That Day When She Needed Me


"That Day When She Needed Me", is a 1964 R&B song by the Motown Records group The Contours, on the label's Gordy Records subsidiary imprint. Issued as the "B" side of their hit "Can You Jerk Like Me", this song broke out as a hit on its own, reaching No. 37 on the Cash Box R&B listings that year.
Written, composed, and produced by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson, this song was different from every other tune the Contours had recorded up to that point. A unique counterpoint to the group's trademark rough, raucous delivery, "That Day" was a soft, quiet, and heart-felt ballad with a unique call and response delivery,. Though the song wasn't on the "A" side, it still became a hit, making it The Contours' only charting flip-side hit.
In the song, Billy Gordon, the lead singer, acts as the narrator, while the rest of the group ask him questions. The song serves as a cautionary tale on how he lost the love of his life.
This song has inspired a cover version by the Los Angeles–based R&B group The Performers and the Los Angeles–based group Sly Slick and Wicked, and has been issued on several Contours and Motown "greatest hits" collections including The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 4 and the now out-of-print Motown CD collection, The Very Best of the Contours. However, the song was originally slated to appear on the 1964 unreleased second Contours album for Motown entitled "The Contours: Can You Dance". This album has since been made available as a digital download on certain internet sites.
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