Talking With The Legendary Smokey Robinson

 

Smokey Robinson, the legendary singer, songwriter, and record producer, recently talked to Joan Hamburg on The Joan Hamburg Show. Robinson’s name is almost synonymous with the words Motown, R&B, and Soul for many Americans. He has been in the music business for years and continues to influence and shape what it is today.

 

Smokey, born William Robinson Jr., was given his nickname by his favorite uncle, and god-father, Uncle Claude. This name, “Smokey Joe”, was given due to Mr. Robinson’s love of cowboy movies. When the great talent was 12, the “Joe” was dropped, and “Smokey” officially stuck as he formed his first singing group, The Miracles.

 

As a child, Robinson idolized Jackie Wilson, and at 16, while The Miracles were auditioning for Wilson’s managers, Robinson met Berry Gordy, the singer who would change the path of Robinson’s career. Gordy is credited for teaching Robinson that, “Your songs have to have a beginning, middle, and ending”. This and the other things Gordy taught helped to make Robinson a truly great songwriter.

 

Robinson learned that, “There are no new words; there are no new ideas; there are no new notes…”, and because of this, he had to learn how to make his songs different. His biggest hits, songs like “Tears of a Clown”, “Ooo Baby Baby”, and “Baby, Baby Don’t Cry”, prove his ability to do so. As a young man, he was already an accomplished song writer, and a leader in Motown.

 

Robinson says that, “We had a Motown family”. He says that they all worked together and socialized together, and he claims that the family still exists. They all helped to brake down the racial barriers which existed in the music business. They helped to stop the segregation. As a one time Vice President of Motown Records, Robinson is very proud of all of their accomplishments.

 

Robinson is quite frank when talking about his drug addiction. As far as ridding himself of the addiction, he said that, “It’s a spiritual healing…”. He believes that if it is not, the habit will never kick itself. Robinson is also now an anti-drug spokesperson and speaks for a variety of groups about the dangers of drug addictions.

 

This cause is the reason for his September 12^th Concert at Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza. It is the end of A&E’s Recovery Rally, and Robinson is quite excited about the event. His singing will help to support the recovery of drug addicts. As for other projects, Robinson recently had an album come out titled “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun”, which was released on August 25^th. He says that he chose this title because it described how he felt about his career, and it is most certain that many of his fans feel the same way.