The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage
"The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" | ||||
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Single by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles | ||||
from the album Make It Happen[1] | ||||
B-side | "Come Spy with Me" | |||
Released | January 27, 1967 | |||
Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A): November 11, 1966 | |||
Genre | Soul, pop, psychedelic soul | |||
Length | 2:59 | |||
Label | Tamla T 54145 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Smokey Robinson Marvin Tarplin | |||
Producer(s) | Smokey Robinson Warren "Pete" Moore | |||
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles singles chronology | ||||
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"The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" is a 1967 song recorded by the American R&B group The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Marv Tarplin and produced by Robinson, it is noted for being the first single to bill the group as "Smokey Robinson" & the Miracles,[2] a billing already present on the group's albums by this time. Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore were the song's producers. [3]
Personnel
The Miracles
- Lead vocals by Smokey Robinson
- Background vocals by Claudette Rogers Robinson, Pete Moore, Ronnie White and Bobby Rogers
- Guitar by Marv Tarplin
Other personnel
- Other instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Lyric content and chart history
The single was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and a Top 10 hit on Billboard's R&B singles chart.[4] As with several of the Miracles' hits, "Mirage" begins with Tarplin's guitar and he plays the riff on a 12-string acoustic guitar. The song's lyrics feature Robinson's character as a man deceived by the beauty of a woman who showed "the promise of love", but then sadly discovered that her love was "just a mirage".
Cash Box called the single a "driving R&B workout that should get a lot of play."[5]
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 20 |
US Billboard Top Selling R&B Singles[7] | 10 |
Films and cover versions
- The Jackson 5, Vance Gilbert and The Uniques are among the acts who have recorded cover versions of "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage".
- The original 45 RPM single had The Miracles' "Come Spy with Me", (the original theme song to the 1967 20th Century Fox film of the same name), as the B-side.
- The hit "A" side, The Miracles' "The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage," was also used in a film, the soundtrack of the 1980 crime drama, "American Gigolo" starring Richard Gere. Gere actually sang along to The Miracles' original recording in the film.[8]
References
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ Asanovic, Bosko; Rimmer, Dave & Goldberg, Marv. "Miracles discography". Soulful Kinda Music. Retrieved 2008-03-30
- ^ "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage / Come Spy with Me by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - RYM/Sonemic".
- ^ Hackel, Stu (1997). Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: The Ultimate Collection [liner notes]. New York: Motown Records/Polygram.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 11, 1967. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 579.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 404.
- ^ "アメリカン・ジゴロ (American Gigolo - The love I saw in You was just a Mirage)". YouTube. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
External links
- See The Miracles perform the song on YouTube
- v
- t
- e
- Smokey Robinson
- Ronnie White
- Pete Moore
- Bobby Rogers
- Claudette Robinson
- Marv Tarplin
- Billy Griffin
- Donald Griffin
- Carl Cotton
- Mark Scott
- Dave Finley
- Sydney Justin
- Alphonse Franklin
- Tee Turner
- Hi... We're the Miracles (1961)
- Cookin' with the Miracles (1961)
- I'll Try Something New (1962)
- The Fabulous Miracles (1963)
- Christmas with The Miracles (1963)
- The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey (1963)
- I Like It Like That (1964)
- Going to a Go-Go (1965)
- Away We a Go-Go (1966)
- Make It Happen (The Tears of a Clown) (1967)
- Special Occasion (1968)
- Time Out for Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (1969)
- Four in Blue (1969)
- What Love Has Joined Together (1970)
- A Pocket Full of Miracles (1970)
- The Season for Miracles (1970)
- One Dozen Roses (1971)
- Flying High Together (1972)
- Renaissance (1973)
- Do It Baby (1974)
- Don't Cha Love It (1975)
- City of Angels (1975)
- The Power of Music (1976)
- Love Crazy (1977)
- The Miracles (1978)
- The Miracles Recorded Live on Stage (1963)
- Smokey Robinson & the Miracles LIVE! (1969)
- Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: 1957–1972 (1972)
- Greatest Hits: From the Beginning (1965)
- Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1968)
- Anthology (1974)
- Anthology '86 (1986)
- Anthology: The Best of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1995)
- The Ultimate Collection (1998)
- Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology (2002)
- Depend On Me: The Early Albums (2009)
- "Bad Girl"
- "Way Over There"
- "Shop Around"
- "Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues"
- "What's So Good About Goodbye"
- "I've Been Good to You"
- "I'll Try Something New"
- "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"/"Happy Landing"
- "A Love She Can Count On"
- "Mickey's Monkey"
- "I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying"
- "(You Can't Let the Boy Overpower) The Man in You"
- "I Like It Like That"
- "That's What Love Is Made Of"
- "Come On Do the Jerk"
- "Ooo Baby Baby"
- "The Tracks of My Tears"
- "A Fork in the Road"
- "My Girl Has Gone"
- "Going to a Go-Go"
- "Choosey Beggar"
- "Whole Lot of Shakin' in My Heart (Since I Met You)"
- "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need"
- "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage"
- "More Love"
- "I Second That Emotion"
- "If You Can Want"
- "Yester Love"
- "Special Occasion"
- "Baby, Baby Don't Cry"
- "Here I Go Again"
- "Doggone Right"
- "Abraham, Martin and John"
- "Point It Out"
- "The Tears of a Clown"
- "I Don't Blame You at All"
- "We've Come Too Far to End It Now"
- "Give Me Just Another Day"
- "Do It Baby"
- "Love Machine"
- The Definitive Performances (1963–1987) (2006)