“Do It Baby” was the first major hit for the Smokey Robinson-less Miracles, hitting the top 20 on the pop charts and the top five on the soul charts in ‘74. My folks moved to the U.S. in ‘71 and ‘72, respectively, and their music collections (which got passed down to me when they all left home in the early-mid ‘80s) began right around the time “Do It Baby” was a hit. It’s actually the first Miracles tune I remember digging.

Despite some surface vocal similarities between Smokey and his replacement Billy Griffin, “Do It Baby” is completely unrecognizable as being from the same group that sang “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” or “The Tracks Of My Tears”. It’s mysterious, sensual, funky.

Random story from my childhood: Miracle Ronald White’s son (also named Ronald) lived in the same apartment complex as me in suburban Detroit for a few years in the mid ‘80s. He used to beat the living shit out of me every day. I don’t know if he was getting his ass beat at home and it was a case of shit traveling downhill, or if he was salty because his dad wasn’t in the house at the time or what, but that kid tormented me like it was his job. Is it sad of me to brag about getting my teeth kicked in by the son of a Miracle? Maybe. But it’s a story I can’t imagine a lot of folks can tell. For what that’s worth.