Did Smokey's Miracles have a release on Fury Records in 1957?

**robb_k** · 03-13-2014, 04:22 AM

I've seen this entry on the discography of Bobby and Danny Robinson's New York label, Fury Records: Fury1012 – The Miracles - “Your Love”/”I Love You So” for some years, now.

Today, I read a review of early Miracles' songs from a CD, which included both of those songs, which also had been listed as released on two early Miracles' Tamla LPs.

The review, by a "Lozarithm", stated that Berry Gordy had produced early Miracles' recordings that were released on New York's Fury and End Records. All these years [[from 1958 through today) I've known about The Miracles' End records, recorded in New York, by George Goldner's crew. I bought them back then. But. I never heard of the Fury release. I never even heard of it as unreleased recordings, scheduled for release as Fury 1012, but cancelled.

Has anyone here heard of Fury 1012 being by SMOKEY'S Miracles, and recorded in New York by Bobby Robinson? Why would I never have heard of that in all these years?

**Hotspurman** · 03-13-2014, 07:22 AM

As far as I was able to ascertain, this was not Smokey Robinson’s Miracles but a completely different group. I’m pretty sure it was Herman Chaney, Valerio Poliuto, Manuel Chavez and Charles Middleton, who were originally known as The Shadows [[and how’s that for confusing!).

They subsequently name changed to The Miracles in 1955 and then to The Jaguars before the year was out, going on to score a turntable hit with The Way You Look Tonight. I’m pretty certain that Fury’s release was an attempt to cash in on their new found fame [[albeit under a different name), but I may be wrong. What I am certain about, however, is that the release of Your Love has no connection with Smokey and his Miracles.

**Hotspurman** · 03-13-2014, 07:26 AM

Ignore much of what I wrote above - it's still not Smokey's Miracles but a group backing Carl Hogan.

**carole cucumber** · 03-13-2014, 10:02 AM

Robb,

What Hotspurman states in post #3 above gels with entry #7063 and #7093 under the Compact Discs: Relic heading at BSN

http://www.bsnpubs.com/nyc/robinson/fire.html

**carole cucumber** · 03-13-2014, 10:17 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Riydfb6ajF0

**carole cucumber** · 03-13-2014, 10:25 AM

http://www.uncamarvy.com/Valentines/valentines.html See third paragraph from the
bottom.

&

http://books.google.com/books?id=L4g...d=0CFQQ6AEwBjg

**carole cucumber** · 03-13-2014, 10:31 AM

Part of the confusion also seems to come from the fact that one of the composers on the song[[s) is listed as Robinson- in this case, Bobby Robinson, the owner of the Fury label.

**motownjohnny** · 03-13-2014, 10:39 AM

Robb, as ever an interesting question from you.
Both Hotspurman and Carole are correct. The Miracles that issued a record on Fury were led by Carl Hogan. The other members of this New York group were John Brisbane [[tenor), Jerry Moore [[tenor), Ronnie Bright [[baritone) and Lee Gail [[bass). The single - there seems to be some confusion as to the actual record number; some discographies listing it as Fury 1002 / 1003 and others as Fury 1012, was "I Love You So" / "Your Love [[Is All I Need)" and came out around 1957.
So the answer to your question is that The Miracles led by Smokey Robinson never recorded for Fury.
The confusion surrounding this may not just be down to the groups having the same names, but also to the fact that Smokey's Miracles did record a song with a very similar title "Your Love". This appeared on both "Hi! We're The Miracles" and "The Fabulous Miracles" and is written by Berry Gordy and published by Jobete, which I believe wasn't set up until after 1957 when the Fury single was released.

**carole cucumber** · 03-13-2014, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by motownjohnny

Robb, as ever an interesting question from you.
The confusion surrounding this may not just be down to the groups having the same names, but also to the fact that Smokey's Miracles did record a song with a very similar title "Your Love". This appeared on both "Hi! We're The Miracles" and "The Fabulous Miracles" and is written by Berry Gordy and published by Jobete, which I believe wasn't set up until after 1957 when the Fury single was released.

Motownjohnny,
One small correction:
"Your Love" was written by William [[Smokey) Robinson but produced by Berry Gordy.

**motownjohnny** · 03-13-2014, 03:50 PM

Carole, you're right and I stand corrected!

**Roger Polhill** · 03-13-2014, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by motownjohnny

Robb, as ever an interesting question from you.
Both Hotspurman and Carole are correct. The Miracles that issued a record on Fury were led by Carl Hogan. The other members of this New York group were John Brisbane [[tenor), Jerry Moore [[tenor), Ronnie Bright [[baritone) and Lee Gail [[bass). The single - there seems to be some confusion as to the actual record number; some discographies listing it as Fury 1002 / 1003 and others as Fury 1012, was "I Love You So" / "Your Love [[Is All I Need)" and came out around 1957.
So the answer to your question is that The Miracles led by Smokey Robinson never recorded for Fury.
The confusion surrounding this may not just be down to the groups having the same names, but also to the fact that Smokey's Miracles did record a song with a very similar title "Your Love". This appeared on both "Hi! We're The Miracles" and "The Fabulous Miracles" and is written by Berry Gordy and published by Jobete, which I believe wasn't set up until after 1957 when the Fury single was released.

Jerry Osborne lists it as Fury 1001 so the thick plotens.

**robb_k** · 03-13-2014, 07:32 PM

Thanks everyone. I KNEW it had to be a mistake. There's no way I could have missed that, having been a Detroit and Motown collector, and having worked for Motown and having known many of the big Motown collectors.

I forgot about the Carl Hogan record. Earl in his career, Smokey was listed as "Bill" [[Smokey) Robinson. So, that's why the B. Robinson [[Bobby Robinson) was mistaken for Smokey, and the early Tamla Miracles cut "Your love" was a close title. It's amazing how many people print things on the Internet without researching them. And as younger people continue to enter The Internet, and we, who were around at the time, die off, less and less people know what really happened at the time, and so, MUCH more research is needed to know what really happened.

The California Miracles group related to The Jaguars was The Miracles on Cash/Money Records. They had no relation to Carl Hogan and the New York group.

It's amazing what errors are seen on the Internet, and become "Gospel facts" due to being seen thousands of times. The website showed Berry Gordy and Smokey robinson as the writer on both of those songs, and stated that they were individualy placed on The Miracle's first 2 albums [[also not true).

**woodward** · 03-14-2014, 10:46 AM

From my extensive collection of music publications, I can offer the following results with no conclusion. Unless someone can produce a copy of the Miracles release on Fury, it remains ambiguous.

In the Directory of American 45rpm records by Stak-O-Wax [[Ken Clee) Fury 1001 is shown as Your Love [[Is All I Need) b/w I Love You So by the Miracles.

I have the 3 part series of Record Exchanger published by Art and Ellen Turco Volume 2, Number 5, Consecutive Issue 11 from fall of 1972 which was the second of a 3 part interview with Bobby Robinson the owner of Red Robin, Fury, and Whirlin Disc labels. The Fury discography is shown. There were 3 series of Fury records: 1000 to 1074; 5000 to 5002; and 5050 to 5051. The space shown for 1001 is BLANK. It was allegedly the second release on the label. Bobby Robinson did a very extensive interview which spanned 3 magazines, but at no point did he mention the Miracles.

I also have a copy of "They All Sang On the Corner" by Phil Groia, copyright 1973 in which the author states, ". . . Finally on their last record, Carl Hogan rejoined to replace Eddie Edghill after leaving his Sugar Hill group, The Miracles, to sing lead on 'Don't Say Goodnight. . . ."
". . . During his hiatus from the Valentines, Carl Hogan formed a group called The Miracles [[Hogan, Leon Briggs, Jerry Moore, Lee Gail, and Joe Razor). They recorded "Your Love/I Love You So" [[Fury 1001).

Some more information that may or may not explain the mystery, but based upon Phil Groia's documentation, it is not Smokey and any of his Miracles. Apparently the record may have been recorded and not released.