Bobby Rogers (1940-2013)

Bobby Rogers, an original member of the Miracles, died on March 3 in Southfield, Michigan, of complications from diabetes. He was 73 and also suffered from dementia. He is remembered as the group's most talkative and friendly member.

By coincidence, he was born in the same hospital on the same day as the Miracles' lead singer, Smokey Robinson. They formed the group in 1955 while they were at Northern High School in Detroit. The group was originally called the Five Chimes, then the Matadors. When they began to record, the group consisted of Smokey Robinson, lead tenor; Bobby Rogers, tenor; Ronnie White, baritone; Pete Moore, bass; and Claudette Rogers, Bobby's cousin, whose voice soared above the others. Smokey married Claudette in 1958 and she retired in 1964.

As the story goes, they auditioned for Jackie Wilson's manager, Nat Tarnapol, who rejected them. Berry Gordy, then a songwriter for Wilson, was also present and became their manager. Their first recording, “Got a Job,” an answer to the Silhouettes' “Get a Job,” was released on End in 1958. They also recorded briefly for Chess, until Gordy started up his Motown family of labels. Their second recording for Tamla (named for Gordy's daughter) was “Shop Around,” which hit #1 on the R&B charts. They had 39 records that made the charts with Smokey Robinson, and another five after he left the group. Their other #1 songs were “You've Really Got a Hold on Me,” “I Second That Emotion,” and “The Tears of a Clown.” (“The Tracks of My Tears” only made it to #2.)

Here's some footage of the Miracles from 1964. Bobby Rogers is the tallest member.

Although Smokey Robinson sang almost all their leads, here is a rare instance in which Bobby Rogers was out front.

Although Smokey Robinson was their primary songwriter, Bobby Rogers was co-author of some of their songs, such as “Going to a Go-Go,” and he and Robinson co-wrote “The Way You Do the Things You Do” for the Temptations and “First I Look at the Purse” for the Contours.

As time passed, Smokey Robinson's voice came to dominate the Miracles' records and the others faded into the background. The name was changed to “Smokey Robinson and the Miracles” in 1967 and he left the group in 1973. Billy Griffin replaced him as lead singer of the Miracles, but they had only modest success. Bobby Rogers continued to perform with the group on the oldies circuit until recently.

When Smokey Robinson was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, it was as a single artist, which seemed particularly unjust since he had many more hits with the Miracles than without. The situation was remedied in 2012 when the rest of the Miracles were inducted. Bobby Rogers was by that time too ill to attend.

You may find this clip mildly interesting. Bobby Rogers is interviewed by a man named Tom Meros in 2010. Unfortunately, Meros totally dominates the conversation. However, you do get a look at the exterior and interior of the original Motown studio.