Recorded 1959–1960 Length 3:00 | Genre Soul | |
B-side "(You Can) Depend on Me"
"If Your Mother Only Knew" (Re-Issue) Released February 22, 1960 (1st Ver.)
March 21, 1960 (2nd Ver.)
April 4, 1960 (3rd Ver.)
August 17, 1962 (Re-Issue) Label Tamla
T 54028 (1960)
T 54069 (1962) | ||
"Way Over There" is a 1960 Motown soul song and single, written by William "Smokey" Robinson, produced by Berry Gordy, and first performed by The Miracles (credited as "The Miracles featuring Bill 'Smokey' Robinson") for the Tamla (Motown) label. It was one of The Miracles' earliest charting singles, reaching #94 on the Billboard Pop chart. Motown president Berry Gordy, Jr. had The Miracles record the song several times during its chart run. The first version had minimal orchestration. The second version added strings, and this is the version played by most oldies stations today. Claudette (Mrs. Smokey) Robinson had several lead parts on this song (as the "lover way over there on the mountainside"), answering Smokey's leads with chants of "Come to me, Baby". The song's B-side, "(You Can) Depend on Me", while not charting nationally, did become a popular regional hit in many areas of the country,and Smokey still sings it in his live shows today. "Way Over There" has inspired cover versions by Edwin Starr, The Temptations, The Marvelettes, The Royal Counts, The Spitballs, and Eddie Adams Jr, while "(You Can) Depend on Me" has inspired cover versions by The Temptations, The Supremes, Mary Wells, and Brenda Holloway. The song was also used for the title of Hip-O Select's 2009 compilation: The Miracles – Depend on Me: The Early Albums , which collects the first five LP releases by the group.