As an original member of The Miracles, the first act to sign with Berry Gordy’s Tamla/Motown Records, Claudette Robinson was also the iconic label’s very first female artist. In 1960, The Miracles’ “Shop Around” became Tamla/Motown’s first million-seller, prompting Mr. Gordy to bestow a special official title on Claudette: “The First Lady of Motown.” Claudette always had a love for music, and in her free time, she sang with several female groups and performed in local talent shows in the Detroit area. While her brother Emerson “Sonny”Rogers was away serving in the Army, his Matadors groupmate was William “Smokey” Robinson. Claudette was a member of their sister group, the Matadorettes. As fate would have it, they met. Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1957. A friendship and partnership was created that has thrived for more than 60 years. Claudette and her groupmates William “Smokey” Robinson, Warren “Pete” Moore, Ronald “Ronnie” White, and Robert “Bobby” Rogers became The Miracles. Their first single, “Got A Job,” was released on February 19, 1958 with End Records. During The Miracles’ six-decade career, the group has sold more than 60 million records to date.

 Four Miracles hits — “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Ooo Baby Baby,” “Shop Around,” and “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”– have been selected by the National Recording Preservation Board for the United States Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, which honors and preserves culturally, historically and aesthetically significant American recordings. These same four Miracles songs have also been inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame, honoring recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. In 2009, commemorating The Miracles’ golden anniversary in the entertainment industry, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honored the group with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As Motown founder Berry Gordy stood at the dedication ceremony podium, he said, “Without The Miracles, there would be no Motown.”