“So wonderful”: the move that made Smokey Robinson fall in love with The Beatles
Beloved by legions of fans all across the world, The Beatles were already a global force to be reckoned with by the mid-1960s. The ‘Mop Tops’ seemed to have some universal appeal, blending together elements of different genres and styles to create something that spoke to widespread audiences without sacrificing any musical quality for that appeal. During their early days, in particular, the band owed a lot to the pioneering sounds of Black American artists like Smokey Robinson, who, in turn, always held a candle for the Fab Four.
Robinson was a key figure in the formation of Motown Records, regularly lending his production and songwriting skills to Berry Gordy Jr and his ever-expanding record label. Robinson and The Miracles were one of the first groups to be attached to the Motown label, then operating under the name Tamla Records. Within a few years of its formation, the Detroit label dominated the pop charts in America, bringing the sweet sounds of soul to audiences across the nation. For a while, however, that success failed to travel across the Atlantic.
Despite the best efforts of Gordy and the label, Motown didn’t have the same pop power in the United Kingdom as it did in the States. For a while, the only place you could hear Motown in the UK was in the sweaty all-night dances of the mod subculture, but that all changed when The Beatles burst onto the scene.
Like many young bands of the era, much of the Fab Four’s early material was made up of cover songs, with the Liverpudlian lads paying tribute to the music that first inspired them. Their sophomore record With The Beatles was particularly noted for its covers, featuring a version of Chuck Berry’s ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, alongside three different Motown covers.
Berry Gordy, realising the rising popularity of The Beatles in the UK, offered the band reduced royalty rates to cover Motown songs, and they seemingly took full advantage of this. Arguably, the stand-out track of this Motown medley was their version of The Miracles’ ‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’.
Robinson’s original version of the song had been released a year prior to With The Beatles and reached number eight in the US singles chart. White artists have a long and problematic history of plagiarising and stealing the music of Black artists without credit, but The Beatles never shied away from an opportunity to discuss the importance of Black music on developing their own sound. This outspoken support delighted Robinson, who quickly became a lifelong Beatles fan.
Speaking to Paul Du Noyer back in 2010, Robinson recalled the early days of The Beatles, sharing, “I had met the Beatles in London before they became the Beatles Beatles, you know what I mean? One of the things I loved when they became popular was that they were the first really popular white band – or white artists that I had heard – who came right out and said, ‘We grew up and were very influenced by Black music and by Motown’.”
“I really loved them for that,” he continued, “and I thought it was so wonderful they would say that.” Not only did The Beatles’ outspoken love of ‘the Motown sound’ endear the band towards The Miracles’ singer, it also helped to establish Motown Records in the UK. In the wake of their soul covers on With The Beatles, Motown’s presence in Blighty increased tenfold. Within a few short years, groups like The Four Tops, The Supremes, and Martha Reeves were achieving colossal chart success on both sides of the Atlantic.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.