popular hit, reaching number 4 on the Hot 100 chart, number 4 on the RPM chart in Canada and charting at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
The original version of "Shop Around" by the Miracles (credited as "The Miracles featuring Bill 'Smokey' Robinson"), was released in 1960 on Motown's Tamla label, catalog number T 54034. The song, written by Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy, 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, Michigan, before Gordy decided that the song needed to be re-recorded to achieve wider commercial appeal. At 3 a.m. one morning, the Miracles (Robinson, Claudette Rogers, Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, and Pete Moore) 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.