The Miracles
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The Miracles definitely belong in the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME ....more than ANY OTHER MOTOWN GROUP....Why ? for several reasons. For one thing , they were the FIRST MOTOWN GROUP. It was their success that paved the way for ALL OF THE OTHERS . Had they not been successful, there would have been NO MOTOWN... and none of those other groups would have even found fame.... or at least not at the level that they did. THE MIRACLES put MOTOWN ON THE MAP !!! They were, during the sixties, the ONLY MOTOWN group that wrote and produced their OWN material ( ALL of them.... NOT JUST SMOKEY) . They were not messengers of SOMEONE ELSE'S ideas, as THE SUPREMES, TEMPTS, and TOPS were. So why was only SMOKEY INDUCTED ? and why were the other Miracles ignored ? Everyone today tends to minimize the accomplishments of THE MIRACLES.... while praising THE TEMPTATIONS to no end.... Here are the facts. 9 of the TEMPTATIONS first 12 hits were written by members of the MIRACLES ... including "MY GIRL", "THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO, "SINCE I LOST MY BABY", "DON'T LOOK BACK","IT'S GROWING" ,"GET READY" , and more !! And that's a fact you can check! (How many MIRACLES songs did THE TEMPTATIONS write ? Think about it ). The MIRACLES are also THE MOST COVERED MOTOWN GROUP OF ALL TIME (see "the Miracles" in Wikipedia.) Their songs have been covered by R&B and Hip-hop artists,Rock and Pop artists, MOR artists,even Jazz and Country artists !!! They had Motown's FIRST million-selling record, the first No 1 R&B hit, and were the FIRST-EVER MOTOWN artists to have a number 1 record in England. They have 4 songs in THE GRAMMY HALL OF FAME... 3 SONGS in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "500 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME" , AND EVEN 3 songs in THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME'S OWN LIST of "THE 500 SONGS THAT HELPED SHAPE ROCK AND ROLL" !! (How can they honor THE SONGS,but NOT THE GROUP THAT RECORDED THEM ??) They have also been awarded the national RHYTHM & BLUES FOUNDATION'S PIONEER AWARD ,and HAVE BEEN INDUCTED INTO THE VOCAL GROUP HALL OF FAME .And every member of THE MIRACLES (except Claudette) have been awarded the prestigous BMI award for songwriting .They have composed hits for MARVIN GAYE, MARY WELLS, THE TEMPTATIONS, JOHNNY RIVERS, LINDA RONSTADT, THE MARVELETTES, OTIS REDDING, THE CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE, KIM CARNES, ARETHA FRANKLIN, and many more. Their 1965 "GOING TO A GO-GO album is in ROLLING STONE'S list of "THE 500 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME", and they are listed as #32 in ROLLING STONE'S list of "The Immortals: The 50 GREATEST ARTISTS OF ALL TIME" !! How can Jann Wenner's own ROLLING STONE magazine rank THE MIRACLES so high on this "Immortals" list, and yet , as chairman of THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL INDUCTION COMMITTEE, EXCLUDE them from induction into the HALL for the LAST 20 YEARS ?? The MIRACLES were MORE than just a singing group...they were the VANGUARD ACT of an ENTIRELY NEW MUSICAL MOVEMENT....THE MOTOWN SOUND....THE BIGGEST THING to happen in BLACK MUSIC in the LAST 50 YEARS....and one of the BIGGEST THINGS IN MUSIC, PERIOD !!! Their accomplishments have EXCEEDED those of many artists and groups that HAVE BEEN INDUCTED !!! I SAY, Its LONG OVERDUE.... induct SMOKEY ROBINSON (again), BOBBY ROGERS,PETE MOORE, RONNIE WHITE ,CLAUDETTE ROGERS ROBINSON,and MARV TARPLIN ...THE MIRACLES , into THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME..... NOW !!
