First I Look at the Purse

First I Look At The Purse was a 1965 song recorded by R&B group The Contours on Motown Records' Gordy label. It was written by The Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers,the authors of The Temptations very first hit single, "The Way You Do The Things You Do". This song reached #57 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #12 on Billboard's R&B chart.A comical story about a man who didn't care how ugly the girl he dated was,"as long she got some cash",this song was tailor made for The Contours high-energy, comedic on-stage delivery. Miracles member/co-composer Bobby Rogers did the falsetto spoken-word intro, "what does every man look at first ?"then The Contours take it from there, chanting about those virtues: "The eyes", "the nose", "the size" , "the clothes", "the hair","the legs","the waistline","etc,then Contours' lead singer Billy Gordon (who sang lead on the group's biggest hit "Do You Love Me"), snaps you back to reality , yelling "I don't care" (about how beautiful a woman looks) ,'cause "First I Look At The Purse". It is The Contours'second-best remembered song after "Do You Love Me", mainly due to the successful cover version of the song by the J Geils Band,taken from their self-titled debut album in 1970. The song was also covered by David Bromberg,and Rod Stewart. In the early 2000's, The Contours performed the song on the P.B.S. special "Motown:The Early Years". They still sing it in their live shows today.and it has appeared in several Contours' Motown "greatest hits" CD compilations.