# The Ultimate Collection (The Miracles album)

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The Ultimate Collection is a compact disc by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, released on Motown Records, catalogue 314530857-2, in February 1998. It is a collection of singles comprising many of the group's greatest hits, with liner notes written by Stu Hackel.

## Content

The disc contains seventeen top ten Rhythm and Blues singles chart hits, and nineteen Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 enjoyed by the Miracles and released on the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records imprint. The only exception is "Bad Girl," released locally in the Detroit area on the Motown label (the first single under this imprint) but nationally licensed to Chess Records. Three of the tracks included were B-sides — "Who's Lovin' You," "Choosey Beggar," and "(You Can) Depend on Me" — respectively the flipsides to "Shop Around," "Going to A Go-Go," and "Way Over There," with "Choosey Beggar" charting independently of its A-side on the R&B singles chart. "The Tears of A Clown" had been initially buried as a track on the album Make It Happen in 1967, but to quell clamor for more record releases by the group in the United Kingdom became a belated hit three years later. Issued in the United States shortly thereafter, it was the Miracles' only #1 hit with Smokey Robinson on the American pop singles chart. Years later, the group hit #1 again on the Billboard Pop chart with the smash hit "Love Machine," but by then Robinson had long since left the group, replaced with Billy Griffin. The disc was part of an "Ultimate Collection" series initiated in 1997 by Motown for many of their top-selling classic artists.
Starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, standard industry practice shifted to a focus on album sales, where a single became less a separate entity and more simply an advertisement for an LP, and a lead single would be pulled off an album as a promotional tool. Prior to this, singles were concentrated upon as a profitable commodity, especially for smaller record labels, and albums were often built around already successful singles. Since Motown fixated on the hit single until the very end of its stay in Detroit, single versions of songs often featured different mixes than versions that would be later placed on albums. Singles were usually mixed "punchier" and "hotter" to sound better on car radios receiving AM broadcast. The single versions are the ones appearing here.
All six original members of The Miracles are pictured on the cover, clockwise from left: Claudette Robinson, her cousin Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, Smokey Robinson, Marv Tarplin, and Pete Moore .

## Personnel: The Miracles

* William "Smokey" Robinson — tenor/falsetto vocals; lead vocals
* Claudette Rogers Robinson — soprano vocals; co-lead vocals on "Way Over There"
* Robert Rogers — second tenor vocals; co-lead vocals on "You've Really Got A Hold On Me"
* Ronald White — baritone vocals
* Warren "Pete" Moore — bass vocals, vocal arrangements
* Marv Tarplin — electric guitar
* The Funk Brothers — instruments
* Members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gordon Staples — strings

## Track listing

Singles chart peak positions from Billboard charts; no R&B chart existed from November 30, 1963, through January 23, 1965.
| Track | Catalogue | Release Date | Pop Chart | R&B Chart | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
| 1. | Tamla 54127 | 12/6/65 | #11 | #2 | Going to A Go-Go | Smokey Robinson, Warren Moore, Marvin Tarplin, Robert Rogers | 2:49 |
| 2. | Tamla 54159 | 10/12/67 | #4 | #1 | I Second That Emotion | Smokey Robinson and Al Cleveland | 2:40 |
| 3. | Tamla 54034 | 10/15/60 | #2 | #1 | Shop Around | Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy | 2:48 |
| 4. | Tamla 54028 | 4/4/60 | #94 | | Way Over There | Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy | 2:55 |
| 5. | Chess 1734 | 9/59 | #93 | | Bad Girl | Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy | 2:42 |
| 6. | Tamla 54034b | 10/15/60 | | | Who's Lovin' You | Smokey Robinson | 3:02 |
| 7. | Tamla 54059 | 4/9/62 | #39 | #11 | I'll Try Something New | Smokey Robinson | 2:36 |
| 8. | Tamla 54073 | 11/9/62 | #8 | #1 | You've Really Got A Hold on Me | Smokey Robinson | 2:56 |
| 9. | Tamla 54083 | 7/26/63 | #8 | #3 | Mickey's Monkey | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr. | 2:46 |
| 10. | Tamla 54098 | 6/3/64 | #27 | | I Like It Like That | Smokey Robinson and Marvin Tarplin | 2:34 |
| 11. | Tamla 54113 | 3/5/65 | #16 | #4 | Ooo Baby Baby | Smokey Robinson and Warren Moore | 2:42 |
| 12. | Tamla 54127b | 12/6/65 | | #35 | Choosey Beggar | Smokey Robinson and Warren Moore | 2:32 |
| 13. | Tamla 54123 | 9/22/65 | #14 | #3 | My Girl Has Gone | Smokey Robinson, Warren Moore, Marvin Tarplin, Ronald White | 2:52 |
| 14. | Tamla 54199 | 9/24/70 | #1 | #1 | The Tears of A Clown | Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby | 3:03 |
| 15. | Tamla 54178 | 12/12/68 | #8 | #3 | Baby, Baby Don't Cry | Smokey Robinson, Al Cleveland, Terry Johnson | 3:58 |
| 16. | Tamla 54118 | 6/23/65 | #16 | #2 | The Tracks of My Tears | Smokey Robinson, Warren Moore, Marvin Tarplin | 3:00 |
| 17. | Tamla 54145 | 1/27/67 | #20 | #10 | The Love I Saw in You Was Just A Mirage | Smokey Robinson and Marvin Tarplin | 2:57 |
| 18. | Tamla 54140 | 10/19/66 | #17 | #4 | (Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr. | 2:29 |
| 19. | Tamla 54152 | 5/26/67 | #23 | #5 | More Love | Smokey Robinson | 2:48 |
| 20. | Tamla 54172 | 7/30/68 | #26 | #4 | Special Occasion | Smokey Robinson and Al Cleveland | 2:18 |
| 21. | Tamla 54162 | 2/8/68 | #11 | #3 | If You Can Want | Smokey Robinson | 2:25 |
| 22. | Tamla 54167 | 5/13/68 | #31 | #9 | Yester Love | Smokey Robinson and Al Cleveland | 2:17 |
| 23. | Tamla 54220 | 5/4/72 | #46 | #9 | We've Come Too Far to End It Now | Smokey Robinson and Al Cleveland | 3:49 |
| 24. | Tamla 54053 | 10/14/61 | #35 | #16 | What's So Good About Goodbye | Smokey Robinson | 2:21 |
| 25. | Tamla 54028b | 4/4/60 | | | (You Can) Depend on Me | Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy | 2:40 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 60,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||