Bad Girl (Miracles song)
Encyclopedia
"Bad Girl" is a 1959 Doo-wop
single by The Miracles
. Issued locally on the Motown Records label, it was licensed to and issued nationally by Chess Records
because the fledgling Motown Record Corporation did not, at that time, have national distribution. It was the first single released (and the only one released by this group) on the Motown label - all previous singles from the company (and all following ones from the group) were released on Motown's Tamla label. Although The Miracles had charted regionally and on the R&B charts with several earlier songs, including "Got A Job", "I Cry", "I Need A Change", and "(You Can) Depend On Me", "Bad Girl" was its first national chart hit, reaching #93 on the Billboard
Hot 100. Written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson
and Motown Records' President and Founder Berry Gordy
, "Bad Girl" is a sad, remorseful ballad about a young woman, whom Robinson, as the narrator, says "was so good at the start", but who later in the song "is breaking my heart". It is in the popular Doo-wop
style, as several of The Miracles' songs were during the late 1950s. The record's success, coupled with the distributor's failure to pay Gordy and The Miracles properly for its sales, prompted Robinson to urge Gordy to "go national" with it, meaning that Motown should do its own national distribution of its songs, and eliminate the middleman, to ensure that all money from sales of its records would go directly to the label.
On the Motown/Universal DVD Smokey Robinson and The Miracles: The Definitive Performances 1963-1987, Robinson and fellow Miracles Bobby Rogers
and Pete Moore
comment that the song's success allowed the group to tour nationally for the first time, and to play New York's legendary Apollo Theatre
during the Ray Charles
Show. The group was not ready for the appearance: it lacked performance experience and failed to produce professional big band arrangements to the satisfaction of theatre manager Honi Coles. Ray Charles intervened, took the group under his wing, and, with his band, created arrangements for their songs. Charles was one of the first to help them on their climb to eventual success.
"Bad Girl" has since become a Doo-wop
classic and was named one of the 100 Greatest Doo-Wop Songs of All Time by Doo Wop Nation. It appears on several Miracles' compilations, including Greatest Hits from the Beginning
. The song was also performed by the group on their final live album, 1957–1972. It has been covered by the Dazz Band
and by Motown artist Mary Wells
, whose version was called "Bad Boy" and appeared on her debut album, Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance
.
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
single by The Miracles
The Miracles
The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
. Issued locally on the Motown Records label, it was licensed to and issued nationally by Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
because the fledgling Motown Record Corporation did not, at that time, have national distribution. It was the first single released (and the only one released by this group) on the Motown label - all previous singles from the company (and all following ones from the group) were released on Motown's Tamla label. Although The Miracles had charted regionally and on the R&B charts with several earlier songs, including "Got A Job", "I Cry", "I Need A Change", and "(You Can) Depend On Me", "Bad Girl" was its first national chart hit, reaching #93 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100. Written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
and Motown Records' President and Founder Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
, "Bad Girl" is a sad, remorseful ballad about a young woman, whom Robinson, as the narrator, says "was so good at the start", but who later in the song "is breaking my heart". It is in the popular Doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
style, as several of The Miracles' songs were during the late 1950s. The record's success, coupled with the distributor's failure to pay Gordy and The Miracles properly for its sales, prompted Robinson to urge Gordy to "go national" with it, meaning that Motown should do its own national distribution of its songs, and eliminate the middleman, to ensure that all money from sales of its records would go directly to the label.
On the Motown/Universal DVD Smokey Robinson and The Miracles: The Definitive Performances 1963-1987, Robinson and fellow Miracles Bobby Rogers
Bobby Rogers
Bobby Rogers is an American soul singer and songwriter, notable as a member of Motown Records' first signed act and first million selling group The Miracles from 1956 to present. He is also the grandfather of R&B singer Brandi Williams from R&B girl group Blaque-Life:Rogers is the son of the late...
and Pete Moore
Pete Moore
Pete Moore is an African American soul singer, record producer, and songwriter, notable as the bass singer for Motown group The Miracles from 1955 onwards, and is one of the group's original members...
comment that the song's success allowed the group to tour nationally for the first time, and to play New York's legendary Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
during the Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
Show. The group was not ready for the appearance: it lacked performance experience and failed to produce professional big band arrangements to the satisfaction of theatre manager Honi Coles. Ray Charles intervened, took the group under his wing, and, with his band, created arrangements for their songs. Charles was one of the first to help them on their climb to eventual success.
"Bad Girl" has since become a Doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
classic and was named one of the 100 Greatest Doo-Wop Songs of All Time by Doo Wop Nation. It appears on several Miracles' compilations, including Greatest Hits from the Beginning
Greatest Hits from the Beginning
Greatest Hits from the Beginning is a compilation double LP by The Miracles released in 1965. It covers most of the group's hits from their pre-1965 albums, such as "Shop Around", "Who's Loving You", "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" and "Mickey's Monkey" as well as the non-album singles from 1964...
. The song was also performed by the group on their final live album, 1957–1972. It has been covered by the Dazz Band
Dazz Band
The Dazz Band is an American funk music band that was most popular in the early 1980s. Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio, the group's biggest hit songs include the Grammy Award-winning "Let It Whip" , "Joystick" , and "Let It All Blow"...
and by Motown artist Mary Wells
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...
, whose version was called "Bad Boy" and appeared on her debut album, Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance
Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance
Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance is the debut album by Motown recording artist Mary Wells, released on Motown in 1961. The album didn't chart but yielded two hit singles for the teenaged Wells including "Bye Bye Baby", which she issued in late 1960, and a song she had originally written...
.
The Miracles
- Smokey RobinsonSmokey RobinsonWilliam "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
- Claudette Rogers RobinsonClaudette Rogers RobinsonClaudette Rogers Robinson is an African-American soul singer, a member of The Miracles from 1957 to 1972. Her brother Emerson "Sonny" Rogers was an original member of the group, which was originally called "The Matadors" before 1957; Claudette Rogers took her brother's place after he was drafted...
- Marv TarplinMarv TarplinMarvin "Marv" Tarplin was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for The Miracles from the 1950s through the early 1970s. He was one of the group's original members and co-wrote several of their biggest hits, including the 2007 Grammy Hall Of Fame inducted "The Tracks...
- Ronnie White
- Pete MoorePete MoorePete Moore is an African American soul singer, record producer, and songwriter, notable as the bass singer for Motown group The Miracles from 1955 onwards, and is one of the group's original members...
- Bobby RogersBobby RogersBobby Rogers is an American soul singer and songwriter, notable as a member of Motown Records' first signed act and first million selling group The Miracles from 1956 to present. He is also the grandfather of R&B singer Brandi Williams from R&B girl group Blaque-Life:Rogers is the son of the late...