DESCRIPTION:
The Miracles have had a long and illustrious career in pop music starting in 1955 first as The Five Chimes and then as The Matadors. Smokey Robinson, Warren "Pete" Moore, and Ronnie White decided to change the name of the band to The Miracles when Claudette Robinson joined the group. Searching for a label to sign them, they worked with Berry Gordy, recording for Chess and End Records before Gordy got fed up over royalties and signed the group his new label, Tamla.

They hit almost immediately with "Shop Around", their first million seller and went on to become a mainstay in the Motown stable of stars. The "soul supergroup" went to to place 26 top 40 singles on the Hot 100. The group was ready to disband after seeing their chart fortunes fade by the end of the 60's, but a UK re-release of "The Tracks Of My Tears" led to the release of "The Tears Of A Clown", which was recorded in 1967. It hit #1 in the UK and followed suit in the US.

Robinson stayed with the band until 1972 then went solo, finally hitting the chart big time in 1980 with "Being With You". The Miracles on the other hand recruited Billy Griffin to lead singer in 1971 and had a #13 hit in 1974 with "Do It Baby" . "Love Machine" was a prowl and growl concoction that showcased the new sound of The Miracles from the 1975 concept album "City Of Angels". It took 19 weeks to reach #1 and stayed on the chart for a total of 28 weeks, making it the most successful single issued by Motown in their first 16 years of existence. Sadly, it was the last time the Miracles would have a chart hit. They moved to Columbia in 1977 and subsequent outings did not resonate with the record buying public.