(Newser)
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Bobby Rogers, a founding member of Motown hit machine The Miracles, has died at the age of 73 after a long illness. Rogers—a songwriter and choreographer as well as one of the group's five voices—kept the group going through various incarnations until health issues forced him to retire in 2011; he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year. "He had the sparkling personality that was loved by everyone," fellow Miracle Claudette Robinson tells the Detroit Free Press. "He was personable, approachable, and he loved talking to the women, loved talking to the guys, loved to dance, loved to sing, loved to perform. That was the joy of his life."
"Another soldier in my life has fallen," longtime Miracles frontman Smokey Robinson tells 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."
