About The Miracles
The Miracles were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most important and most influential groups in the history of pop, soul, rhythm and blues and rock and roll music. The group's international fame in the 1960s, alongside other Motown acts, led to a greater acceptance of R&B and pop music in the U.S., with the group being considered influential and important in the development of modern popular music.
The group was formed as The Five Chimes and changed their name to the Miracles in 1958, by which time their lineup consisted of Smokey Robinson, Claudette Rogers , Bobby Rogers, Warren "Pete" Moore, Marv Tarplin, and Ronnie White. Referred to as Motown's "soul supergroup", the Miracles recorded more than 50 chart hits, including 26 Top 40 pop hits, 16 of which reached the Billboard Hot 100 Top 20, seven Top 10 singles, and a number-one single while the Robinsons and Tarplin were members. Following the departure of Tarplin and the Robinsons, the rest of the group continued with singer Billy Griffin and manager Martin Pichinson, who helped rebuild the Miracles. They scored two final Top 20 singles, "Do It Baby" and "Love Machine" , a second No. 1 hit, which topped the charts before the group departed for Columbia Records in 1977. Recording as a quintet at Columbia with Billy's brother Donald Griffin replacing Marv Tarplin, after a few releases, they disbanded in 1978. The group have won numerous music industry awards, including four songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, several BMI and ASCAP Songwriters' Awards, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On the R&B charts, the Miracles scored 26 Top 10 Billboard R&B hits, with four R&B No. 1's, and 11 U.S. R&B Top 10 Albums, including two No. 1's. Bobby Rogers and Ronald White revived the group as a touring ensemble sporadically during the 1980s and again in the 1990s. Following White's death in 1995, Rogers continued to tour with different members until he was forced into retirement due to health issues in 2011, dying less than two years later. Smokey Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1987, and much controversy ensued over the Miracles' omission from the Hall. The Miracles were finally inducted into the Hall of Fame by lead singer Robinson in 2012.
The group that later became the Miracles was formed in 1955 by five teenage friends from Detroit, Michigan, under the name the Five Chimes. Three of the founding members, Smokey Robinson, Warren "Pete" Moore, and Ronnie White, had been singing together since they each were around the age of eleven. The group, influenced by acts such as Billy Ward and His Dominoes and Nolan Strong & the Diablos, featured Clarence Dawson and James Grice in the original lineup. All of the group's original members attended Northern High School in Detroit. After Dawson quit the group and Grice dropped out to get married, they were replaced by Emerson "Sonny" Rogers and his cousin Bobby and changed their name to the Matadors. Coincidentally, both Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers were born in the same hospital on the same date , despite not actually meeting each other until they were fifteen. In 1957, Sonny Rogers left to join the United States Army and Claudette Rogers, his sister, who had been singing with the sister group the Matadorettes, joined them shortly afterwards, and in 1958, the group became the Miracles. Following two years of courtship, Smokey and Claudette married in November 1959.
The group's extensive work with Berry Gordy and Tamla Records gave the parent label Motown Record Corporation its first million-selling hit record with the 1960 Grammy Hall of Fame smash, "Shop Around", and further established themselves as one of Motown's top acts with the hit singles "You've Really Got a Hold on Me", "What's So Good About Goodbye", "Way Over There", "I'll Try Something New", "Mickey's Monkey", "Going to a Go-Go", " I'm the One You Need", "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage", "If You Can Want", "More Love", "I Don't Blame You at All", "Ooo Baby Baby", the multi-award-winning "The Tracks of My Tears", "My Girl Has Gone", "Special Occasion", "I Second That Emotion", "Baby Baby Don't Cry", the number-one Pop smashes "The Tears of a Clown" and "Love Machine", "Do It Baby", and "That's What Love Is Made Of", among numerous other hits.
The group auditioned for Brunswick Records in front of Alonzo Tucker , Nat Tarnopol and one of the label's staff songwriters, Berry Gordy, who remained quiet during the audition. Tucker was unimpressed by the audition, stating that because there was the Platters that "there couldn't be two groups in America like that with a woman in the group." After the Tarnopol and Tucker rejection, Gordy followed them and soon agreed to work with the group after discovering Robinson's notebook full of songs he had written and having been impressed with Robinson's singing voice.
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