The Secret Weapon.

He’d begun as accompanist on guitar to The Primettes, three teenager singers looking to get signed to Motown. Their lead singer, Diana Ross, asked a neighbor friend if he’d help get them a shot with Berry Gordy. The neighbor was the lead singer of The Miracles, a man named William “Smokey” Robinson, born 84 years ago today in Detroit. Smokey attended the 1960 audition and was immediately enamored with their accompanist. He told Diana he’d help get them signed to Motown if he could have the guitarist. The Primettes soon became The Supremes, and their guitarist, the magnificent Marv Tarplin, joined Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. He’d be with Smokey until 2008 and be inducted posthumously into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Marv Tarplin gave very few interviews in his life. He was a quiet, reserved man, often self-effacing, and listened to Country music far more than Rhythm and Blues. At one time in the mid-60’s, he’d come up with a chord sequence and melody line based on Harry Belafonte’s “The Banana Boat Song.” Smokey immediately had most of the lyrics other than Miracles member Pete Moore’s contribution, “Outside, I’m masquerading, inside, my hope is fading.” The recording would feature The Miracles with Smokey’s falsetto lead, Marv on guitar, and Motown rhythm section legends James Jamerson and Benny Benjamin. The finished record went to Berry Gordy who knew a masterpiece when he heard one. “The Tracks of My Tears” would sell more than 1,000,000 45’s, hit the Top 20 in the US and do so again in the UK a few years later. Marv would compose the music for several of The Miracles biggest hits, classics from “Going to A Go Go,” “I Like it Like That,” and “The Love I Saw In You Was Just a Mirage.” He would also have a hand in writing Marvin Gaye’s “I’ll Be Doggone” and “Ain’t That Peculiar.” Marv stayed with Smokey after Robinson left The Miracles, recording, cowriting and touring with him until his retirement in 2008. His music would feature on two of Smokey’s greatest solo singles “Cruisin’” and “Being With You.”

But back to Smokey, still great at 84, whom Bob Dylan called “America’s greatest living poet.” He has continued to tour into the present day, and despite singing his classics thousands of times, he said “I still perform because it’s a necessity for my innards. And those songs, some of those songs, I have sung, I don’t know how many thousands of times. And I promise you, every single solitary night, they’re new to me. They are brand-new to me that night.” The list of songs he has written and recorded for The Miracles and as a solo artist is staggering. The list of songs he has written for others is equally impressive, composing classics for Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Mary Wells, The Marvelettes, and The Four Tops.T

Though his commercial success has waned over the years, he has continued to write and record sublime material, often going unnoticed. A personal favorite from his late period is a single that should have resurrected his commercial fortunes, but sank like a rock on the charts. The great “Double Good Everything.”

He is also one of the greatest interpreters of other’s material. One of the best of these performances came on March 31, 1968, on The Ed Sullivan Show, with Marv Tarplin on guitar:

Today’s Playlist is a SomethingIsHappening all too brief compendium of some of the songs Smokey Robinson wrote for others…

#SmokeyRobinson #TheMiracles #MarvTarplin #Motown #TheTemptations #TheFourTops #MarvinGaye