I Like It Like That (The Miracles song)

"I Like It Like That" was a 1964 hit song by Motown group The Miracles on its Tamla label subsidiary. This is not the Chris Kenner hit song of the same name but a Miracles original, written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Marv Tarplin, and is included on the group's first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits from the Beginning. It was also the title song from their deleted 1964 album of the same name.

Background

Like many of the Miracles' hit songs, "I Like It Like That" begins with Tarplin's guitar. It has a "live party" feel, similar to their earlier 1963 hit, "Mickey's Monkey". Smokey encourages everybody to "clap your hands now, everybody, we're gonna have some fun tonight...we're gonna sing and shout...knock ourselves out...and everything's gonna be alright". The other Miracles, Bobby, Ronnie, Pete and Claudette, join in with their trademark harmony vocals, with chants of "alright", and "I like it like that" as The Funk Brothers add additional instruments to the mix.

Cash Box described it as "an infectious rhythmic shuffle-thumper...that sports a 'live' audience cheer and handclap support."

"I Like It Like That" was released during a period (1964) when Smokey and the Miracles were so busy touring as the headline act with the famed Motortown Revue shows, and writing big hits for other Motown acts, principally Mary Wells and The Temptations, that their own chart action suffered. Of the group's four single releases that year (the others were "Come On Do The Jerk", "(You Can't Let the Boy Overpower) The Man in You" and "That's What Love Is Made Of"), "I Like It Like That" was the only one to enter the Billboard Pop Top 30, while two songs that they wrote for the two aforementioned acts, "My Guy" and "My Girl" respectively, both reached No.1. "My Girl" was originally intended to be recorded by The Miracles. However, The following year, 1965, would prove to be The Miracles' biggest year ever.

Personnel

The Miracles:

Smokey Robinson - lead vocals
Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, Pete Moore, Claudette Robinson - background vocals
Marv Tarplin - guitar
Additional instruments: The Funk Brothers

Chart history

"I Like It Like That" reached the Top 30 of the Billboard Pop chart, charting at No.27 and the Top 10 of Cash Box R&B chart, peaking at No.10. (Billboard Magazine's R&B chart was temporarily suspended during this time).

Chart (1964)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	27
Canada RPM Top 40-5s	37

Cover versions

"I Like It Like That" has been covered by:

Bobby Vee
Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels.
The song's B side, "You're So Fine And Sweet", featured a rare lead by the Miracles' second tenor, Bobby Rogers (who had sung co-lead vocals with Smokey on the group's smash single "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" the previous year), and inspired a cover version by The Undertakers.

References

"Photographic image of record sleeve" (JPG). Farm4.static.flickr.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
^ "THE Motown Story Thread (Disregard All Previous Threads)". S3.excoboard.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
Nixon, The (28 October 2011). "429. The Miracles: "I Like It Like That"". Motown Junkies. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
"CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 20, 1964. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 579.
"RPM Top 40-5s - August 4, 1964" (PDF).

External links

v t e The Miracles (1955–1964) / Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1965–1972) / The Miracles (1973–2011)
Smokey Robinson Ronnie White Pete Moore Bobby Rogers Claudette Robinson Marv Tarplin Billy Griffin Donald Griffin Carl Cotton Mark Scott Dave Finley Sydney Justin Alphonse Franklin Tee Turner
Studio albums	Hi... We're the Miracles (1961) Cookin' with the Miracles (1961) I'll Try Something New (1962) The Fabulous Miracles (1963) Christmas with The Miracles (1963) The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey (1963) I Like It Like That (1964) Going to a Go-Go (1965) Away We a Go-Go (1966) Make It Happen (The Tears of a Clown) (1967) Special Occasion (1968) Time Out for Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (1969) Four in Blue (1969) What Love Has Joined Together (1970) A Pocket Full of Miracles (1970) The Season for Miracles (1970) One Dozen Roses (1971) Flying High Together (1972) Renaissance (1973) Do It Baby (1974) Don't Cha Love It (1975) City of Angels (1975) The Power of Music (1976) Love Crazy (1977) The Miracles (1978)
Live albums	The Miracles Recorded Live on Stage (1963) Smokey Robinson & the Miracles LIVE! (1969) Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: 1957–1972 (1972)
Compilations	Greatest Hits: From the Beginning (1965) Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1968) Anthology (1974) Anthology '86 (1986) Anthology: The Best of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1995) The Ultimate Collection (1998) Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology (2002) Depend On Me: The Early Albums (2009)
Singles	"Bad Girl" "Way Over There" "Shop Around" "Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues" "What's So Good About Goodbye" "I've Been Good to You" "I'll Try Something New" "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"/"Happy Landing" "A Love She Can Count On" "Mickey's Monkey" "I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying" "(You Can't Let the Boy Overpower) The Man in You" "I Like It Like That" "That's What Love Is Made Of" "Come On Do the Jerk" "Ooo Baby Baby" "The Tracks of My Tears" "A Fork in the Road" "My Girl Has Gone" "Going to a Go-Go" "Choosey Beggar" "Whole Lot of Shakin' in My Heart (Since I Met You)" "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need" "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" "More Love" "I Second That Emotion" "If You Can Want" "Yester Love" "Special Occasion" "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" "Here I Go Again" "Doggone Right" "Abraham, Martin and John" "Point It Out" "The Tears of a Clown" "I Don't Blame You at All" "We've Come Too Far to End It Now" "Give Me Just Another Day" "Do It Baby" "Love Machine"
Videography	The Definitive Performances (1963–1987) (2006)
Related	Discography Cover versions of Miracles songs Awards and achievements The Miracles Sing Modern

v t e The Miracles singles
Discography
1950s	" Bad Girl" (1959)
1960s	"Way Over There" (1960) "Shop Around" (1960) / "Who's Lovin' You" (1960) "Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues" (1961) "What's So Good About Goodbye" (1961) / "I've Been Good to You" (1961) "I'll Try Something New" (1962) "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (1962) / "Happy Landing" (1962) "A Love She Can Count On" (1963) / "I Can Take a Hint" (1963) " Mickey's Monkey" (1963) "I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying" (1963) "The Christmas Song" (1963) "(You Can't Let the Boy Overpower) The Man in You" (1964) "I Like It Like That" (1964) "That's What Love Is Made Of" (1964) "Come On Do the Jerk" (1964) "Ooo Baby Baby" (1965) "The Tracks of My Tears" (1965) / "A Fork in the Road" (1965) "My Girl Has Gone" (1965) "Going to a Go-Go" (1965) / "Choosey Beggar" (1965) "Whole Lot of Shakin' in My Heart (Since I Met You)" (1966) "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need" (1966) "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" (1967) "More Love" (1967) "I Second That Emotion" (1967) "If You Can Want" (1968) "Yester Love" (1968) "Special Occasion" (1968) "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" (1969) "Here I Go Again" (1969) / "Doggone Right" (1969) "Abraham, Martin and John" (1969) "Point It Out" (1969) / "Darling Dear" (1969)
1970s	"The Tears of a Clown" (1970) "I Don't Blame You at All" (1970) "We've Come Too Far to End It Now" (1972) "Give Me Just Another Day" (1973) "Do It Baby" (1974) "Love Machine" (1975)

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