Smokey Robinson
William Robinson
BORN: Feb 19, 1940 in Detroit, MI
If you're looking for the all-time number-one purveyor of mainstream romantic
soul, Smokey Robinson may well be the man, in the face of some towering
competition. With the Miracles in the 1960s, he paced dozens of tuneful
Motown hits with his beautiful high tenor. As a solo performer from the
1970s onward, he was one of the staples of urban contemporary music. But
his singing gifts, as notable as they are, comprise only one of his hats:
he's also one of pop's best and most prolific songwriters. As a songwriter
and producer, he was the most important musical component to Motown's early
success, not only on the hits by the Miracles, but for numerous other acts
as well (especially Mary Wells and the Temptations).
Robinson first crossed paths with Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. in the
late '50s in Detroit. In retrospect, this may have been the most important
meeting in both men's lives. Robinson needed a mentor and an outlet for his
budding talents as a singer and songwriter; the ambitious Gordy needed someone
with multi-faceted musical vision. Gordy encouraged and polished Robinson's
songwriting in particular in the early days, in which the Miracles were one
of many acts bridging the doo-wop and early soul eras.
Before solidifying their relationship with the embryonic Motown operation,
the Miracles issued a few singles on the End and Chess labels, the most
successful of which was "Got a Job." There was no national action for the
Miracles until "Shop Around" in late 1960. Gordy withdrew the original single
in favor of a faster, more fully produced version of the song; it made number
two, doing much not only to establish the Miracles, but to establish the
Motown label itself. The song also heralded many of the important elements
of the Motown sound, with its gospel-ish interplay between lead and backup
vocals, its rhythmic groove, and its blend of R&B and pop.
While Robinson is most often thought of as a romantic balladeer, the Miracles
were also capable of grinding out some excellent up-tempo party tunes, particularly
in their early days. "Mickey's Monkey" (which the group gave an athletically
electrifying performance of in the 1964 T.A.M.I. Show movie), a 1963 Top
Ten hit, is the most famous of these; there was also "Going to a Go-Go" and
smaller hits like "I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying." The 1962 Top Ten hit
"You've Really Got a Hold on Me," however, was the key cut in forming Robinson's
romantic persona, with its pleading, soaring vocals, exquisite melody, and
carefully crafted lyrics. Bob Dylan was impressed enough by Robinson's facility
for imaginative wordplay to dub him "America's greatest living poet" (a phrase
which has possibly become the most quoted example of one rock giant praising
another).
Surveying Robinson's achievements during the 1960s, one wonders if the
man ever slept. While the Miracles were never Motown's biggest act at any
given time, they were one of its very most consistent, entering the Top
40 25 times over the course of the decade. "I Second That Emotion," "The
Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage," "The Tracks of My Tears," "Ooo Baby
Baby," and "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" were some of their biggest singles, and
usually represented Motown at its most sophisticated and urbane. Robinson
also was extremely active at Motown as a songwriter and producer for other
acts. The number one singles "My Guy" (Mary Wells) and "My Girl" (Temptations)
were each Robinson songs and productions (the latter with fellow Miracle
Ronnie White), and Robinson also did some excellent work with the Marvelettes
and Marvin Gaye. He also toured with the Miracles, and started a family with
the Miracles' female singer, Claudette Rogers, whom he married in 1964. Rogers
stopped touring with the group in the mid-'60s, although she continued to
sing on their records.
Starting in 1967, the billing on Miracles releases was changed to Smokey
Robinson & the Miracles, presaging Robinson's solo career. The group
continued to spin out hits until the early '70s, however, getting their only
number one in 1970 with the upbeat "The Tears of a Clown" (which had actually
been recorded back in 1966). Robinson left the group to go on his own in
1972; the Miracles continued without him with limited success, although they
had a number one hit in 1976 with "Love Machine, Pt. 1."
Robinson had been made a vice president at Motown near the beginning of
his career in 1961. He recorded frequently as a solo artist for Motown in
the '70s and '80s, in a considerably mellower vein than his Miracles work,
in keeping with the general shift of Motown and soul toward urban contemporary.
Robinson, in fact, provided that genre with one of its catch phrases with
the title of his 1975 album, A Quiet Storm. "Cruisin'" (1979) and "Being
With You" (1981) were his biggest solo hits, although artistically and commercially
his solo era wasn't nearly as successful as his music with the Miracles.
— Richie Unterberger