Bobby Rogers, Member of the Miracles, Dies at 73

Motown tenor Bobby Rogers passed away at his Detroit area home early Sunday morning after battling a long illness, reports the Detroit Free Press. He was 73.

Rodgers was one of the original members of the Miracles, the Motown hit group that included Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, Ronnie White and Claudette Rogers.

After forming in the late '50s, the group began churning out hits like "Shop Around," "Going to a Go-Go" and "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," before changing their name to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. Before Robinson would go on to pursue a solo career, the Miracles wound up back on the charts with the Motown classics "I Second That Emotion" and "The Tears of a Clown." Without Robinson, the group would become known as the Miracles once more, and found success with their biggest hit to date "Love Machine (Part 1)."

"Another soldier in my life has fallen," Robinson told in a statement to CNN. "Bobby Rogers was my brother and a really good friend. He and I were born on the exact same day in the same hospital in Detroit. I am really going to miss him. I loved him very much."

Rogers kept several versions of the Miracles alive through the years. He also co-wrote several tracks with Robinson, namely the Temptations “The Way You Do the Things You Do.”

The Miracles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and also have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Funeral arrangements for Rogers are pending.