Neha Patil (Editor)

(You Can) Depend on Me

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Recorded
  
1959

Length
  
3:00

Genre
  
A-side
  
"The Feeling Is So Fine" (withdrawn)"Way Over There"

Released
  
September 27, 1959 (1st single)February 22, 1960 (2nd single)

Label
  
TamlaT 54028 (1959/1960)

"(You Can) Depend on Me" (TAMLA 54028), was a 1959 song by Motown Records group The Miracles, which also appeared on the group's first album, Hi... We're The Miracles (released in 1961). It also appeared as the "B" side of the group's hit single, Way Over There. It was written by Motown Records' President and founder Berry Gordy and Miracles member William "Smokey" Robinson. While not charting nationally, this song was a very popular regional hit tune in many areas of the country, so much so, in fact, that it was included on the group's first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits from the Beginning, and Smokey still sings it, by request, in his live shows today.

Contents

A slow, intimate ballad number, with relatively sparse orchestration compared to much of their later work, "Depend On Me" starts with the singular guitar of Miracles member Marv Tarplin. Recorded in the popular Doo-Wop style, Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson, as the song's narrator, then takes it from there, singing to the woman he loves, promising her eternal devotion:

  • If you....need a love like mine that you can depend on...
  • When your whole world's closing in...and you need a friend...
  • You can depend...
  • On me .
  • Miracles Bobby Rogers, Claudette Rogers Robinson, Pete Moore, and Ronnie White, blend their voices into their trademark smooth harmonies to punctuate Smokey's vocals on the chorus and elsewhere. This popular song was originally intended as the "B" side of the Miracles' deleted 45 release: The Feeling Is So Fine, which Way Over There replaced.

    "(You Can) Depend on Me" has inspired cover versions by fellow Motown artists Brenda Holloway, Mary Wells, The Supremes, and The Temptations. It has appeared on many Miracles' Greatest Hits compilations and anthologies, and is the title song of the 2009 Motown CD compilation release : The Miracles – Depend On Me: The Early Albums.

    Personnel- The Miracles

  • Smokey Robinson - Lead vocals.
  • Bobby Rogers - Background vocals.
  • Pete Moore - Background vocals.
  • Claudette Robinson - Background vocals.
  • Ronnie White - Background vocals.
  • Marv Tarplin - Guitar.
  • Additional instruments

  • The Funk Brothers
  • References

    (You Can) Depend on Me Wikipedia