Smokey Robinson vs. Laura Nyro | Head 2 Head 🗣️

In the 44^th edition of Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️ (2023), Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and Laura Nyro & LaBelle contend for the best rendition of “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me.” 

Welcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️, we pit at least two musicians singing the same song together, comparing their performances.  Then, after much deliberation, we deliver a verdict of which performance was the best, or at least, subjectively, which performance moved us more.  In the 44^th edition of head 🗣️2 head 🗣️ (2023), 🎙 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and 🎙 Laura Nyro and  🎙 LaBelle contend for the best rendition of 🎵 “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

1. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me”

💿 The Fabulous Miracles • 🏷 Motown • 🗓 1963

“I don’t like you / But I love you / Seems that I’m always / Thinking of you.” Ooh-wee!  🎵 “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” appears as the opening track on 🎙 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ 1963 album, 💿 The Fabulous Miracles.  Written and produced by 🎼 ✍ 🎛 Smokey Robinson, who also sings lead, “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” is one of the best and biggest hits by the legendary Motown act.  How well did this love-driven joint perform on the pop charts? Well, it peaked at no. 8, earning it the honors of one of the collective’s six top-10 hits.

There’s plenty to ❤️ about “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me.” The theme of love that you can’t quit is incredibly relatable. Robinson conveys it superbly from a vocal and songwriting perspective.

“I don’t want you

But I need you

Don’t want to kiss you

But I need to.”

Woo! He brings plenty of personality to the table, via a once-in-a-lifetime tenor.  Also, we can’t fail to mention The Miracles, who bring the heat 🥵 as well. Speaking of other aspects of the songwriting, what about that lilting feel? This record executes 12/8 superbly 💪. Gotta love how the piano carries those triplets, not to mention the drum groove, and the way that the rest of the rhythm section is locked in.  Furthermore, what about those horns 🎺 🎷? All told, 🎵 “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” ranks among those utterly sublime, early, Motown classics. It’s old, but still lit 🔥!

Appears in 🔻:

• Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 159 (2023)

2. Laura Nyro & LaBelle, “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me”

💿 Gonna Take A Miracle • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. • 🗓 1971 

“Tighter, tighter.” Despite a short life (just 49 years), Songwriter’s and Rock and Roll Hall of famer 🎙 Laura Nyro made her impact known. A talented and soulful singer/songwriter, one of the true bright spots of Nyro’s discography is her 1971 covers album, 💿 Gonna Take A Miracle. Performing alongside 🎙 LaBelle (including 🎙 Patti LaBelle), she superbly covered the top-10, 🎙 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles classic, 🎵 “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”. 

Laura Nyro, with a mighty assist by LaBelle (those harmonized backing vocals soar), makes “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” truly her own. Her own voice oozes with soul, and she packs a mean punch 🥊.  Furthermore, she’s able to deliver  playfulness, exuding personality.  Nyro never sounds as if she’s forcing things, singing with an optimal tone and naturally delivering the goods. Initially,  the record begins percussion-less, with piano and bass, truly placing emphasis on the elite vocal performance.  By the minute-and-a-half mark, a full drum groove has entered the mix, as well as guitar, strings, and vibes.  At this point, the vocals are nothing short of epic.  Interestingly, after the two-and-a-half-minute mark, Nyro totally surprises in the outro, speeding up the tempo, fully showcasing the extent of her love (“Hold me baby, and don’t turn me loose /… ‘Cause I love you, oh.”).  This livelier transformation only adds to the magic of the fabulous Nyro/LaBelle rendition of 🎵 “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”. Oh, and I failed to mention it was produced by  🎛 Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff – Philly soul, baby!  

Appears in 🔻:

• Laura Nyro, You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me: Covers No. 43 (2023)

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️

Ah – here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Who recorded the best rendition of 🎵 “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me”.  Was it the originators, 🎙 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, or one of the coverers, 🎙 Laura Nyro & LaBelle? One of the best aspects of the updated version from Nyro & LaBelle is the outro that doesn’t appear on the original (“Hold me baby, and don’t turn me loose /… ‘Cause I love you, oh”). Even aside from the outro, the vocals and musical arrangement are stellar. Still, we’ve got to give the flowers 💐 to Robinson and The Miracles.  It was a top-10 pop hit in the 1960s that still tests the time today.  The edge, hence, goes to the original.

Smokey Robinson vs. Laura Nyro: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 44 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Motown, Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.; Hernán Toro, Los Muertos Crew, RDNE Stock project, Thomas Ronveaux from Pexels]