Greatest Songs, #495: "Shop Around" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

Album: Hi... We're the Miracles (Tamla Records)Year: 1960Written by: Berry Gordy & Smokey RobinsonBillboard Hot 100: #2[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQGXa3FiXKM&feature=related[/youtube]  From Rolling Stone:

Robinson initially thought Barrett Strong should do "Shop Around," but Gordy convinced Robinson that he was the right man for the song. After they recorded and released it, Gordy heard it on the radio and found it way too slow. So he woke Robinson at 3 a.m. and called him back to the studio to re-cut it, faster and with Robinson more prominent. That one worked.

From allmusic, reviewing the album:

...impeccable vocal performances, inventive and occasionally brilliant songwriting, and an aching romantic aura. [...] They'd do classier, more elaborate work later on, but the youthful verve of Robinson, Claudette Rogers Robinson, Ronnie White, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin on these tracks makes this an indispensable record, even for casual fans.