| Touch the Sky | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1982–1983 at Golden Sound Studios (Hollywood, California) | |||
| Genre | R&B, soul | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Producer | Smokey Robinson and Reginald "Sonny" Burke | |||
| Smokey Robinson chronology | ||||
| ||||
Touch the Sky is a 1983 album by American singer Smokey Robinson. It was produced and arranged by Robinson with Reginald "Sonny" Burke, and recorded and mixed at Golden Sound Studios, Inc., Hollywood, California. The album was released on the Motown sub-label Tamla.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [2] |
The album peaked at #50 on Billboard pop charts, and at #8 on R&B charts.
There were two singles released from this album. "I've Made Love to You A Thousand Times" peaked at #101 Billboard and #8 R&B charts, "Touch The Sky" at #110 Billboard and #68 R&B charts.
Robert Christgau gave the album a B+, giving a special recommendation to "cheating-song fans." [3]
Fellow Miracles members Claudette Robinson, then Smokey's wife, joins for background vocals on the title track, Marv Tarplin is featured on rhythm guitar and songwriting. Also featured are Robinson regulars Fred Smith and Michael Jacobsen (since A Quiet Storm – 1975), and Sonny Burke (since Smokey's Family Robinson – 1976). On "Dynamite" Robinson shares songwriting-credits with Berry Gordy, founder of Motown records (besides everything else).
Warm Thoughts is a 1980 album by Smokey Robinson. It features the top 40 hit, "Let Me Be the Clock". The album was arranged by Reginald "Sonny" Burke. This album also featured the semi-autobiographical tune "Wine, Women and Song", which proved to be the closest thing to a Miracles reunion that occurred in the 1980s, with Smokey doing a duet with his then-wife, former Miracle Claudette Robinson, and Miracle Marv Tarplin, with whom he shared songwriting credits, on guitar. The song "Travelin' Thru'" was written by Smokey's real-life sister, Rose Ella Jones, and two songs written by Robinson with fellow Motown artist, Stevie Wonder, and singer, songwriter, and former Starsky and Hutch star, David Soul. This album was a huge success, reaching the Top 20 of The Billboard 200 Pop Album chart, peaking at #14, and the Top 10 of Billboard's R&B Album Chart, peaking at #4.
Smokey's Family Robinson is an album by Smokey Robinson, released in 1976. The title is a pun on The Swiss Family Robinson.
Love Breeze is a Smokey Robinson album released in 1978. It was arranged by Sonny Burke.
Smokin' is a Smokey Robinson live album released in 1978.
Where There's Smoke... is a 1979 album by Smokey Robinson, released on Motown Records' Tamla label. It contains his Billboard Top ten pop hit single "Cruisin'".
Being With You is a 1981 album by American singer Smokey Robinson. It is one of the few Smokey Robinson solo albums that have been released in the CD format. It features the million-selling, Gold-certified single title track "Being With You", which hit #1 on the Cash Box Top 100. It just missed the #1 Pop position in Billboard, peaking at #2, making it Robinson's highest-charting solo hit after leaving the Miracles. It was also #1 for five consecutive weeks on the R&B Chart and for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
Make It Happen is a 1967 album by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. It featured ballads such as the hit singles "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" and "More Love", as well as the up-tempo "The Tears of a Clown" co-written by Stevie Wonder and his producer Hank Cosby.
Cookin' with the Miracles is the second Tamla album by American soul vocal group The Miracles, and their second of 1961. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson co-wrote most of the songs, including the two charting singles "Ain't It Baby" and "Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues". Another single, "Mighty Good Lovin’" b/w "Broken Hearted", was issued in between those two. However, only "Broken Hearted" appears on the album, featuring a different vocal take to the single version. The album is composed mostly of upbeat R&B tunes with steady string riffs, like "Determination" and "Broken Hearted". A cover of the jazz standard "Embraceable You" by George & Ira Gershwin is also included. "That's The Way I Feel", also from this album, was chosen for the soundtrack of the award-winning 1964 Ivan Dixon film Nothing But a Man.
Greatest Hits from the Beginning is a compilation double LP by The Miracles released in 1965. This was the first double album ever released by the Motown Record Corporation. It covers most of the group's hits from their pre-1965 albums, such as "Shop Around", "Who's Lovin’ You", "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" and "Mickey's Monkey", as well as the non-album singles from 1964: "I Like It Like That" and "That's What Love Is Made Of". The album was a success, reaching #21 on the Billboard Pop Album Chart. It was also the first Miracles album to chart on the Billboard R&B Album chart, where it was an even bigger success, peaking at #2.
One Heartbeat is a million-selling 1987 album by R&B singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson. It hit number 26 on the US Billboard Album Chart and number 1 on the US Billboard R&B album chart.
"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 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 Robinson had several lead parts on this song, 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.
Flying High Together is an album by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label, released in 1972. It is noted as The Miracles' last studio album with original lead singer Smokey Robinson, who retired from the act to concentrate on his duties as Vice President of The Motown Record Corporation. The album charted at #46 on the Billboard Pop Album chart, and featured two singles: the appropriately named "We've Come Too Far to End It Now", which matched the parent album's chart position on the Billboard singles chart, charting at #46, and reached the Top 10 of the Billboard R&B singles chart, charting at #9, and "I Can't Stand to See You Cry", which charted at #45 Pop, and #21 R&B.
What Love Has...Joined Together is a 1970 album by R&B group Smokey Robinson & The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label. A concept album consisting solely of six short love songs, it charted at number 97 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart, and reached the Top 10 of Billboard's R&B album chart, peaking at number 9. It was the first Miracles album to have no new songs; the recordings are all cover versions of songs written by noted composers, such as Stevie Wonder, Berry Gordy, Frank Wilson, Brenda Holloway and her sister Patrice Holloway, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Marvin Gaye, The Beatles' John Lennon & Paul McCartney,, and Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers.
Renaissance is a 1973 album by R&B group The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label. It was the first album by the group not to feature original lead singer Smokey Robinson on lead vocals, instead featuring him as executive producer. Robinson was replaced by lead singer Billy Griffin.
A Pocket Full of Miracles (TS306) is a 1970 album by Motown Records R&B group The Miracles, issued on its Tamla subsidiary label, one of three albums the group released that year. This album charted at #56 on the Billboard pop albums chart, and reached the top ten of the magazine's R&B albums chart, peaking at #10. It was released on September 30 of that year. Hit singles on the album included "Point It Out" and the topical Ashford & Simpson written-and-produced song "Who's Gonna Take the Blame", a sad, dark song about a girl that is turned out as a prostitute. Also included is the charting flip side "Darling Dear", B-side of "Point It Out", which reached #100 on the Billboard pop chart, and spawned a cover version by The Jackson Five.
"(You Can't Let the Boy Overpower) The Man in You" is a 1964 R&B song by the Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla subsidiary label. It was written by Miracles lead singer Bill "Smokey" Robinson, and was produced by Robinson and Motown president/founder Berry Gordy Jr. One of several gospel-styled call and response tunes the group issued in 1964, this song reached number 59 on the Billboard Pop chart, and the top 20 of the Cash Box R&B chart, peaking at number 12. The song was recorded on August 17, 1963, and was the group's first single release of 1964.
Yes It's You Lady is a 1982 album by American singer Smokey Robinson. As 1981's Being with You it was produced by George Tobin in association with Mike Piccirillo and recorded and mixed at Studio Sound Recorders, North Hollywood, California. It was released on the Motown sub-label Tamla.
Essar is a 1984 album by American singer Smokey Robinson. It was produced and arranged by Robinson with Reginald "Sonny" Burke. The album was released on the Motown sub-label Tamla. The album's title is a pun on the initials of Robinson's name.
Love, Smokey is a 1990 Smokey Robinson album. Love, Smokey was the follow-up to Robinson's very successful album One Heartbeat. The first single was "Everything You Touch". This song reached #2 on the adult contemporary chart. Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on the track "Easy". Singles from this album: 1. "Everything You Touch". 2. "It's The Same Old Love". 3. "Take Me Through The night". Songs one and two listed above had accompanying music videos. Robinson's daughter Tamla appeared in the video for "It's The Same Old Love". The CD format had 2 bonus tracks over the cassette and record versions.
Double Good Everything is an album by the American R&B musician Smokey Robinson, released in 1991. It was his first album to be released by a label other than Motown.
