"Choosey Beggar" was a 1965 song recorded by Motown R&B group the Miracles on its Tamla label subsidiary. It was issued as the B-side of the group's top-20 million-selling single,[1] "Going to a Go-Go", and was taken from the group's Billboard Top 10 Pop album of the same name.
| "Choosey Beggar" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by the Miracles | ||||
| from the album Going to a Go-Go | ||||
| A-side | "Going to a Go-Go" | |||
| Released | December 6, 1965 | |||
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A): March 9, 1965 | |||
| Genre | Soul/pop | |||
| Label | Tamla T 54127 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Smokey Robinson Pete Moore | |||
| Producer(s) | Smokey Robinson | |||
| The Miracles singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, this song also became a national hit, reaching number 35 on the Billboard R&B chart. As the song's narrator, lead singer Smokey Robinson, using a play on the old axiom, "Beggars can't be choosers", portrays a man who simply refuses to accept just "any girl":
Beggars can't be choicey, I know...that's what the people say...But though my heart is begging for love ...I've turned some love away..." Only one girl is right for him... "I'm a choosey beggar...and you're my choice..."
Cash Box described it as a "a slow-shufflin' lament about a decidedly one-man woman."[2]
"Choosey Beggar" has inspired cover versions by Debby Boone, and Jazz artist Chazz Dixon, and has been included in the Miracles' compilation album Greatest Hits - Vol. 2, along with several other Miracles "Greatest Hits" compilations.
Personnel Credits
editPersonnel – the Miracles
edit- Smokey Robinson – lead vocals, co-writer, producer
- Claudette Rogers Robinson – background vocals
- Pete Moore – background vocals, co-writer
- Ronnie White – background vocals
- Bobby Rogers – background vocals
- Marv Tarplin – guitar
Other personnel
edit- Other instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
References
edit- ^ Coryton, Demitri; Joseph Murrells. Hits Of The Sixties: The Million Sellers
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 18, 1965. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
External links
edit- The Miracles-"Choosey Beggar", YouTube video