Artist · chart history · #209 in indie & aaa artist polls
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Band Detroit United States Active 1955–1978 aka Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles formed in 1955 in Detroit, United States and was active until 1978. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles has 16 chart appearances on 9 radio countdowns from 5 stations on RockLists, spanning 1991–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “The Tracks Of My Tears”, which appears on 5 lists with a best position of #416. The station that charted Smokey Robinson & The Miracles most often is WXPN (Philadelphia, PA), with 10 appearances.
Before Motown was a hit factory, it had the Miracles, the label's first act to really make it, and the group that put Smokey Robinson's silken lead voice in front of the world. They started in Detroit in 1955 as the Five Chimes, became the Matadors, and took the Miracles name in 1958 after Claudette Rogers (soon Claudette Robinson) joined Smokey, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Marv Tarplin and Ronnie White. From 1965 to 1972 they were billed as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
The records are pure, sophisticated soul: Smokey gliding out front while the others cushion him in velvet harmony. "You've Really Got a Hold on Me", "The Tracks of My Tears", the dance-floor fizz of "Going to a Go-Go", the aching "Ooh Baby Baby", and "The Tears of a Clown", with its circus-parade bounce, which went all the way to number one. They logged more than 50 chart hits in all.
After Smokey, Claudette and Tarplin left, Billy Griffin took the lead and the group found a second wind with "Love Machine", another number one, before moving to Columbia in 1977 and packing it in the following year. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which had taken in Smokey alone in 1987 and set off a row over the omission, finally inducted the Miracles in 2012.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Tracks Of My Tears | 5 | #416 | – | – | |
| 2 | The Tears Of A Clown | 5 | #376 | – | – | |
| 3 | Ooh Baby Baby | 2 | #851 | – | – | |
| 4 | I Second That Emotion | 1 | #912 | – | – | |
| 5 | You've Really Got A Hold On Me | 1 | #1833 | – | – | |
| 6 | Going To A Go Go | 1 | #848 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
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