Tarplin, who continued to work with Smokey Robinson after leaving The Miracles in 1973, and who shared writing credits on songs including "Going to a Go-Go," died at his Las Vegas home.

"You can't express how much this one man meant to those of us dreaming to make it in the music business," said Billy Wilson, president of the Motown Alumni Association.

"His quiet mystique and unconcerned demeanor would make you believe he was just an ordinary guy," he added.

"But his creative back beat rhythms on guitar allowed the powers that be to find the creative juices to formulate what would become major classic hits for Motown."

Tarplin, who was referred to as The Miracles' "secret weapon," began his career with a Detroit girl group called the Primettes. He was auditioning with them for Motown when Smokey Robinson spotted him, and lured him away.

He joined the band in 1958, and his "playing technique along with Smokey Robinson's lyrical flair became the inspiration for most of the Miracles hit songs," said Wilson.

Tarplin was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1941, and died on Friday. He retired from touring in 2008. The cause of death was not given.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011