It’s kind of hard to remember
a time when the Motown sound didn’t permeate American life, but of course it’s
only been a few decades since African American music flowed into the mainstream
of White culture. Smokey Robinson would be one of the pioneers, as a
songwriter, singer and front man for The Miracles. He’s been a force in the
industry since the 1950s. That’s what I call a successful career.
For today’s earworm, and Day 2
of National Poetry Month, I’m giving you “You Really Got a Hold on Me”.
Robinson wrote it in 1962, and it became a Top 10 hit almost immediately. The
Beatles famously covered it in the following year, staying true to the bluesy
beat.
As poetry, perhaps not the
most compelling of entries, but of course songs combine both words and music to
convey the story. In this case, the story is one everyone has
experienced, probably more than once: being so overcome by passion that, well,
you know…
Listening to it—after a lot of
years—I think of all the slow dances, in high school gymnasiums and darkened
clubs around the world over the past nearly 60 years, and it still rings true.
This version was released in
2014, on the CD Smokey & Friends. On it, Smokey’s joined by
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
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