History
The song, written by Robinson and Berry Gordy, depicts a mother giving her now-grown son advice about how to find a woman worthy of being a girlfriend or wife ("My mama told me/'you better shop around'"). The original recorded version of the song had a strong blues influence, and was released in the local Detroit, Michigan area before Gordy decided that the song needed to be re-recorded in order to be more commercially viable outside of Detroit. So at 3 a.m. one morning, Robinson, Claudette Rogers, Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, and Pete Moore recorded a new, poppier version of "Shop Around" that became a major national hit. The original record label credits Bill "Smokey" Robinson as the writer, with Berry Gordy as producer.
Since its release, "Shop Around" has become an often-remade tune, on record, in live performance, and on television. The Captain & Tennille cover hit number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976; Toni Tennille changed the lyrics slightly so that they were sung from a woman's perspective. Their version topped the easy listening chart for one week in 1976.
"Shop Around" also inspired an answer record, "Don't Let Him Shop Around" by Debbie Dean. Dean's "Don't Let Him Shop Around" charted No. 92 on the Hot 100 in February 1961 and was Dean's only chart entry. Smokey Robinson later recorded a sequel song for his 1987 album One Heartbeat, entitled "It's Time to Stop Shopping Around".
The B-side to "Shop Around", "Who's Lovin' You", also saw a plethora of covers, including a famous one by The Jackson 5 in 1969.
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