Īfter the arrival of Holland–Dozier–Holland and the team of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, he was eclipsed as a top writer and producer for the label, and other Motown artists such as Gaye and Stevie Wonder began to compose more original material. In 1965, the Miracles were the first Motown group to change their name when they released their 1965 album Going to a Go-Go as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.īetween 19, Robinson was also one of the major songwriters and producers for Motown, penning many hit singles such as " Two Lovers", " The One Who Really Loves You", " You Beat Me to the Punch" and " My Guy" for Mary Wells " The Way You Do The Things You Do", " My Girl", " Since I Lost My Baby" and " Get Ready" for the Temptations "Stillwater" for the Four Tops " When I'm Gone" and " Operator" for Brenda Holloway " Don't Mess With Bill", " The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" and " My Baby Must Be a Magician" for the Marvelettes and " I'll Be Doggone" and " Ain't That Peculiar" for Marvin Gaye. Other notable hits such as " Ooo Baby Baby", " Going to a Go-Go", " The Tracks of My Tears", " (Come Round Here) I'm The One You Need", " The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" and " More Love" peaked in the top twenty. Between 19, Robinson would produce 26 top forty hits with the Miracles as lead singer, chief songwriter and producer, including several top ten hits such as " You've Really Got a Hold on Me", " Mickey's Monkey", " I Second That Emotion", " Baby Baby Don't Cry" and the group's only number-one hit during their Robinson years, " The Tears of a Clown". In late 1960, the group recorded their first hit single, " Shop Around", which became Motown's first million-selling hit record. The Miracles became one of the first acts signed to the label, although they had actually been with Gordy since before the formation of Motown Records. Gordy formed Tamla Records which was later reincorporated as Motown. He dropped out after only two months, following the Miracles' release of their first record. During this time, Robinson attended college and started classes in January 1959, studying electrical engineering. It was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration. With his help, the Miracles released their first single, "Got a Job", an answer song to the Silhouettes' hit single "Get a Job" on End Records. Gordy was impressed with Robinson's vocals and even more impressed with Robinson's ambitious songwriting. At that time during the audition, Robinson had brought along with him a "Big 10" notebook with 100 songs he wrote while in high school. In August 1957, Robinson and the Miracles met songwriter Berry Gordy after a failed audition for Brunswick Records. They later changed their name to the Miracles.Ĭareer The Miracles and Motown The Matadors began touring Detroit venues around this time. The group's guitarist, Marv Tarplin, joined them sometime in 1958. Another member, Emerson (Sonny) Rogers, Bobby Rogers' cousin, was replaced by his sister, Claudette Rogers (who would marry Smokey Robinson in 1959). Two years later, in 1957, they were renamed the Matadors and included Bobby Rogers. In 1955, he formed the first lineup of the Five Chimes with childhood friend Ronald White and classmate Pete Moore. Robinson's interest in music started after hearing the groups Nolan Strong & the Diablos and Billy Ward and his Dominoes on the radio as a child, and he has listed Barrett Strong, a Detroit native, as a strong vocal influence. At one point, he and Aretha Franklin lived several houses from each other on Belmont he once said he'd known Franklin since she was about five.
He attended Northern High School, where he was above average academically and a keen athlete, though his main interest was music, and he formed a doo-wop group named the Five Chimes. His uncle Claude gave him the nickname "Smokey Joe" when he was a child. Robinson's ancestry is also part Nigerian, Scandinavian, Portuguese, and Cherokee. was born to an African-American father and a mother of African-American and French descent into a poor family in the North End area of Detroit, Michigan, United States.
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