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Motown M 1039 (AA), February 1963
b/w Laughing Boy
(Written by Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy)
Oriole CBA 1829 (B), May 1963
B-side of Laughing Boy
(Released in the UK under license through Oriole Records)
Originally issued as a B-side, this cover of a 1961 Barrett Strong flipside ended up cracking the charts in its own right (scraping in to the Hot 100 at… well, number 100, but it still counts, right?), becoming Mary Wells’ first double-sided hit in the process.
Superior to both Strong’s original, and to her own A-side here, Laughing Boy, this really is excellent. Unlike the strange, beautiful but somehow ill-suited ethereal high notes of the A-side, here Mary is back in the blues groove she’d started out in, grittier, throatier and less polished than her recent pop chart outings. (I don’t know when this was actually recorded, so it could date from before she started to hit big with the likes of The One Who Really Loves You – it’s certainly more of a raw delivery than any of her previous Smokey-produced sides).
The band are excellent, as they had been on Strong’s rendition. Their performance here moves away a little from the slow, smoky blues jam of the original, and towards more of a jazz-pop feel (check out the great horn flourishes) – but it’s a great decision, as Mary takes the song as though it was written especially for her.
Barrett Strong had drained the lyrics of much of their punch, but Mary brings them out splendidly; the narrator, mired in an especially unhealthy relationship, having been caught cheating on her partner, now urges him not to compound her mistake by breaking up with her (or cheating on her in retaliation). She sells it wholly convincingly, a timely reminder of her skill in bringing “story” songs to life; regardless of when it was recorded, coming as it does on the heels of a pair of rather insincere-sounding Wells performances (Two Lovers, Operator), it packs a surprising emotional punch.
If this was hardly an avenue that Mary Wells’ future career could follow, it’s still a very fine record, and well deserving of its (very brief) time in the chart sun.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
COVERWATCH
Motown Junkies has reviewed other Motown versions of this song:
- Barrett Strong (June 1961)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
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| Mary Wells “Laughing Boy” |
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Motown Junkies 
Although the 45 doesn’t say so, this is at least as old as The One Who Really Love You album which it first appeared on about seven months earlier.
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As a matter of fact, on American issues of Motown singles, I don’t think I remember seeing “Taken from album such-and-such” until Marvin’s “When I’m Alone I Cry” and “If My Heart Could Sing” (on the respective b-sides of “You’re A Wonderful One” and “Try It Baby.”)
Then too, I don’t think the practice was applied in any conscientious way till the Supremes’ “Baby Love” in the second half of ’64.
For instance, Vandellas b-sides Old Love Let’s Try It Again and There He Is At My Door do not say “Taken from album Come And Get These Memories”. “Forever” and “Goddess Of Love” do not say “Taken from album Playboy” and “My Daddy Knows Best” does not say “Taken from album Marvelous Marvelettes”. And in all those cases, the albums were on the market before those tracks were chosen as singles sides.
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Not her niche. 4/10
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I too always felt that this was recorded back in say late 1961. It has that kind of feel to it.
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