Quote Originally Posted by tommy good View Post
I would like to address the lyrics to Baby I Miss You. I had nothing at all todo with writing lyrics or melody of any of the songs on my Motown CD. None of us were encouraged to take part in the writing process. Berry had his writers and for the the most part, that was it. I just sang every thing that Berry asked me to.
I think everyone knows that "Baby I Miss You" was written by William Stevenson, and there are no stones being thrown. If there is one thing every Motown fan knows, it's that EVERYTHING, including the songwriting was done by others, everyone hired to concentrate on doing one thing and doing it well. We know artists were basically expected to sing a song as is and often according to a singer demo. That's why your singing is appreciated, because it retained a quality that was still original and expressive. I remember someone said about Billie Holliday that she was so good because she could take a song that wasn't the most spectacular and make it sound like something you WANTED to hear. I've noticed at Motown, two people could sing the same song and yet one could make even the dullest song sound like a hit. For me, had I been a teenager back then, I think I would have bought "Baby I Miss You" solely because of your performance of it.