The Miracles: A $3.19 Royalty Check, Tears of a Clown and a 25-Year Snub

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Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore and Ronnie White formed a Detroit vocal group in 1955 that passed through the names Five Chimes and Matadors before Bobby Rogers and Claudette Rogers joined and they became the Miracles in 1958. At a Brunswick Records audition, talent manager Alonzo Tucker turned them down because the Platters already had a woman in the lineup. Staff songwriter Berry Gordy followed them into the hallway, drawn by Robinson's notebook of original songs, and produced their first single, Got a Job. When Gordy's royalty check came to $3.19, Robinson urged him to start his own company, the move behind Tamla and Motown. Guitarist Marv Tarplin added a signature counter-melody, and Shop Around became Motown's first million-seller, reaching No. 1 R&B and No. 2 pop.

Robinson wrote hits for other Motown acts, including My Girl for the Temptations and My Guy for Mary Wells, while serving as label vice president with a stake in Jobete Publishing. Claudette left the road in 1964 after six miscarriages. Robinson planned to retire in 1969, but the UK release of The Tears of a Clown, recorded in 1967, went to No. 1 in Britain and then the U.S., delaying his exit until 1972. With Billy Griffin singing lead, the group's disco track Love Machine hit No. 1 in 1975 and sold over four and a half million copies. A brief Columbia stint followed, and the group disbanded in 1978.

• Cholly Atkins, a vaudeville-era choreographer the group hired, designed moves around singers' breathing and later became Motown's in-house choreographer.
• The Miracles commanded up to $250,000 for tours and earned the nickname the Showstoppers.
• Motown asked the group to wait about six months during Stevie Wonder's contract talks, and they signed with Columbia instead.
• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Robinson alone in 1987, and Pete Moore called it a slap in the face.
• In 2012 a special committee inducted Moore, Bobby Rogers, Claudette Rogers Robinson, Ronnie White and Marv Tarplin, with Robinson giving the speech.