“If there was a Mount Rushmore for songwriters, the poetic Smokey Robinson would be permanently etched in stone alongside the illustrious likes of Lennon–McCartney, Bob Dylan and all the key standards composers,” (ChicagoConcertReviews). “The Temptations’ ‘My Girl,’ Mary Wells’ ‘My Guy,’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ are a just a few of the more than 4,000 credits, in addition to fellow timeless tunes ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me,’ ‘The Tracks of My Tears,’ ‘Ooo Baby Baby,’ ‘I Second That Emotion’ and ‘The Tears of a Clown” while fronting The Miracles throughout the 1960s and early ‘70s.”
Robinson on his early career: “‘We were the first group at Motown when Berry [Gordy] started Motown. We were there before he even started Motown, so it was just the beginning, man. A lot of energy going on. A lot of young people coming by to audition, to be signed up, hustle and bustle, and music.'”
Sticking to the preferred radio airplay runtime of that era — three minutes or less (2:58) — “Broken Hearted,” a non-single track from the Miracles sophomore album Cookin’ With the Miracles (1961), shifts up a half-step at 1:54.