Not The Supremes, Not The Temptations: The Group That Time Forgot Gave Motown Its First Million-Seller

The two powerhouse, hit-making vocal groups most commonly associated with Motown Records are the Supremes and the Temptations. But while the former, led by the legendary Diana Ross, scored an astounding 12 No. 1 hits in Motown's golden age of the 1960s, and the Temptations charted numerous classics from the mid-'60s until well into the '70s, neither of those multi-voice pop-R&B institutions landed Motown its first certified million-selling single. That came from one of the label's earliest acts: eventual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee The Miracles, a group now remembered mainly for launching the career of lead singer and breakout star Smokey Robinson.

The Miracles, also billed as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and the Miracles featuring Bill "Smokey" Robinson, released seven Top 10 hits in the '60s and '70s, surviving their frontman's exit with successful band member replacement Billy Griffin. Among their smashes: "I Second That Emotion," "The Tears of a Clown," and "Love Machine (Part 1)." But it's one of the Miracles' early hits that put Motown on the American musical map. Here's how Motown shopped around a quickly-composed single and music fans made it the company's first certifiable smash hit.

The lore between Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson goes deep, and right around the time that Berry Gordy founded Motown Records with an $800 loan, he made the Detroit-based the Miracles one of his new label's first signees. Their initial single "Way Over There" flopped, prompting group leader Bill "Smokey" Robinson to come up with the bones of a song called "Shop Around." Conceived as a warning from a mother to a son, advising against settling down with his first steady girlfriend, it took Robinson and Gordy a little more than half an hour to completely write it.

"Shop Around" was earmarked for fellow Motown act Barrett Strong, but as he didn't want it, Robinson's group got the chance. It initially barely made the Hot 100, and Gordy ordered a new version on which he played the piano himself and asked studio musicians to play faster. Three months after the new "Shop Around" hit stores, it was the No. 2 song in the country, in early 1961. Another monumental feat for the recording: It was the first Motown single to sell a million units.