The Miracles
The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups in the history of pop, soul, R&B and rock and roll music.[1][2][3] The group's international fame in the 1960s, alongside other Motown acts, led to a greater acceptance of Rhythm & Blues and pop music in the U.S., with the group being considered influential and important in the development of modern popular music.[4]
The Miracles
The Five Chimes, The Matadors, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
1955–1983, 1993–2011
- Ronnie White
- Warren "Pete" Moore
- Smokey Robinson
- Clarence Dawson
- James Grice
- Emerson "Sonny" Rogers
- Bobby Rogers
- Claudette Rogers Robinson
- Marv Tarplin
- Billy Griffin
- Donald "Don" Griffin
- Carl Cotton
- David "Dave" Finley
- Sidney Justin
- Tee Turner
- Mark Scott
Referred to as Motown's "soul supergroup",[5][6] the Miracles recorded more than 50 chart hits, including 26 Top 40 pop hits, 16 of which reached the Billboard Top 20, seven Top 10 singles, and a number-one single ("The Tears of a Clown") 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 managed by 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. In all, the group had more than fifty charted hits by the time they disbanded,[7] and 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.
History[edit]
Initial career and success[edit]
The group that later became the Miracles was formed in 1955 by five teenage friends from Detroit, Michigan, under the name the Five Chimes.[8] 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.[8] 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.[8] All of the group's original members attended Northern High School in Detroit.[8] 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.[9] Coincidentally, both Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers were born in the same hospital on the same date (February 19, 1940), despite not actually meeting each other until they were fifteen.[8][10] 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.[9] 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", "(Come 'Round Here) 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 (an original member of the Midnighters who had since left the group to join Jackie Wilson's management team),[11][12] Nat Tarnopol (Jackie Wilson's manager) and one of the label's staff songwriters, Berry Gordy, who remained quiet during the audition.[13] 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."[13] 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.[13][14]
Gordy recorded their first single, "Got a Job", an answer song to the Silhouettes' "Get a Job" in January 1958.[14][9] Gordy shortly thereafter struck a deal with George Goldner's End Records to distribute the single.[9] Before the song was released, the group changed their name to the Miracles, taking it from the moniker "Miracletones", with the "'Tones" taken out.[9] This first Miracles' single became a Top 10 National R&B Hit, peaking at #5, although it missed the Pop Hot 100. (see Miracles' Discography) .After earning only $3.19 for his production success, Gordy was told by Robinson to form his own label, which Gordy did, forming Tamla Records in 1959.[14][15] One of the Miracles' first Tamla singles, the ballad "Bad Girl", became the Miracles' first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart that October when it was licensed to and issued nationally by Chess Records.[13] The next Miracles song, "It", was credited to "Ron & Bill", in a duet between White and Robinson, and was released on Tamla and nationally picked by Chess subsidiary Argo Records.[16] Following a dismal reception at the Apollo Theater in 1959, Robinson recruited guitarist Marv Tarplin to join them on a few touring dates after Tarplin played with the Primettes (later the Supremes), with Tarplin officially joining the Miracles shortly afterwards.[16] The addition of Tarplin was the final element in making the Miracles' "classic lineup" complete.[17]
In 1960, the Miracles reached the charts with "Way Over There", their second national hit, which Robinson wrote and based on the Isley Brothers' "Shout".[16] Later that year, the Miracles released "Shop Around", backed with "Who's Lovin' You", which became the group's first smash hit, reaching number one on the R&B charts, number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the Cash Box Magazine "Top 100" Pop Chart, and was the first Motown single to sell a million copies. Both sides of this record became classics, and standards for R&B and rock musicians alike for several decades afterwards.
As a result of this success, the Miracles became the first Motown act to appear on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" on December 27, 1960.[18] The Miracles had modest success with their next few singles, including "Ain't It Baby", "Mighty Good Lovin'", "Brokenhearted" and "Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues", as 1961 continued. During this early period, the group suffered some problems as Robinson caught Asian Flu and had to be bedded for a month,[19] leaving wife Claudette Robinson to lead the Miracles on tour until he recovered. Claudette herself had her share of problems, having suffered her first miscarriage that occurred after a car accident and Pete Moore was drafted to serve in the United States Army.[19][20] The group's next charted successes included "What's So Good About Goodbye", and the string-laden "I'll Try Something New".[21]
The Miracles have been awarded many top music industry honors over the years. In 1997, the group received the Pioneer Award at the Rhythm and Blues Foundation for their musical achievements.[22] Four years later, in 2001, they were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.[23] In 2004, they were ranked No. 32 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, retaining that same position seven years later, in 2011.[24] Four of their hit songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (The most of any Motown group). In 2009, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Throughout their careers, the Miracles were also enshrined with honors for their songwriting by both BMI and ASCAP.[25][26] In 2008, Billboard listed them at No. 61 on their 100 most successful Billboard artists ever list.[27]
"The Showstoppers"[edit]
The group reached the Top 10 again with "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (another Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted hit) in 1962, featuring lead vocals by Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers. (This song actually began life as the "B" side to the group's intended "A" side, "Happy Landing", but the nation's Dee Jays flipped the song over, because they liked "Hold on Me" better). The Miracles hit the Top 10 still a third time the following year with the Holland-Dozier-Holland-written-and-produced song "Mickey's Monkey". The group's exciting live performances were so well received, they were often referred to as "The Showstoppers".[28][29] The Miracles' success paved the way for all future Motown stars, and, as Motown's first group, they would serve as the prototype for all other Motown groups to follow. The Miracles had become a national sensation, and their success catapulted them to the position of Motown's top-selling act, making them headliners at the nationwide Motortown Revue package touring shows, which showcased Motown artists, and that started around late 1962.
The Miracles were also the first Motown act to receive coaching and instruction from famed choreographer Cholly Atkins, who had previously worked with Little Anthony & the Imperials, the Cadillacs, and future Motown act Gladys Knight & the Pips. (Bobby Rogers, the Miracles' best dancer, did choreography for the group prior to Atkins' arrival).[30][31] Through his association with the Miracles, Atkins came into Motown at their insistence, and soon became the official in-house choreographer for all of the company's acts, including the Temptations, the Marvelettes, the Four Tops, the Contours, Martha & the Vandellas, and the Supremes.[32][33]
Songwriting[edit]
In addition to penning their own material, Miracles Robinson, White, Rogers, Tarplin, and Moore wrote for many of their labelmates as well. Motown hits written, but not recorded, by members of the Miracles include songs for the Temptations ("The Way You Do The Things You Do", "My Girl", "Don't Look Back", "Since I Lost My Baby", "It's Growing", "Get Ready", "My Baby"), Mary Wells ("My Guy", "The One Who Really Loves You", "What Love Has Joined Together", "Two Lovers"), Marvin Gaye ("I'll Be Doggone", "Ain't That Peculiar", "One More Heartache"), the Marvelettes ("Don't Mess With Bill", "My Baby Must Be a Magician", "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"), The Contours ("First I Look at the Purse"), and Brenda Holloway ("When I'm Gone"). Unlike other Motown artists, whose songs were written for them by staff songwriters, the Miracles were one of the few Motown acts that composed their own songs, adding to the group's already impressive reputation.[34]
Around 1964, Smokey Robinson became Motown's vice president, while the other members of the Miracles also began to work staff jobs with the company. Smokey and Claudette Robinson made plans to begin a family, but the rough life of touring caused Claudette to have several miscarriages. In early 1964, Claudette decided to retire from the road and remain at home in Detroit after another miscarriage, her sixth. From this point on, Claudette did not tour with the Miracles or appear in any official group photographs or on television, although she remained as a non-touring member of the Miracles, and continued to sing backup with the group in the studio until 1972. [35][36][37]
After Claudette Robinson's departure, the remaining Miracles appeared on the T.A.M.I. Show, a landmark 1964 concert film released by American International Pictures[38] that included performances by numerous popular rock and roll and R&B musicians from the United States and England, filmed and recorded live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28 and 29, 1964.[39] This film had theatrical release in theatres across the United States, and also included performances by fellow Motown artists the Supremes and Marvin Gaye, along with Chuck Berry, Lesley Gore, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, and James Brown and the Famous Flames. The Miracles' performance was one of the show's highlights, called "athletically electrifying" by critics.[40][41][42] Miracles chart hit singles that year included "That's What Love Is Made Of" and "I Like It Like That". In early 1965, the group released Motown Records' first double album, The Miracles Greatest Hits from the Beginning, which was a success on Billboard's Pop and R&B Album Charts. Also in 1965, the Miracles released their landmark Top 10 album, Going to a Go-Go, under the new group name of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. This album launched four Top 20 singles into the Billboard Hot 100, including the landmark million-selling Grammy Hall of Fame single, "The Tracks of My Tears", "Ooo Baby Baby", "Going to a Go-Go" and "My Girl Has Gone", all of which became Top 10 R&B hit singles as well. During this period, their music had also made its way abroad, influencing several British groups along the way.[43][44] The effects of this influence soon became even more pronounced when the Beatles, the Hollies, the Zombies, the Who, and the Rolling Stones all began recording covers of Miracles hits. Members of the Beatles, in particular, publicly stated that the music of the Miracles had greatly influenced their own.[44]
Around this time, the group had begun performing in nightclubs and other high-profile venues after years on the Chitlin' Circuit. According to an Ebony article on the group, the group began grossing $150,000 a year due to royalties and personal investments.[45] They also were making between $100,000 and $250,000 for nightly shows.[45] In addition, the Miracles appeared on many of the popular variety television programs of the period, including The Ed Sullivan Show, Shindig!, Hullabaloo, American Bandstand, Where The Action Is, The Mike Douglas Show, The Andy Williams Show,Teen Town,Hollywood A Go-Go, Upbeat, and Britain's Ready Steady Go!. The Miracles' success continued with several hits including "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need", "More Love", "Special Occasion", "If You Can Want", and the Top 10 hit "I Second That Emotion". Around this time, the group was starting to be billed as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on several of their albums. The name change did not appear on their singles until the release of "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage", a Top 20 hit released in 1967. On that song's flipside was the tune "Come Spy with Me". The Miracles sang the original theme to the 1967 20th Century Fox film of the same name.[46][47][48]
The year 1968 brought a second "greatest hits" collection, The Miracles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, which was the group's second Top 10 album, which featured the most popular singles from their successful Going to a Go-Go, Away We A Go-Go and Make It Happen albums of the 1965–67 period. Also in 1968, the group released their hit album Special Occasion which spawned three Top 40 singles, including the smash "If You Can Want", which the group performed on their first appearance on CBS' The Ed Sullivan Show, at the time considered television's top talent and entertainment showcase.
Legacy[edit]
The Miracles and their music have had worldwide impact, influencing scores of artists of many different musical genres around the globe. The original lineup of the group has consistently been revered by several critics in major rock and music magazines and have received numerous honors and awards for their contributions to the music industry. One of their most honored songs, "The Tracks of My Tears", was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry because of its "culturally, historically and aesthetically significance" in 2008. It was also chosen as one of the Top 10 Best Songs of All Time by a panel of 20 top industry songwriters and producers including Hal David, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Jerry Leiber, and others as reported to Britain's Mojo music magazine,[105] and was also winner of "The Award of Merit" from The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) for the song's writers, Miracles members Pete Moore, Marv Tarplin and Smokey Robinson.[25] In addition, "The Tracks of My Tears" has been ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America and The National Endowment for the Arts at No. 127 in its list of the Songs of the Century – the 365 Greatest Songs of the 20th Century.[106] And in 2021,Rolling Stone Magazine selected The Miracles'"The Tracks of My Tears"as "The Greatest Motown Song of All Time."[107] Their hit-filled 1965 album, Going to a Go-Go is listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[108] Four of the group's songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame including "You Really Got a Hold on Me", "Tears of a Clown", "Shop Around" and "Tracks of My Tears". In addition, "You Really Got a Hold on Me", "Going to a Go-Go", "Shop Around" and "Tracks of My Tears" were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of their list of The 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.[109] In addition, The Miracles hit — “The Tracks of My Tears,” has been selected by the National Recording Preservation Board for the United States Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, which honors and preserves culturally, historically and aesthetically significant American recordings.[110] The group was also ranked No. 61 on VH-1's 100 Greatest Rock Stars of All Time in 1998 while also ranking at No. 71 on Billboard's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2008.They have also been inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame as of 2014.[111][112] and the R&B Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
Commenting to Rolling Stone Magazine, Bob Seger said: "I used to go to the Motown Revues, and the Miracles always closed the show. They were that good, and everybody knew it."[24] Producer Quincy Jones called the group the "Beethovens of The 20th Century" due to their songwriting talents.[113] In addition, the Miracles have been regarded as the most covered act in Motown's roster and have influenced numerous artists worldwide in the last 50 years.[114][115]
The success of the Miracles actually launched the Motown Records label, and, according to Motown Records founder, Berry Gordy, without the Miracles, the Motown Record Corporation would not have been possible.[7][116]
Original members:
The Miracles
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
The Miracles