Official Fan Club | Smokey Robinson Web Site | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Smokey Robinson |
Scoring over 40 hits in the R&B Top 40 charts, The Miracles started out as the Five Chimes in the mid-'50s while the members were still in high school. The Detroit vocal group consisted of William "Smokey" Robinson, Warren "Pete" Moore, Clarence "Humble" Dawson, Donald Wicker and James "Rat" Grice. Not too long after the group formed, Wicker and Grice left and were replaced by cousins Emerson "Sonny" Rogers and Bobby Rogers, who both sang tenor and baritonist Ronnie White was in Dawson's place. The vocal quintet then changed their name to the Matadors, and in 1956 Claudette Rogers joined the band after her brother Sonny Rogers was drafted.
The Matadors auditioned for Jackie Wilson's manager, Nat Tarnapol, in 1956. Although Tarnapol wasn't interested, finding the group too similar to the Platters, Jackie Wilson's songwriter Berry Gordy, Jr. was, and he soon began producing the band, who now went by the name the Miracles. Gordy produced their first single, "Get a Job," which was issued by the NY label End Records in 1958. After one more release on this label, the Miracles recorded their first song for Gordy's new Motown/Tamla label, 1959's "Bad Girl" (which was issued nationally on the Chess label). Next came the first hit for both the group and the label, 1960's "Shop Around," which reached #1 on the R&B charts and #2 Pop. The next song by the Miracles to hit the #1 R&B spot and reach the Pop Top 10 came two years later with "You've Really Got a Hold on Me." Smokey and Claudette got married in 1963, and she retired from the group a year later.
The band's last big hit before they changed their name from the Miracles was "Going To a Go-Go" (1966), which climbed into the Top 5 on the R&B charts, and the Pop Top 20. Later that year, "I'm the One You Need" reached the Top 20. After this, the group's name changed to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and they scored two more #1 songs: "I Second That Emotion" (1967) and "The Tears of a Clown" (1970). Smokey left the group to pursue a solo career in 1972 and 20-year-old Billy Griffin was brought in to replace the lead singer. Once again the Miracles, the band scored several more hits, including "Do It Baby" and "Don't Cha Love It," which both reached the R&B Top 10. The Miracles experienced a big success in early '76 with "Love Machine (Part 1)", which reached #1 on the pop charts. The multi-million selling single came off of their second album without Smokey, 1975's City of Angels, and stayed on the charts for over six months, making it the longest-running hit the band ever had. Their final album on the Motown label, Power to the Music, followed.
After this, the Miracles added a new member, Billy Griffin's brother Don, and the band switched over to Columbia Records. Their first CBS release was Love Crazy (1977), which contained a single, "Spy for the Brotherhood," that was pulled off the record after complaints from the FBI. The group's last charting single, "Mean Machine," made the R&B Top 100 in 1978. Billy Griffin pursued a solo career, and Warren "Pete" Moore became a record producer in Detroit. In the late '80s, Bobby Rogers started the New Miracles, and in 1990 the Miracles (including Billy Griffin and Claudette Robinson) reunited to re-record "Love Machine" for the UK Motorcity label. -- Joslyn Layne
01. Who's Lovin' You 02. Depend on Me 03. Heart Like Mine 04. Shop Around 05. Won't You Take Me Back? 06. Cause I Love You |
07. Your Love 08. After All 09. Way over There 10. Money (That's What I Want) 11. Don't Leave Me |
01. I'll Try Something New 02. What's So Good About Goodbye? 03. He Don't Care About Me 04. A Love That Can Never Be 05. I've Been Good to You |
06. Speak Low 07. On the Street Where You Live 08. If Your Mother Only Knew 09. I've Got You Under My Skin 10. This I Swear, I Promise |
01. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 02. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 03. Winter Wonderland 04. Christmas Everyday 05. I'll Be Home for Christmas |
06. The Christmas Song 07. White Christmas 08. Silver Bells 09. Noel 10. O Holy Night |
01. Mickey's Monkey 02. Dance What You Wanna 03. The Wah-Watusi 04. The Twist 05. Dancin' Holiday 06. Land of 1000 Dances |
07. I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying 08. The Monkey Time 09. The Groovey Thing 10. Twist and Shout 11. Do You Love Me |
01. The Tracks of My Tears 02. Going to a Go-Go 03. Ooo Baby Baby 04. My Girl Has Gone 05. In Case You Need Love 06. Choosey Beggar |
07. Since You Won My Heart 08. From Head to Toe 09. All That's Good 10. My Baby Changes Like the Weather 11. Let Me Have Some 12. A Fork in the Road |
01. Deck the Halls/Bring a Torch, Jeannette,... 02. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 03. I Can Tell When Christmas Is Near 04. I Believe in Christmas Eve 05. The Christmas Song 06. Jingle Bells |
07. It's Christmas Time 08. Go Tell It on the Mountain 09. Away in a Manger/Coventry Carol 10. Peace on Earth (Good Will Toward Men) 11. The Day That Love Began 12. A Child Is Waiting |
01. The Soulful Shack 02. The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage 03. My Love for You 04. I'm on the Outside (Looking In) 05. Don't Think It's Me 06. My Love for You |
07. More Love 08. After You Put Back the Pieces 09. It's a Good Feeling 10. You Must Be Love 11. Dancing's Alright 12. The Tears of a Clown |
01. Love Crazy Intro 02. Love Crazy 03. Love Crazy Overture 04. Too Young 05. Spy for Brotherhood |
06. A Better Way to Live 07. Woman 08. The Bird Must Fly Away 09. I Can Touch the Sky |
01. Shop Around 02. Bad Girl 03. What's So Good About Good-Bye 04. I'll Try Something New 05. You've Really Got A Hold On Me 06. Mickey's Monkey 07. That's What Love Is Made Of 08. I Like It Like That 09. My Girl Has Gone 10. Going To A Go-Go |
11. Ooh Baby Baby 12. (come 'round here) I'm The One You Need 13. The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage 14. More Love 15. I Second That Emotion 16. The Tracks Of My Tears 17. If You Can Want 18. Baby, Baby Don't Cry 19. Special Occasion 20. The Tears Of A Clown |
01. The Christmas Song 02. We Three Kings 03. The Little Drummer Boy 04. O Holy Night 05. Let It Snow 06. Feliz Navidad 07. My Favorite Time of the Year |
08. Silent Night 09. Silver Bells 10. Frosty the Snowman 11. Finally Christmas 12. Jingle Bells 13. White Christmas 14. We Wish You a Merry Christmas/Auld Lang Syne |