Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - "Best Of" POLL

I have the old 3-LP Anthology, so this seems pretty thin for a compilation. "Ooh Baby Baby" #1, "Tears of a Clown" #2, "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" #3, "Way Over There" and "Fork in the Road" ahead of all the rest.

ooo baby baby is out of this world.

this 'best of' is far too short... is missing 'baby baby don't cry' (which would be my choice) and 'you can depend on me' (which would be my second). still, every track on there is GOLD.

"ooh baby baby" is AMAZING.
still, "tracks of my tears" is so great that it's got to be it.

Tears of a Clown and the bassoon FTW.

Tears of a Clown doesn't do it for me, the almost hysterical organ and the funky bassoon don't match the subject matter. Tracks of My Tears gets it right.

this 'best of' is far too short... is missing 'baby baby don't cry' (which would be my choice) and 'you can depend on me' (which would be my second). still, every track on there is GOLD.

― it's the nuclear sex apocalypse, dude. i mean, c'mon. (stevie), Monday, June 22, 2009 5:20 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

"Baby, Baby Don't Cry" would be my vote too. That song hits such a perfect plaintive note. In its absence, "OOO Baby Baby."

"Mickey's Monkey," because Bobby DeNiro danced to it in Mean Streets.

Ooh Baby just a whisper above Tracks of my Tears for me.

smokey has so many great songs

Ooh Baby just a whisper above Tracks of my Tears for me.

^2nded

bassoon otm

I dislike Cruisin'.

I like "Cruisin'" but I like D'Angelo's version better

Most of these songs are exalted musical wonders. But Ooh Baby Baby, oh man. "I did you wrong, my heart went out to play and in the game I lost you - what a price to pay." This right here leaves me immobilized, every time, even after hearing it for forty five years. Good God, what a song.

Well it's not the greatest hits I would have picked. I voted for second that emotion.

Bimble, I'm surprised that you said it was weird you have this, as I always think that Smokey is the motown that most fans of early 80s indie would rate. Try to get a listen to Hunter gets captured by the game and listen to it with post punk ears.

Will do, thanks Sandy! The only other Smokey thing I've ever owned was his duet with Rick James "Ebony Eyes" which I think is a great song and it's on my fave Rick James album, to boot.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Of course we are all well aware that Linda Ronstadt recorded popular versions of the #1 and #2 poll winners. I, for one, however, didn't realize that her 'Tracks of My Tears' only made it to 25 on the the Billboard Pop chart (Ooh Baby Baby peaked at #7). It was a gigantic smash hit on both AM and FM radio in Scranton, PA in 1976, that's for sure.

"Cruisin," one of the greatest singles ever recorded, deserved at least a few votes; but, yeah, Smokey topped himself all the time in the sixties.

I love all these ilxors.

<3 <3

"mickey's monkey" was robbed

Tears of a Clown

I can hear the genius of his lyrics that Dylan and Townshend talk about in interviews on ToaC

i would have voted for "Cruisin.'"

Baby Baby Don't Cry

Might as well link this new piece here -- someone else taking a crack at describing the legend:

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/smokey-robinson-is-the-greatest-american-songwriter-1792170175

A wonderful read

Yeah, this is great.

I saw him live a few years ago and it was... a very weird show. There was a disconnect between his chipper, Motown hits and the sort of sultrier quiet storm stuff. Some of the "sexy" stuff was a little uncomfortable. But his songbook is unimpeachable.