Don't Let It End ('Til You Let It Begin)

When the lead singer exits an act it's always a touchy affair. The question is should the act retain their sound by getting a new lead singer that sounds like the one that left or opt to get a new singer that doesn't sound like the previous lead? In the case of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, they decided to stay with what worked and got Billy Griffin, who sang in the same range as Robinson. Former lead singer Smokey Robinson executive produced and wrote the liner notes for their 1973 Renaissance LP. Though he didn't write or produce any tracks, the revised group's debut single, "Don't Let It End ('Til You Let It Begin)," pretty much adhered to the sound of such Robinson-written slow jam hits as "Ooh Baby Baby" and "We've Come Too Far to End It Now." Penned by producer Freddie Perren (who went on to co-write Peaches and Herb's platinum-selling ballad "Reunited") and Christine Yarian. The track is a crystalline ballad built on ginger harpsichord, a semi-classical waltz pulse and one of the group's best sounding mixes. "Don't Let It End ('Til You Let It Begin)," a steppers favorite, made it into the R&B Top Ten and mid-charted pop in summer 1973.