The Miracles

The Miracles, also billed as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles between 1965 and 1972, were an American vocal group that started in Detroit, Michigan, in 1955. They became Motown Records’ first major success and are widely regarded as a foundational and highly influential act across pop, soul, R&B, and rock and roll. Their rise to international fame in the 1960s, alongside other Motown artists, helped broaden the mainstream acceptance of R&B and pop music in the United States, and they are seen as key figures in the evolution of modern popular music.

The group originally formed as the Five Chimes, later renamed the Matadors, and then, after adding Claudette Rogers, became the Miracles in 1958. At that point, the lineup included Smokey Robinson, Claudette Rogers (later Robinson), Bobby Rogers, Warren "Pete" Moore, Marv Tarplin, and Ronnie White. Dubbed Motown’s “soul supergroup,” the Miracles produced over 50 charting singles, including 26 Top 40 pop hits, 16 of which reached the Billboard Hot 100 Top 20, seven Top 10 singles, and one number-one single (“The Tears of a Clown” in 1970) while Robinson, Claudette Robinson, and Tarplin were still in the group. After Tarplin and the Robinsons left, the remaining members continued with singer Billy Griffin and manager Martin Pichinson, who helped rebuild the group. They achieved two final Top 20 singles, “Do It Baby” (1974) and “Love Machine” (1975), the latter becoming their second number-one hit before the group moved to Columbia Records in 1977. Recording there as a quintet, with Billy’s brother Donald Griffin replacing Marv Tarplin, they released a few more records and disbanded in 1978. The Miracles have won numerous 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, including four number-one singles, and 11 U.S. R&B Top 10 albums, two of which reached number one. Bobby Rogers and Ronnie White revived the group as a touring act sporadically in the 1980s and again in the 1990s. After White’s death in 1995, Rogers continued touring with different members until health issues forced him to retire in 2011; he died less than two years later. In 1987, Smokey Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist