LOS ANGELES: Motown fans Tuesday mourned the death of Bobby Rogers, one of the original members of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, who died in Detroit at the age of 73.
He was the third Motown vocalist to die within a month, after the deaths of Richard Street, 70, and Otis "Damon" Harris, 62, both members of The Temptations during the 1970s.
The Detroit News, citing family members, said Rogers died Sunday at his suburban Detroit home as a result of complications from diabetes.
His funeral Monday will be at a Baptist church just a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Motown's original Hitsville USA studios.
"Bobby Rogers was my brother and a really good friend," said Robinson on his Facebook account. "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 was a member of the Miracles from its inception in 1956, lending his voice to a string of hits that included Motown's first million-selling single "Shop Around," "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and "The Tears of a Clown."
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio last year along with other early members of the vocal group, 26 years after Robinson's solo induction.
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