泪痕 (1965)

"The Tracks of My Tears" is a 1965 song originally recorded by the Miracles on Motown Record's Tamla subsidiary label. It was composed by Miracles members Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. This million-selling, multiple award-winning song has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, has been ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America and The National Endowment for the Arts at No. 127 in its list of the "Songs of the Century" – the 365 Greatest Songs of the 20th Century, and has been selected by Rolling Stone as No. 50 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the Miracles' original recording of "The Tracks of My Tears" as "The Greatest Motown Song of All Time".

The Miracles original version

Background

"The Tracks of My Tears" was written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson (lead vocalist), Pete Moore (bass vocalist), and Marv Tarplin (guitarist).

In the five-LP publication The Motown Story, by Motown Records, Robinson explained the origin of this song in these words:

"'Tracks of My Tears' was actually started by Marv Tarplin, who is a young cat who plays guitar for our act. So he had this musical thing [sings melody], you know, and we worked around with it, and worked around, and it became 'Tracks of My Tears'." Tarplin's guitar licks at the song's intro are among the most famous in pop music history.

"The Tracks of My Tears" was a No. 2 hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and it reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. On initial release in the UK in 1965 it did not chart, but like several other Motown singles reissued there in 1969, it became a Top Ten hit in the summer, reaching No. 9, credited to "Smokey Robinson and the Miracles". This song is considered to be among the finest recordings of the Miracles, and it sold over one million records within two years, making it the Miracles' fourth million-selling record. Billboard described the song as a "first rate teen ballad with pulsating dance beat." Cash Box described it as "a slow-shufflin' pop-r&b tearjerker about a gal who has several regrets about losing her guy."

The Miracles can be seen performing "The Tracks of My Tears" on their 2006 Motown DVD release The Miracles' Definitive Performances.

Awards and accolades

"The Tracks of My Tears" is the Miracles' most honored and most covered song. It has been ranked at, or near the top of many "best of" lists in the music industry over the last 50 years, and has won numerous industry awards and accolades. The Miracles' original recording of "The Tracks of My Tears" ranked at No. 50 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004; the track was also a 2007 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame. On May 14, 2008, the track was preserved by the United States Library of Congress as an "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significance" to the National Recording Registry. The song "The Tracks of My Tears" was also awarded "The Award of Merit" from The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) for Miracles members/composers Pete Moore, Marv Tarplin, and Smokey Robinson.