Robert Edward Rogers (February 19, 1940 – March 3, 2013) was an American musician and tenor singer, best known as a founding member of Motown vocal group the Miracles from 1956 until his death.
Robert Edward Rogers was born in Detroit, Michigan. Coincidentally, he was born on the same day and in the same hospital as Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson. His mother, Lois, was a seamstress, and his father, Robert, worked in an auto factory. At the age of fifteen, Rogers joined Robinson’s group, The Five Chimes. The group changed its name to the Matadors. In 1959, he, along with Robinson, Claudette Rogers, Ronald White and Pete Moore, joined Berry Gordy’s new Motown label, with the new name, The Miracles. Known for their silky harmonies, snazzy threads and coolly coordinated dance steps onstage, they recorded for Berry Gordy Jr.’s Tamla label and became a stanchion of the Motown sound and Mr. Gordy’s recording empire.The 1960 single "Shop Around", with Smokey Robinson on lead, was Motown's first number one hit on the R&B singles chart, and the first big hit for the Miracles. The song was also Motown's first million selling hit single. The Miracles scored many more hits over the years including the #1 classics "Tears Of A Clown", and "Love Machine". In addition to his work in the Miracles, Rogers was a part-time Motown songwriter; his most notable composition, authored with bandmate Smokey Robinson, was The Temptations' first hit single, "The Way You Do the Things You Do".
Rogers, who was known as the Miracles’ best dancer, shared writing credit with Mr. Robinson on several well-known songs, including “Going to a Go-Go,” “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” recorded by the Temptations, and “First I Look at the Purse,” a hit for the Contours in the 1960s and the J. Geils Band in 1970.
His was the voice that dueted with Robinson on "You Really Got a Hold on Me," and it's the bubbly Rogers speaking voice that kicks off Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," with the words "Hey, man, what's your name," "Everything is everything" and "It's just a groovy party man, I can dig it." .Bobby was also reputed to be the group's best dancer, and was responsible for many of the Miracles' onstage routines, until the arrival of famed Motown choreographer Cholly Atkins. After a name change to capitalize on Mr. Robinson’s stardom, they became Smokey Robinson and the Miracles in 1965.
In 1972 Smokey Robinson left the Miracles with Billy Griffin as his official replacement. By 1976, the Miracles' relationship with Motown imploded during contract renewals after their contract with the label had expired. The group signed with Columbia in 1977 but with little success. In 1980, Ronnie White and Bobby Rogers decided to carry on with the Miracles as a touring unit which carried on for three years as "The New Miracles".
In late 2006, Bobby re-united with original Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore for the group's first-ever extended interview on the Motown DVD release, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: The Definitive Performances. In more recent years, Rogers was the main engine for the Miracles, trademarking the name and nurturing the legacy as he continued to perform throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe with members Dave Finley, Tee Turner, and Mark Scott in the final incarnation of The Miracles, which made him, as of 2009, the longest-serving original Miracles member. On March 20, 2009, Bobby was in Hollywood to be honored along with the other surviving original members of the Miracles as they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1987, Smokey Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. This proved a source of many protests from angry Miracles fans. After a 26-year wait, Bobby was automatically and retroactively inducted with the rest of the original Miracles, Marv Tarplin, Pete Moore, Claudette Robinson, and Ronnie White into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson on April 14, 2012.
In 1981, Rogers married Joan Hughes on his forty-first birthday. The wedding ceremony was officiated by the Reverend Cecil Franklin, the brother of Aretha Franklin at Detroit's historic New Bethel Baptist Church. Bobby and Joan had two children before their marriage, daughters Gina and Kimberly. In his final years, Rogers divided his residence between his primary dwelling in Southfield, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit, and a Beverly Hills, California pied-à-terre.
Following a PBS appearance, Rogers was forced into retirement due to health issues. He died in his home on March 3, 2013, at the age of 73, due to complications of diabetes and dementia, two weeks after his 73rd birthday. Two years after his death Bobby was inducted with the rest of the original Miracles into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
(Edited from Wikipedia & The New York Times)

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