Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

小簡介
Smokey Robinson ＆ The Miracles
Smokey Robinson和他領軍的組合The Miracles是6、70年代重要的黑人靈歌，他們的作品都已收錄在這套《環(huán)球大師珍藏系列》里。
忘了是哪一年，偉大的民謠歌手Bob Dylan曾經這樣評價Smokey Robinson：美國活著的最偉大的詩人。的確，作為美國當代最有影響力的詩人，Robinson為整個流行音樂創(chuàng)作了一系列相當精制的歌詞和旋律。同時，他也是這些作品最有表現力的歌手之一，并且他還是一位非常出色的制作人。作為一名60年代最有影響力的靈歌音樂家之一，Smokey Robinson將40年代和50年代黑人演唱組特有的甜美假聲唱法進行了精練，同The Miracles（奇跡）演唱組一道，他將這一演唱風格演變?yōu)榱餍幸魳芬粋€特有的派別，比如他與奇跡演唱組的代表歌曲之一“I Don't Blame You At All（不全怪你）”。
Smokey Robinson 1940年2月出生于底特律，15歲的時候和幾個伙伴兒組成了The Miracles演唱組，演唱組的第一首重要的熱門歌曲就是下面我們聽到的這首“Shop Around（四處購物）”，這是一首快節(jié)奏的作品，同時也體現出Robinson越來越出色的駕馭文字的技巧。這首歌曲1960年在美國排行榜上獲得了第2名，隨后他們便迎來了黃金時代，推出了一系列的熱門歌曲。
下面這首歌曲“Tracks Of My Tears（淚痕）”被看作是Smokey Robinson ＆ The Miracles最偉大的一首單曲，是Robinson緩慢華麗和柔和的愛情歌曲的代表作品，其中吉他手Marvin Tarplin舒緩流暢的演奏和Robinson憂郁懺悔的演唱以及深思熟慮的措詞完美的結合在一起。其實作為吉他手，Marvin Tarplin對The Miracles的貢獻一直被忽視了，除了他令人難以忘懷的吉他間奏和節(jié)奏演奏之外，他還為The Miracles創(chuàng)作了很多出色的歌曲，在Robinson清新熱情的制作處理下，The Miracles在60年代中期獲得了事業(yè)上的一次飛躍，而此時Smokey Robinson的演唱風格也完全成熟了。
到了1967年，也許是年齡上的緣故，Smokey Robinson的作品喪失了青春的朝氣，但具有了一種新的深度，在純真的格調消逝后，Smokey Robinson ＆ The Miracles并未從此一蹶不振。他們1967年錄制的這首歌曲“The Tears Of A Clown（小丑的眼淚）”1970年在英國獲得了成功，這一成功促使他們在美國發(fā)行了這首歌，并最終成為The Miracles第一首排行榜的冠軍歌曲。仔細聆聽這首歌，Robinson大部分歌詞的風格也展現在你眼前，由于專注于微笑背后的憂傷，他大部分動人的歌曲都著眼于內心的痛苦。
1972年，經過一系列的告別演出，Smokey Robinson離開了The Miracles開始個人的發(fā)展，他獨特的演唱風格被70年代那些“藍眼睛的白人靈歌歌手”廣泛模仿，當他成為一位個人音樂家之初，Robinson繼續(xù)發(fā)展著這一風格，樹立起了親切熱情的男子漢形象。作為一位具有影響力的作曲家和表演者，Smokey Robinson完善了黑人靈歌的流行風格，尤其是他的歌詞，充滿了令人信服的比喻以及精制的雙關語，一直被評論家們廣為稱贊。在他的制作技巧方面，Robinson培養(yǎng)起了自己浪漫的印象主義風格，也為自己的歌曲大大增色。
by Joslyn LayneScoring over 40 hits in the R&B Top 40 charts, the Miracles started out as the Five Chimes in the mid-'50s while the members were still in high school. The Detroit vocal group consisted of William "Smokey" Robinson, Warren "Pete" Moore, Clarence "Humble" Dawson, Donald Wicker, and James "Rat" Grice. Not too long after the group formed, Wicker and Grice left and were replaced by cousins Emerson "Sonny" Rogers and Bobby Rogers, who both sang tenor, and baritonist Ronnie White was in Dawson's place. The vocal quintet then changed their name to the Matadors, and in 1956 Claudette Rogers joined the band after her brother Sonny Rogers was drafted. The Matadors auditioned for Jackie Wilson's manager, Nat Tarnapol, in 1956. Although Tarnapol wasn't interested, finding the group too similar to the Platters, Jackie Wilson's songwriter Berry Gordy Jr. was, and he soon began producing the band, who now went by the name the Miracles. Gordy produced their first single, "Get a Job," which was issued by the NY label End Records in 1958. After one more release on this label, the Miracles recorded their first song for Gordy's new Motown/Tamla label, 1959's "Bad Girl" (which was issued nationally on the Chess label). Next came the first hit for both the group and the label, 1960's "Shop Around," which reached number one on the R&B charts and number two pop. The next song by the Miracles to hit the number one R&B spot and reach the pop Top Ten came two years later with "You've Really Got a Hold on Me." Smokey and Claudette got married in 1963, and she retired from the group a year later. The band's last big hit before they changed their name from the Miracles was "Going to a Go-Go" (1966), which climbed into the Top Five on the R&B charts, and the pop Top 20. Later that year, "I'm the One You Need" reached the Top 20. After this, the group's name changed to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and they scored two more number one songs: "I Second That Emotion" (1967) and "The Tears of a Clown" (1970). Smokey left the group to pursue a solo career in 1972 and 20-year-old Billy Griffin was brought in to replace the lead singer. Once again the Miracles, the band scored several more hits, including "Do It Baby" and "Don't Cha Love It," which both reached the R&B Top Ten. The Miracles experienced a big success in early 1976 with "Love Machine (Part 1)," which reached number one on the pop charts. The multi-million selling single came off of their second album without Smokey, 1975's City of Angels, and stayed on the charts for over six months, making it the longest-running hit the band ever had. Their final album on the Motown label, Power to the Music, followed. After this, the Miracles added a new member, Billy Griffin's brother Don, and the band switched over to Columbia Records. Their first CBS release was Love Crazy (1977), which contained a single, "Spy for the Brotherhood," that was pulled off the record after complaints from the FBI. The group's last charting single, "Mean Machine," made the R&B Top 100 in 1978. Billy Griffin pursued a solo career, and Warren "Pete" Moore became a record producer in Detroit. In the late '80s, Bobby Rogers started the New Miracles, and in 1990 the Miracles (including Billy Griffin and Claudette Robinson) reunited to re-record "Love Machine" for the U.K. Motorcity label.