Claudette Annette Rogers Robinson ( Rogers; born June 20, 1942) is an American singer, best known as a member of the vocal group

The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

from 1957 to 1972. Her brother Emerson "Sonny" Rogers was a founding member of the group, which before 1957 was named "The Matadors". Claudette replaced her brother in the group after he was drafted into the U.S. Army. In 2012, Claudette was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

with the rest of the original Miracles, including her cousin

Bobby Rogers Robert Edward Rogers (February 19, 1940 – March 3, 2013) was an American musician and tenor singer, best known as a member of Motown vocal group the Miracles from 1956 until his death. He was inducted, in 2012, as a member of the Miracles to t ...

, Pete Moore,

Ronald White Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

, and

Marv Tarplin Marvin Tarplin (June 13, 1941 – September 30, 2011) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Miracles from the 1950s through the early 1970s. He was one of the group's original members and co-wrote several of their bigges ...

. She was inducted alongside her former husband, Miracles lead singer

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

Biography

Claudette Rogers and Smokey Robinson were married on November 7, 1959. Smokey and Claudette had plans to raise a family, but the rough music touring life caused Claudette to have seven

miscarriages Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

. Smokey Robinson co-wrote the number-one

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

single " My Girl" with Miracles member

in dedication to Claudette, a song performed most notably by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

. The song was originally intended to be recorded by

. The Robinsons have two children, and both have

-referenced names: Berry William Borope Robinson was named after label chief

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

with his first middle name, "William", in honor of his father (William "Smokey" Robinson), and his second middle name in honor of fellow Miracles group mates Bobby (Rogers), Ronnie (White) and Pete (Moore), and Tamla Claudette Robinson was named after Motown's original record label,

Tamla Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

. with her middle name "Claudette", after her mother. Smokey Robinson and Claudette were divorced in 1986, after 27 years of marriage. Motown founder

gave Claudette the official title of the "First Lady of Motown", as noted in his autobiography, because, as a member of The Miracles, Motown's first group and first recording act, she was the first female artist ever signed to a Motown-affiliated record label (Tamla). Several years ago, Claudette began writing her autobiography, ''A Miraculous Life'', a book of her memoirs, and of her life with The Miracles. Robinson is a board member of the national Rhythm & Blues Foundation and the HAL Awards. Her cousin and original Miracles member Bobby Rogers toured with the last incarnation of The Miracles throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, until his death in 2013. Claudette still performs and makes selected appearances with The Miracles. She can be seen on stage with The Miracles live at the Apollo Theatre in a rare 1962 film clip on the 2006 Motown/Universal DVD release, ''Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: The Definitive Performances''. She can also be seen onstage with original Miracles, Smokey Robinson, her cousin Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin (but not Ronnie White) on the DVD release of The "Motown 25" Television Special.

Rock Hall of Fame controversy and 2012 Miracles induction

In 1987, Smokey Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. However, in a controversial decision, the other original members of The Miracles—Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, Pete Moore, Marv Tarplin, and Claudette Robinson—were not. In 2012, it was finally announced that, after a 26-year wait, Claudette Robinson would be automatically and retroactively inducted with the rest of The Miracles into the

alongside Miracles lead singer

Claudette Robinson (The Miracles) with The Earth Angels

Awards

*Claudette and the original members of The Miracles were honored with a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

on March 20, 2009. *Worldwide more than 60 million records sold. *Doo-Wop Hall of Fame Inductees. *Vocal Group Hall of Fame Induction and Award. *Miracles Boulevard and Miracles Park, Detroit, Michigan (Woodbridge Estates), named in honor of Motown group The Miracles. *The Miracles received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 20, 2009. *''Goldmine Magazine'' names The Miracles one of the "20 Greatest Doo-Wop Groups of All Time" . *The Miracles were retroactively inducted into the

in 2012 alongside

References

External links

The Official First Lady of Motown – Claudette Robinson website
*
KLEAN Radio interview with Claudette Robinson and son Berry Robinson on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers Robinson, Claudette 1942 births 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers American sopranos American soul musicians American women singers Living people Motown artists Musicians from Detroit The Miracles members