Editing Smokey Robinson (section)

===The Miracles and Motown===
{{Main|The Miracles}}
[[File:The Miracles (1962 Tamla publicity photo).jpg|thumb|Robinson (front row, left) with The Miracles, circa 1962]]
In August 1957, Robinson and the Miracles met songwriter [[Berry Gordy]] after a failed audition for [[Brunswick Records]]. At that time during the audition, Robinson had brought along with him a "Big 10" notebook with 100 songs he had written while in high school. Gordy was impressed with Robinson's vocals and even more impressed with Robinson's ambitious songwriting.<ref name="Larkin" /> With his help, the Miracles released their first single, "Got a Job," an [[answer song]] to [[Get a Job (song)|the Silhouettes' hit single "Get a Job"]]<ref name=pc25>{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19780/m1/ |title=Show 25 – The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 4] }}</ref> on [[End Records]]. It was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration. During this time, Robinson attended college and started classes in January 1959, studying [[electrical engineering]]. He dropped out after only two months, following the Miracles' release of their first record.<ref name=evening>{{cite episode| title=An Evening With Smokey Robinson| url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/aneveningwithsmokeyrobinson| series=[[Julieanna Richardson#The HistoryMakers|The History Makers]]|  network=[[PBS]]| air-date=October 10, 2009| credits=Interviewer: Gwen Ifill| access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref>

Gordy formed [[Tamla Records]], which was later reincorporated as Motown. The Miracles became one of the first acts signed to the label,<ref name="Larkin" /> although they had actually been with Gordy since before the formation of Motown Records.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cleveland.com/rockhall/index.ssf/2012/04/the_miracles_in_the_60s_we_lov.html| title=The Miracles: In the '60s, we loved and lost to this Motown legend's smooth songs (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2012)| newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]]| location=[[Cleveland]]| date=April 3, 2012| access-date=August 18, 2014}}</ref> In late 1960, the group recorded their first hit single, "[[Shop Around]]", which became Motown's first million-selling hit record.<ref name=pc25 /> Between 1960 and 1970, Robinson would produce 26 top forty hits with the Miracles as lead singer, chief songwriter and producer, including several top ten hits such as "[[You've Really Got a Hold on Me]]",<ref name=pc25 /> "[[Mickey's Monkey]]", "[[I Second That Emotion]]", "[[Baby Baby Don't Cry]]" and the group's only number-one hit during their Robinson years, "[[The Tears of a Clown]]".

Other notable hits such as "[[Ooo Baby Baby]]", "[[Going to a Go-Go]]", the multi-award-winning  "[[The Tracks of My Tears]]", "[[(Come Round Here) I'm The One You Need]]", "[[The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage]]" and "[[More Love (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles song)|More Love]]" peaked in the top twenty. In 1965, the Miracles were the first Motown group to change their name when they released their 1965 album ''[[Going to a Go-Go]]'' as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

Between 1962 and 1966, Robinson was also one of the major songwriters and producers for Motown, penning many hit singles such as "[[Two Lovers (Mary Wells song)|Two Lovers]]",<ref name=pc25 /> "[[The One Who Really Loves You]]", "[[You Beat Me to the Punch]]" and "[[My Guy]]" for [[Mary Wells]]; "[[The Way You Do The Things You Do]]", "[[My Girl (The Temptations song)|My Girl]]",<ref name=pc25 /> "[[Since I Lost My Baby]]", "[[It's Growing]]", and "[[Get Ready (Temptations song)|Get Ready]]" for [[the Temptations]]; "[[Still Water (Love)]]" for [[the Four Tops]]; "[[When I'm Gone (Motown song)|When I'm Gone]]" and "[[Operator (Motown song)|Operator]]" for [[Brenda Holloway]]; "[[Don't Mess With Bill]]", "[[The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game]]" and "[[My Baby Must Be a Magician]]" for [[the Marvelettes]]; and "[[I'll Be Doggone]]" and "[[Ain't That Peculiar]]" for [[Marvin Gaye]].<ref name="Larkin"/>

After the arrival of [[Holland–Dozier–Holland]] and the team of [[Norman Whitfield]] and [[Barrett Strong]], Robinson was eclipsed as a top writer and producer for the label, and other Motown artists such as Gaye and [[Stevie Wonder]] began to compose more original material. Later in his career, Robinson wrote lyrics and music for [[the Contours]] such as "[[First I Look at the Purse]]", as well as the [[Four Tops]]' "[[Still Water (Love)|Still Water]]" and [[The Supremes]]' "[[Floy Joy (song)|Floy Joy]]". The other Miracles—Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Marv Tarplin—collaborated with him as writers on many of these hits, and Pete Moore also doubled as co-producer with Robinson on several of them.

By 1969, Robinson wanted to retire from touring to focus on raising his two children with his wife Claudette, and on his duties as Motown's vice president, a job he had taken on by the mid-1960s after [[Esther Gordy Edwards]] had left the position. However, the success of the group's "Tears of a Clown" made Robinson stay with the group until 1972.<ref name="Larkin"/> His last performance with the group was in July 1972 in [[Washington, D.C.]]