Some heartbreak songs never stop finding new voices.
The Miracles released “The Tracks of My Tears” in 1965, creating a soul ballad that would inspire artists for generations. Linda Ronstadt recorded one of its most successful covers 10 years later, and her version remains beloved 51 years after its release.
The song was written by Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore and Marv Tarplin, three members of the Miracles, and recorded at Motown’s Hitsville USA studio. It began with a guitar melody from Tarplin before Robinson and Moore helped turn it into a story about hiding heartbreak behind a smile.
Robinson once explained that his approach to songwriting was rooted in finding new ways to express familiar emotions.
“The trick for me was to try and say the same thing differently,” he said in a 1989 Billboard interview.
That approach helped “The Tracks of My Tears” stand apart from countless other songs about lost love. The Miracles’ original reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart, but its influence would stretch far beyond its initial chart run.
Ronstadt recorded the song for her 1975 album, Prisoner in Disguise. Her version brought the Motown classic to a new audience and became a crossover success, reaching No. 25 on the Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
The original recording has continued to receive some of music’s highest honors. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 50 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time before later naming it the greatest Motown song of all time.
“The Tracks of My Tears” was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as one of four Miracles recordings to receive the honor. More than six decades after the original and 51 years after Ronstadt’s cover, the song continues to inspire singers and listeners with its honest portrayal of heartbreak.
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