Post by FastNFancy on Sept 10, 2002 20:17:14 GMT -5
From The MAA........
A MIRACULOUS LIFE
Former Motown Miracle, Claudette Robinson, pens autobiography.
reported by: Renee Simms (EUR)
*When you look at old pictures of Smokey Robinson
and the Miracles, there is Claudette Robinson: the only
female in the group and Smokey’s girl, smiling and looking
like the personification of class. During an interview with
EUR’s Lee Bailey, Robinson spoke softly and laughed
often. Although we suspect that Robinson could have
given us a lot of dirt about her ex-husband Smokey Robinson
or about Motown in general, she has, to her credit chosen
the high road.
Robinson is writing an autobiography “to document the
history of the Miracles,” she says. She's unhappy with radio
disc jockeys that will play a Miracles’ tune and not give credit
to the group, saying only “You've just heard Smokey Robinson…“
Their part has almost been totally left out,” Robinson says
about the group. Her book will focus on the Miracles so that
“they get their proper place in history,” she says.
So what is there to say about the Miracles? Apparently
a lot. Robinson has written about 500 pages of the book so
far and she's only halfway finished.
The Miracles were the first group with Motown. The
members were Claudette and Smokey Robinson, Ronnie
White, Pete Moore, and Claudette's cousin, Bobby Rogers.
For eight years the group performed as just the Miracles before
Motown founder Berry Gordy changed the name to “Smokey
Robinson and the Miracles.” Robinson thought that the name
change would cause resentment in the group because it promoted
her husband over the other members. But she understood why
Gordy made the decision. She says that he did it to make
their group recognizable from the copycat groups that were
emerging around the same time.
“And he said we would make more money. And
we did,” she laughs.
Not that they were making a whole lot of money.
“I loved performing. I didn't make a lot of money at first
but I didn’t do it because of the money,” she recalls. “I didn't
get married for the money either,” she adds saying that at one
point Smokey made 5 dollars a week with Motown. The money
basically covered transportation costs to and from the studio.
In addition to covering the early years of the group, Robinson's
book will also cover how she was forced out of the group (“I was
not a happy camper,” she let it be known.) and the infidelity that
led to her divorce from Smokey. She found out that Smokey
had a child born to another woman when the child was three
months old.
“Of course I’ll have to cover a portion of [the divorce in the
book] even though that's not my main focus,” she told Bailey.
“The divorce was something that for me was extremely
devastating.”<br> But she has overcome that devastation and other
obstacles and she's done so with a lot of grace. Back
in the day, Gordy would tell new singers to Motown
“If you want to be a lady just watch and observe
Claudette.”<br> Those words are still true today.
A MIRACULOUS LIFE
Former Motown Miracle, Claudette Robinson, pens autobiography.
reported by: Renee Simms (EUR)
*When you look at old pictures of Smokey Robinson
and the Miracles, there is Claudette Robinson: the only
female in the group and Smokey’s girl, smiling and looking
like the personification of class. During an interview with
EUR’s Lee Bailey, Robinson spoke softly and laughed
often. Although we suspect that Robinson could have
given us a lot of dirt about her ex-husband Smokey Robinson
or about Motown in general, she has, to her credit chosen
the high road.
Robinson is writing an autobiography “to document the
history of the Miracles,” she says. She's unhappy with radio
disc jockeys that will play a Miracles’ tune and not give credit
to the group, saying only “You've just heard Smokey Robinson…“
Their part has almost been totally left out,” Robinson says
about the group. Her book will focus on the Miracles so that
“they get their proper place in history,” she says.
So what is there to say about the Miracles? Apparently
a lot. Robinson has written about 500 pages of the book so
far and she's only halfway finished.
The Miracles were the first group with Motown. The
members were Claudette and Smokey Robinson, Ronnie
White, Pete Moore, and Claudette's cousin, Bobby Rogers.
For eight years the group performed as just the Miracles before
Motown founder Berry Gordy changed the name to “Smokey
Robinson and the Miracles.” Robinson thought that the name
change would cause resentment in the group because it promoted
her husband over the other members. But she understood why
Gordy made the decision. She says that he did it to make
their group recognizable from the copycat groups that were
emerging around the same time.
“And he said we would make more money. And
we did,” she laughs.
Not that they were making a whole lot of money.
“I loved performing. I didn't make a lot of money at first
but I didn’t do it because of the money,” she recalls. “I didn't
get married for the money either,” she adds saying that at one
point Smokey made 5 dollars a week with Motown. The money
basically covered transportation costs to and from the studio.
In addition to covering the early years of the group, Robinson's
book will also cover how she was forced out of the group (“I was
not a happy camper,” she let it be known.) and the infidelity that
led to her divorce from Smokey. She found out that Smokey
had a child born to another woman when the child was three
months old.
“Of course I’ll have to cover a portion of [the divorce in the
book] even though that's not my main focus,” she told Bailey.
“The divorce was something that for me was extremely
devastating.”<br> But she has overcome that devastation and other
obstacles and she's done so with a lot of grace. Back
in the day, Gordy would tell new singers to Motown
“If you want to be a lady just watch and observe
Claudette.”<br> Those words are still true today.