Alex Henderson

Billy Griffin
Be with Me  (Expanded Edition)

When Smokey Robinson left the Miracles in 1972 and launched his solo career, some fans wondered what would become of the long-running vocal group. Robinson, after all, had been with the Miracles since their inception in 1955—and his distinctive lead vocals were a vital part of their sound on a long list of 1960s hits that included “I Second That Emotion,” “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Ooo Baby Baby,” “Going to a Go-Go” (which the Rolling Stones covered on their Still Life album in 1981), “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” and “Mickey’s Monkey.” Smokey Robinson & the Miracles went down in history as legendary contributors to the Motown sound along with the Temptations, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Martha & the Vandellas, Mary Wells and the Marvelettes. The Miracles, in fact, helped put Motown Records on the map in 1960 with their single “Shop Around,” which soared to #1 R&B/#2 pop in Billboard, became Motown’s first million-selling record and established Robinson (who turned 20 in 1960 and is now 73) as both a soul star and a pop star.

So it’s understandable that in 1972, some of the Miracles’ admirers had a hard time imagining that they would carry on without him. But carry on they did, and Baltimore native Billy Griffin was hired as the Detroit group’s new lead singer. Certainly, Robinson was a darn tough act to follow, but Griffin proved to be an expressive singer in his own right and performed on five of the Miracles’ Tamla/Motown albums: Renaissance in 1973, Do It, Baby in 1974, Don’t Cha Love It and City of Angels in 1975 and The Power of Music in 1976. The Miracles enjoyed some major hits during their Billy Griffin period, including Do It, Baby’s sexy title song (which made it to #4 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart) and the 1975 disco-funk smash “Love Machine” (which was co-written by Griffin and became a #1 pop/#5 R&B hit in Billboard in the United States as well as a #3 pop hit in the UK). “Love Machine” was both a radio favorite and a dance club favorite, and it went down in history as one of the definitive songs of the Disco Era. Fueled by the success of “Love Machine,” City of Angels (a concept album about a man who follows his estranged girlfriend to Los Angeles) went platinum in the U.S. for sales of over one million copies.

After leaving Tamla/Motown, the Miracles resurfaced on Columbia/CBS Records (now Columbia/Sony) with Love Crazy in 1977. But 1978’s The Miracles turned out to be Griffin’s last album with the group, and in 1982, Columbia released his debut solo album, Be with Me. Stylistically, Be with Me pretty much picked up where Griffin’s work with the Miracles left off. The Miracles were masters of smooth northern soul, and the word “smooth” easily describes romantic ballads and slow jams such as “2^nd Day Love Story,” “Stone’s Throw from Heaven,” “Love Is Not a Word” and “Understand” (all of which go for maximum quiet storm appeal). But the Miracles were never a ballads-only group by any means: they heated up plenty of dance floors along the way whether it was with the exuberant “Going to a Go-Go” with Robinson in 1965 or the equally exuberant “Love Machine” with Griffin in 1975. So bearing that in mind, it comes as no surprise that Griffin shows listeners his uptempo side on danceable offerings that include “The Beat Is Getting Stronger,” the infectious title track and the funky “Breaking Out.”   

The song that Be with Me is best known for, however, is the slow jam “Hold Me Tighter in the Rain,” which was a Top 20 single in the UK and has a sound that is somewhere between the Miracles and Earth, Wind & Fire. The 7” single version of “Hold Me Tighter in the Rain” is among the five bonus tracks that appear on FunkyTownGrooves’ expanded CD edition of Be with Me; the others include three versions of the title song (the 7” and 12” single versions and a club remix) and the 7” single version of “2^nd Day Love Story.”

Be with Me was produced and arranged by songwriter/keyboardist John Barnes, but Griffin was heavily involved in the songwriting. In fact, Griffin co-wrote all of the songs except “Love Is Not a Word.” Other participants on this album include drummer Steve Ferrone (of Average White Band fame), Brazilian percussionist Paulinho Da Costa (a very busy session player in the 1970s and 1980s), guitarist Donald Griffin (Billy Griffin’s brother) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana-born bassist Randy Jackson (not to be confused with the Randy Jackson who was a member of the Jackson 5 and is a brother of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson). Appearing on saxophone is Gerald Albright, who is best known for his work as a pop-jazz instrumentalist but has backed plenty of major R&B singers along the way (including Teena Marie, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston and Anita Baker).

Using the term “quiet storm” to describe the ballads and slow jams on Be with Me is quite appropriate in light of where that term came from. In 1975, a post-Miracles Robinson recorded one of his most popular solo albums: A Quiet Storm. And in the late 1970s, radio programs that focused on the romantic side of R&B came to be described as “quiet storm” programs. Michael Henderson, Peabo Bryson, Teddy Pendergrass, Minnie Riperton, Phyllis Hyman, Norman Connors, Roberta Flack, Angela Bofill and, of course, Smokey Robinson were among the favorites on the quiet storm programs of the late 1970s—then, in the 1980s, Luther Vandross, Sade, Anita Baker, Regina Belle, Glenn Jones and Freddie Jackson became quiet storm favorites. And while Be with Me wasn’t huge in the U.S., the album’s more romantic tracks enjoyed some exposure on quiet storm programs (especially “Hold Me Tighter in the Rain”). Meanwhile, dance clubs were drawn to “The Beat Is Getting Stronger,” “Breaking Out” and the title track.

Indeed, Billy Griffin’s solo career was off to a rewarding start with Be with Me.

—Alex Henderson, January 2014

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Creem, Salon.com, The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, Latin Style, The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Inside Magazine and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to The All Music Guide’s popular website and series of music reference books.