You've Really Got a Hold on Me

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"You've Really Got a Hold on Me"

Single by The Miracles
from the album The Fabulous Miracles
Released	November 1962
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1962
Genre	Soul
Length	3:02
Label	Gordy T 54073
Writer(s)	Smokey Robinson
Producer(s)	Smokey Robinson
Chart positions
#8 (US Pop Singles) #1 (US R&B Singles)
The Miracles singles chronology
"I'll Try Something New" (1962}	"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (1962)	"A Love She Can Count On" (1963)

"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" is a 1962 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla (Motown) label. Written by Smokey Robinson and featuring Robinson on lead vocals, the song explores the feelings of a man so in love with his woman that he couldn't leave her even if he wanted to. The song was a major hit for the Miracles, peaking at number-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number-one on the R&B chart.

The song, one of the most famous of the early Motown era, has been covered extensively since its release, including a famous cover by The Beatles on their With the Beatles in the UK and on The Beatles' Second Album in the US. The song was also covered by The Zombies, The Supremes and Aidan Smith.

"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" was once performed live on the "Scenes from a Barbecue" episode of the television series Roseanne (May 7, 1991). In the episode, Roseanne's friend Bonnie (played by actress and singer Bonnie Bramlett) inserts a vocal performance during a Mother's Day backyard sing-a-long.

[edit] Credits

[edit] Miracles version

Lead vocals by Smokey Robinson
Background vocals by Claudette Rogers Robinson Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Bobby Rogers.
Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

[edit] The Beatles' Version

"You Really Got A Hold On Me" [sic] was the first track recorded for The Beatles second LP With the Beatles, and features John Lennon on lead vocal with George Harrison on close harmony. A million selling hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles in the US, The Beatles acquired an imported copy and included it in their repertoire early in 1963. This session for the new LP began with "Please Please Me" still at number one in the album charts four months after its release, and in the midst of a rigorous touring schedule that also had to include BBC sessions for radio and television.