The Miracles' invitation to join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is "bittersweet" for singer Pete Moore, who insists the induction should have happened much earlier.
Smokey Robinson made it into the illustrious Hall of Fame in 1987, and now the rest of his supergroup will join him at the 2012 induction ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday (14Apr12).
Moore, who co-wrote many Miracles hits with Robinson, is delighted by the honour, but he feels the offer should have been extended "some time ago".
He tells Billboard.com, "(The induction is a) kind of bittersweet thing. We are elated that we're finally being inducted. We are overwhelmed by it. But on the other hand we feel this is something that should have been done some time ago. But it's finally happening, and we appreciate it. Like the old saying goes, better late than never."
Meanwhile, his bandmate Claudette Robinson, who was previously married to Smokey, admits she never expected to see the day she would be feted by the Hall of Fame bosses.
She adds, "I didn't think it would happen in my lifetime. For the longest time so many people have put in their comments and tried so hard for us to be inducted, and there was always a reason we weren't. So I was a little shocked when they called and said it would happen."