"Ooo Baby Baby"
Single by The Miracles
from the album Going to a Go-Go
B-side"All That's Good"
ReleasedMarch 5, 1965
RecordedHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); January 21, 1965
GenreSoul, pop
Length2:48
LabelTamla / T 54113
Songwriter(s)Smokey Robinson
Pete Moore
Producer(s)Smokey Robinson
The Miracles singles chronology
"Come On Do The Jerk"
(1964)		 "Ooo Baby Baby"
(1965)		 "The Tracks of My Tears"
(1965)

"Ooo Baby Baby" is a song written by Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore. It is a classic 1965 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla (Motown) label. The song has inspired numerous other cover versions by other artists over the years, including covers by Ella Fitzgerald, Todd Rundgren, The Escorts, The Five Stairsteps, Linda Ronstadt, and many others. The Miracles' original version of "Ooo Baby Baby" is listed as number 266 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The Miracles original version

Background

Written by Robinson and fellow Miracle Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, "Ooo Baby Baby" was a number 4 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1]

A slow, remorseful number, "Ooo Baby Baby" features Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson lamenting the fact that he cheated on his female lover, and begging for her to overlook his mistakes and please forgive him. The song's highly emotional feel is supported by the Miracles' tight background vocal harmonies, arranged by Miracles member and song co-author Pete Moore, and a lush orchestral string arrangement that accents The Funk Brothers band's instrumental track.

Cash Box described it as "a medium-paced, low-down, pop-r&b ode about an unfortunate gal whose singin’ the blues since she lost her guy."[2]

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Miracles' original version of this song as #266 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3] The song is one of the Miracles' most-covered tunes.

On the 2006 Motown DVD The Miracles' Definitive Performances, Pete comments on the song's creation: "In the songs that Smokey and I wrote together, Smokey and Berry kinda left the background vocals to me. And this song "I'm On The Outside (Looking In)", which was one of The Imperials' bigger hits.... When I heard that song, as far as the background (harmonies) were concerned and how (they were structured), I wanted to get the same kind of feeling with Smokey's vocal. So I called Bobby, Ronnie, and Claudette over, and we did the backgrounds for it. I kinda had that particular song in mind...so I wanted to get the same kind of feeling with 'Ooo Baby Baby'."

Influence

John Lennon was a huge fan of Smokey Robinson; he borrowed the "I'm Crying" part in this song for The Beatles' song "I Am the Walrus".

Chart performance

Personnel

The Miracles

Other credits

Linda Ronstadt version

"Ooh Baby Baby"
Single by Linda Ronstadt
from the album Living in the USA
B-side"Blowing Away"
ReleasedOctober 24, 1978
GenreRhythm and blues, soul
Length3:18
LabelAsylum
Songwriter(s)Smokey Robinson
Pete Moore
Producer(s)Peter Asher
Linda Ronstadt singles chronology
"Back in the U.S.A."
(1978)		 "Ooh Baby Baby"
(1978)		 "Just One Look"
(1979)

Background

In 1978, Linda Ronstadt recorded a cover version of "Ooh Baby Baby" and included it on her double-platinum album Living in the USA. Her version of the single reached number 2 on the Contemporary chart and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979 (it also hit the R&B and Country singles charts).[8] Her single, which opens with a saxophone solo by David Sanborn, was produced by Peter Asher and issued on Asylum Records. Ronstadt performed with Smokey Robinson both "The Tracks of My Tears" and "Ooh Baby Baby" on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special broadcast on May 16, 1983.

Chart performance

Other versions

References

  1. ↑ "The Miracles > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  2. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 20, 1965. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  3. ↑ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1965-05-03. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  5. 1 2 Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  6. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 5/15/65". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1965/Top 100 Songs of 1965". www.musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Linda Ronstadt > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  9. ↑ Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  10. ↑ Tsort. "Song artist 423 - Linda Ronstadt". tsort.info. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  11. ↑ US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. December 9, 1978
  12. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 500.
  13. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 1/27/79". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  14. 1 2 Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". www.musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1979". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  17. ↑ The Best of Soul Train Live (booklet). Time Life. 2011.
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