Under The Covers

"Tracks Of My Tears" written by Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Miracles guitarist Marv Tarplin, was a 1965 hit for The Miracles. The song tells the story of a man trying to hide the sadness of a bad breakup with a false smile and laugh. "Tracks Of My Tears" is included on one of the Miracles' finest releases, Going To A Go-Go, along with hit songs "Ooo Babby Baby" and "Going To A Go-Go." In the spring of '68 Smokey's childhood friend, Aretha Franklin, recorded "Tracks Of My Tears" for her Atlantic release, Soul '69. "Tracks of My Tears" found Aretha in her signature soulful voice, singing with such abandon. While "Tracks of My Tears" was a #2 R&B hit and reached #16 on the Pop charts for the Miracles, Aretha's version reached #21 and #71 on the R&B and Pop charts, respectively."Tracks of My Tears" is listed on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The million selling song is a 2007 Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee. Rolling Stone magazine included the song in it's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Last month, "Tracks of My Tears" was preserved by the Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significance" to the National Recording Registry.