Out of Detroit, Michigan came the sounds of Motown in the 1960’s and one of the most notable groups from that era was The Miracles.  This band began as a doo-wop group called The Five Chimes which included Northern High School students

The Miracles

Once you're a Motown artist, you're always a Motown artist.

Out of Detroit, Michigan came the sounds of Motown in the 1960’s and one of the most notable groups from that era was The Miracles.  This band began as a doo-wop group called The Five Chimes which included Northern High School students William “Smokey” Robinson, Ronald White, Pete Moore, Clarence Dawson, and James Grice.  Shortly after the group began singing together Dawson and Grice were replaced by the cousins Emerson and Bobby Rice after which the name of the group was changed to The Matadors.  Emerson was drafted in 1956 so his sister, Claudette, who later married Smokey Robinson, stepped in as his replacement. 

In 1958 the group auditioned for Jackie Wilson’s manager but they were turned down because they were too similar to The Platters.  With the closing of that door, however, a window was opened and Berry Gordy, Jr, one of Wilson’s chief songwriters became the group’s manager.  One of their first singles as a group, Got a Job, was written in response to the song Get a Job by The Silhouettes. 

After they recorded the single, the group signed on with End Records and changed their name to The Miracles because their previous name sounded too masculine for a group which had a female member.  Their next big hit, Bad Girl was issued on Chess Records and it made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 93.  Other songs which brought attention to The Miracles included Way Over There, I Need a Change, and (You Can) Depend on Me. 

In 1959 Gordy followed Robinson’s advice to start his own record label and thus Tamla Records, later Motown Records, was started and within two years Robinson was appointed vice-president of the corporation.  After a few unsuccessful singles The Miracles finally hit the mark with Shop Around backed with Who’s Lovin You which was the first Motown song to reach number one on the national R&B charts and the first to sell over a million copies. 

On December 27, 1960 the group became the first Motown act to perform on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and the next few years saw many more popular hits including You Really Got a Hold on Me, What’s So Good About Goodbye, and I’ll Try Something New.  In 1963 Smokey Robinson and Claudette Rogers were married and Claudette retired from the group a year later. 

After releasing the hit song Going to Go-Go the band changed its name to Smokey Robinson and The Miracles after which they scored two more hit songs, I Second that Emotion and The Tears of a Clown.  In 1972 Robinson left the group to pursue a solo career which allowed him to spend more time at home and Billy Griffin was brought in to replace him. 

With Griffin on board the group achieved several more hits including Don’t Cha Love It and Do It Baby which both reached the R&B Top Ten.  After their big success with Love Machine in 1976 The Miracles underwent a few changes in line-up and released several more songs.  Today The Miracles are known for having been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and for having 3 songs in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Did you know…

-  The Miracles have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
-  During a tour with Motor Town Revue Smokey Robinson caught the Asian flu which required Claudette to step in and take his role as lead singer until he recovered
-  The group have two areas in Detroit, Michigan named after them – Miracles Boulevard and Miracles Park

• Unlimited Music Access
• Music File Sharing
• Country Based Radio Channels
• Easy, Fast and Safe!
• 100% Free!