Three of the original members of THE MIRACLES are still alive as of 2013: PETE MOORE, Smokey Robinson , and Smokey's ex-wife, CLAUDETTE ROBINSON. Three are deceased: MARV TARPLIN (died 2011) , RONNIE WHITE, (died 1995), and BOBBY ROGERS (died 2013). Smokey's 1972 replacement in the Miracles, BILLY GRIFFIN, is still alive as well.
The Miracles
Smokey left The Miracles in 1972. He had been a member of the group since it's inception, in 1955, then the group was called the 5 Chimes. The Miracles were Motown's first group, and first recording act. They had been with Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, since before that label was formed . Once incorporated as The Miracles, the original members, in addition to Robinson, were : Claudette Rogers,(later to become Smokey's wife, her cousin Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Marv Tarplin. When Smokey left the group, Claudette followed, settling for being a stay-at-home wife and mom to her and Smokey's two children. She had stopped touring with the group in 1964, but remained a member , singing on all of the group's studio recordings. Marv Tarplin, after initially staying with The Miracles for a time, also decided to leave the group, to be a musical writer and collaborator with Smokey. The Miracles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, some 26 years after Smokey's controversial solo induction in 1987.
The Miracles.
His uncle Claude nicknamed him "Smokey Joe" because young William Robinson loved cowboys and wanted to be one. The nickname was also to remind him that he was black, although he was very light skinned, with green eyes, whcih he inherited from his mother's side of the family. Later on, the "Joe" was dropped, and he became "Smokey".
Smokey Robinson was born on February 19, 1940
The Miracles
Smokey left The Miracles in 1972. He had been a member of the group since it's inception, in 1955, then the group was called the 5 Chimes. The Miracles were Motown's first group, and first recording act. They had been with Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, since before that label was formed . Once incorporated as The Miracles, the original members, in addition to Robinson, were : Claudette Rogers,(later to become Smokey's wife, her cousin Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Marv Tarplin. When Smokey left the group, Claudette followed, settling for being a stay-at-home wife and mom to her and Smokey's two children. She had stopped touring with the group in 1964, but remained a member , singing on all of the group's studio recordings. Marv Tarplin, after initially staying with The Miracles for a time, also decided to leave the group, to be a musical writer and collaborator with Smokey. The Miracles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, some 26 years after Smokey's controversial solo induction in 1987.
The Miracles.
Singing as a member of Motown Records' first group, THE MIRACLES , as well as being a prolific songwriter and producer.
His uncle Claude nicknamed him "Smokey Joe" because young William Robinson loved cowboys and wanted to be one. The nickname was also to remind him that he was black, although he was very light skinned, with green eyes, whcih he inherited from his mother's side of the family. Later on, the "Joe" was dropped, and he became "Smokey".
On March 20, 2009, the Miracles were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Smokey Robinson was present at the ceremony with the original Miracles members Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, (Bobby's cousin) Claudette Rogers and Gloria White who was accepting for her late husband Ronnie White.
Smokey Robinson was born on February 19, 1940
When Smokey left The Miracles in 1972, he released the single "Sweet Harmony" in dedication to his friends in the Miracles, BOBBY ROGERS, PETE MOORE , and RONNIE WHITE. It was taken from his very first solo album, entitled "SMOKEY", which was released one year later , in 1973. It was released on Motown Records' Tamla subsidiary label (T328L) . Two other members of THE MIRACLES , his wife, Claudette Rogers-Robinson and Marv Tarplin , left the group as well. Claudette retired from recording (she retired from live appearances with The Miracles several years earlier, in 1964) , to be a stay-at-home wife and mother to her and Smokey's two children, Berry, and Tamla. Miracles member Marv Tarplin left the group a few months later, to tour and work with Smokey. Before he left THE MIRACLES in 1972, Smokey also released a hit song with them , entitled "WE'VE COME TOO FAR TO END IT NOW" . It became a Top 10 R&B Hit. It was his way of saying "goodbye" to the fans and to his friends and singing partners in THE MIRACLES, BOBBY ROGERS, PETE MOORE , and RONNIE WHITE. It was taken from The Miracles' final studio album with Smokey, "FLYING HIGH TOGETHER".
TWICE . His first wife was Claudette Rogers-Robinson , who was also a member of his group , THE MIRACLES. They divorced in 1987, after 28 years of marriage. His second and current wife is Francis Robinson.
No he did not he was on tour at the time in Europe and couldn't make it, when they made the movie about the temptations they included Smokey singing this song so he could pay tribute to his friend.
Michael Jackson sang "who's loving you" by Smokey Robinson.That answer is only PARTIALLY correct . The song "Who's Loving You" was written by Smokey, but was originally recorded by his group THE MIRACLES....NOT SMOKEY AS A "SOLO" ARTIST. It was on the flip side of their hit "Shop Around", recorded in 1960.Since THE MIRACLES recorded the original version, the song was later recorded by several other artists....including THE JACKSON FIVE (not just "Michael Jackson", En Vogue, The Temptations, The Supremes,Terence Trent-D'arby, Brenda and The Tabulations, John Farnham, Human Nature, and Michael Bublé.For more info on this song, check out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Lovin%27_You
The MIRACLES were Motown Records' first group, and it's first million-selling recording artists- They had over 50 chart hits. They were a group known for ballads such as OOO BABY BABY, MORE LOVE, and THE TRACKS OF MY TEARS, as well as uptempo hits like MICKEY'S MONKEY, GOING TO A GO-GO, and (COME 'ROUND HERE) I'M THE ONE YOU NEED. They did exciting dance steps to go with their uptempo tunes , and were the ONLY Motown group in the 1960's that wrote and produced their own material...as well as writing for other motown acts like The Temptations, Mary Wells, and Marvin Gaye . Although SMOKEY tends to unfairly get most of the credit for this, the fact is that ALL of the Miracles were responsible for writing their many hit tunes. They were known for many years simply as "THE MIRACLES" and had some 2 dozen hits under their colective name before Motown Records president BERRY GORDY changed their name to spotlight lead singer SMOKEY ROBINSON. THE MIRACLES are the most-covered Motown group of ALL TIME (meaning that more artists worldwide have recorded their tunes than ANY OTHER MOTOWN GROUP), and also have the distinction of having more of their songs inducted into the GRAMMY HALL OF FAME than ANY OTHER MOTOWN GROUP. They have been inducted into THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, THE DOO-WOP HALL OF FAME, THE VOCAL GROUP HALL OF FAME , and have a star on the HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME .