Laughing Boy (song)

1963 single by Mary Wells

"Laughing Boy"

Single by Mary Wells
from the album  Two Lovers
B-side| "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right"
Released| 1963
Recorded| Hitsville USA, 1962
Genre| Soul, pop
Length| 2:54
Label| Motown
Songwriter(s)| Smokey Robinson
Producer(s)| Smokey Robinson
Mary Wells singles chronology
| "Two Lovers"
(1963)  | "Laughing Boy"
(1963)  | "Your Old Standby"
(1963)

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"Laughing Boy" is a song written and produced by Smokey Robinson and recorded and released as a single by early Motown star Mary Wells in 1963. The single is notable for being the song to break a consecutive streak of top ten hits Wells had scored between mid-1962 and early-1963.

## Overview[edit]

### Song information[edit]

In this song, the narrator consoles her boyfriend whom she feels is feeling "gloomy and blue" despite his public image that shows him in a happier mood. Appearing to think she doesn't love him, Wells tries pleading to her boyfriend to "smile once more" saying she still loves him "as she did before". The song features background singers imitating the man's appropriated laughter in a solemn tone.

### Release and reaction[edit]

When the song was set for release, Motown executives were confident the record would continue Wells' streak of top ten hits which included "The One Who Really Loves You", "You Beat Me to the Punch" and "Two Lovers". However, the single stalled at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 6 on the Hot R&B charts.[1] In spite of its failure not to reach the top ten, the song is still revered as a classic.

Cash Box described it as "a captivating cha cha beat opus...that the canary delivers with a soft, ear-appealing 'Two Lovers' flavor," saying Wells gets "strong vocal support from [the] Andantes [and the] Love-Tones."[2]

## Personnel[edit]

* Lead vocal by Mary Wells
* Background vocals by The Andantes and The Love Tones
* Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

## References[edit]

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 617.
2. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 16, 1963. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-01-12.

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Mary Wells

Studio albums|

* Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance (1961)
* The One Who Really Loves You (1962)
* Two Lovers and Other Great Hits (1963)
* Mary Wells Sings My Guy (1964)
* Mary Wells (1965)
* The Two Sides of Mary Wells (1966)
* Servin' Up Some Soul (1968)
* In and Out of Love (1981)
* Keeping My Mind on Love (1990)

Other albums|

* Recorded Live On Stage (1963)
* Together (1964)
* Love Songs to the Beatles (1965)
* Greatest Hits (1966)
* Vintage Stock (1966)
* Easy Touch (1982)
* The Old, The New & The Best of Mary Wells (1983)

Singles
(US Top 40)|

* "I Don't Want to Take a Chance"
* "The One Who Really Loves You"
* "You Beat Me to the Punch"
* "Two Lovers"
* "Laughing Boy"
* "Your Old Standby"
* "What's Easy for Two Is Hard for One"/
* "You Lost the Sweetest Boy"
* "My Guy"
* "Once Upon a Time"
* "What's the Matter with You Baby"
* "Use Your Head"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Albums
* Songs
* Smokey Robinson
* Marvin Gaye
* Cecil Womack
* Meech Wells

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