During the mid-1980s, Motown Records struggled to keep afloat with the changing R&B landscape of radio and music television. Despite successful records by longtime acts such as The Temptations and The Commodores and a breakout crossover hit by DeBarge, many of the label’s newer acts came and went in a flash. Likewise, the efforts of certain veteran artists got lost in the shuffle while major attractions such as Rick James and Jermaine Jackson left the label.
Before his impactful “comeback” in 1987 with the One Heartbeat album, Smokey Robinson experienced his share of commercial highs and lows after a hit streak earlier in the decade. One of his most affecting singles which somehow escaped deserved airplay and sales was 1986’s “Sleepless Nights,” a melodically hypnotic slow-jam penned by Average White Band’s Alan Gorrie with Michael Mugrage. In fact, Gorrie had recorded the tune a year earlier on a solo album of the same name.
During the mid-1980s, Motown Records struggled to keep afloat with the changing R&B landscape of radio and music television. Despite successful records by longtime acts such as The Temptations and The Commodores and a breakout crossover hit by DeBarge, many of the label’s newer acts came and went in a flash. Likewise, the efforts of certain veteran artists got lost in the shuffle while major attractions such as Rick James and Jermaine Jackson left the label.
Before his impactful “comeback” in 1987 with the One Heartbeat album, Smokey Robinson experienced his share of commercial highs and lows after a hit streak earlier in the decade. One of his most affecting singles which somehow escaped deserved airplay and sales was 1986’s “Sleepless Nights,” a melodically hypnotic slow-jam penned by Average White Band’s Alan Gorrie with Michael Mugrage. In fact, Gorrie had recorded the tune a year earlier on a solo album of the same name.
A few months prior to the release of “Sleepless Nights,” Robinson just missed the R&B top 10 with “Hold on to Your Love.” Although written with Stevie Wonder, the low-key uptempo number doesn’t hold up nearly as well “Sleepless Nights” decades later. Yet, despite an accompanying video aired on BET (a luxury not afforded to “Hold on to Your Love”), the lush and romantic track—which is filled with trademark velvety Smokey vocals—only managed to scrape its way to #51.
There’s no denying that “Just to See Her,” “One Heartbeat,” and “What’s Too Much” from the following year are bona fide gems deserving of their classic status. It seems, however, that “Sleepless Nights” is just as lovely a composition and performance that deserves to enjoy the same appreciation.
Check out the video for Smokey Robinson’s “Sleepless Nights” below. You might just be surprised what you’ve been missing.