Smokey Robinson

He studied Electrical Engineering in college.

use of peat in the fires to dry the malt.

The Miracles

The MIRACLES were Motown Records' first group, and it's first million-selling recording artists- They had over 50 chart hits. They were a group known for ballads such as OOO BABY BABY, MORE LOVE, and THE TRACKS OF MY TEARS, as well as uptempo hits like MICKEY'S MONKEY, GOING TO A GO-GO, and (COME 'ROUND HERE) I'M THE ONE YOU NEED. They did exciting dance steps to go with their uptempo tunes , and were the ONLY Motown group in the 1960's that wrote and produced their own material...as well as writing for other motown acts like The Temptations, Mary Wells, and Marvin Gaye . Although SMOKEY tends to unfairly get most of the credit for this, the fact is that ALL of the Miracles were responsible for writing their many hit tunes.

They were known for many years simply as "THE MIRACLES" and had some 2 dozen hits under their colective name before Motown Records president BERRY GORDY changed their name to spotlight lead singer SMOKEY ROBINSON.

THE MIRACLES are the most-covered Motown group of ALL TIME (meaning that more artists worldwide have recorded their tunes than ANY OTHER MOTOWN GROUP), and also have the distinction of having more of their songs inducted into the GRAMMY HALL OF FAME than ANY OTHER MOTOWN GROUP. They have been inducted into THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, THE DOO-WOP HALL OF FAME, THE VOCAL GROUP HALL OF FAME , and have a star on the HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME .

When Smokey left The Miracles in 1972, he released the single "Sweet Harmony" in dedication to his friends in the Miracles, BOBBY ROGERS, PETE MOORE , and RONNIE WHITE. It was taken from his very first solo album, entitled "SMOKEY", which was released one year later , in 1973. It was released on Motown Records' Tamla subsidiary label (T328L) . Two other members of THE MIRACLES , his wife, Claudette Rogers-Robinson and Marv Tarplin , left the group as well. Claudette retired from recording (she retired from live appearances with The Miracles several years earlier, in 1964) , to be a stay-at-home wife and mother to her and Smokey's two children, Berry, and Tamla. Miracles member Marv Tarplin left the group a few months later, to tour and work with Smokey.

Before he left THE MIRACLES in 1972, Smokey also released a hit song with them , entitled "WE'VE COME TOO FAR TO END IT NOW" . It became a Top 10 R&B Hit. It was his way of saying "goodbye" to the fans and to his friends and singing partners in THE MIRACLES, BOBBY ROGERS, PETE MOORE , and RONNIE WHITE. It was taken from The Miracles' final studio album with Smokey, "FLYING HIGH TOGETHER".

That would be his solo debut from 1973 titled "Smokey." Long out of print until the anthology cd's came out this year. Holly can be found on "The Solo Albums: Volume 1"

in California

Smokey's first solo Grammy was for the 1987 song "Just To See Her" . However, as a member of THE MIRACLES, 4 of the GROUP'S songs were inducted into the GRAMMY HALL OF FAME : "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" in 1998, ,

"The Tears of a Clown" in 2002,

"Shop Around" in 2006, and

"The Tracks Of My Tears" in 2007. THE MIRACLES

have more Grammy Hall of Fame inducted songs than any other Motown group .

He is a son of Smokey Robinson.

Smokie Brannaman grew up on a 5000-acre horse and cattle ranch in Southwestern Montana. Working with horses, cattle and rodeoing as a professional trick roper was his way of life as a youngster. Upon graduating from high school, Smokie chose to serve his country in the United State Coast Guard. Although his military duties did not always allow much time to spend with his horses, he never the less, rode and trained horses of his own and others throughout his military career. Smokie retired in 2000 from the Coast Guard and worked as a Corporate Operations Manager for a security company. But he soon realized that his true enjoyment came from being around horses, training, riding and helping others with their horses. After working for 2 years as a stable manager for a large boarding stable, Smokie hired on at Ots Sunrise Farm to work with the young horses halter breaking, ground work and starting horses under saddle to progress to more advanced training. Smokie started his own business, Horseman's Services Limited, llc in 2006 and now works full time as an educator of the horse and rider. Smokie utilizes the training methods of his brother Buck Brannaman, Jeff Griffith, and others, as well as his own techniques learned during a lifetime of working with horses. Smokie is a published author of two books about horses and their riders, Whisper This… Not to your horse, to yourself, and his newest book Equiknowlogy 101… and numerous horse training DVDs. Smokie lives in Greenleaf Wisconsin and has three grown children, Kat, Travis and Jason. He raises and trains registered quarter horses of his own, which he uses as, Cavalry horses for his hobby, Civil War reenacting, and performing in Wild West Shows throughout the Midwest.

No. it was originally written in the 70s by smokey robinson.

Was it Kenny G? I know he had long, curtly brown hair, but I don't remember what he played.

That guitarist was MARV TARPLIN. He was an original member of The MIRACLES...and was inducted with them into the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME in April, 2012. Sadly, Marv didn't live to see it. He died in September 2011, just months before the Induction Ceremony.

Three of the original members of THE MIRACLES are still alive as of 2013: PETE MOORE, SMOKEY ROBINSON , and Smokey's ex-wife, CLAUDETTE ROBINSON. Three are deceased: MARV TARPLIN (died 2011) , RONNIE WHITE, (died 1995), and BOBBY ROGERS (died 2013). Smokey's 1972 replacement in the Miracles, BILLY GRIFFIN, is still alive as well.

Smokey Robinson led The Miracles.

The song was by THE MIRACLES (not Smokey solo) and it was a 1970 hit for them written and produced by husband and wife team Ashford & Simpson Entitled "Who's Gonna Take The Blame" form their album " A POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES"

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No, both of his parents were African American.

Yes, Smokey Robinson did accept Jesus as his "personal" Savior. He gave his testimony on TBN a Christian television station.

Well, he was Vice-President ofMotown for 27 years until 1988 when Berry Gordy sold it for $61 million. Therefore, using some guesstimation, Smokey would be worth at least that amount.

Forbes Magazine lists the top 20 wealthiest black persons, and #20 is worth $125 million, so Smokey must be worth less than that, but not much less.

Therefore, judging from his high status as an enduring and consistent singer and song writer, I would say he is worth approximately $100 million.

"Greatest" is impossible to define, but if you are interested in authors of critical acclaim and literary quality, a good place to find names would be to look at authors who have won American literary awards, such as the National Book Award.

A Wikipedia search of "American literary awards" turns up a comprehensive list.

Some critically acclaimed and frequently studied living authors of American literature include (but are not limited to):


Maya Angelou
John Irving
Joyce Carol Oates
J.D. Salinger
Gore Vidal
Tom Wolfe
and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.


as of 12/17/2009

Cormac McCarthy (b. 1933)
Don Delillo (b. 1936)
Philip Roth (b. 1933)
Thomas Pynchon(b. 1937)