37 Facts About Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was chief songwriter and producer.

Smokey Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as "the Five Chimes" until 1972, when he announced his retirement from the group to focus on his role as Motown's vice president.

However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year.

Smokey Robinson left Motown Records in 1990, following the sale of the company two years earlier.

Smokey Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and was awarded the 2016 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for his lifetime contributions to popular music.

Smokey Robinson's uncle Claude gave him the nickname "Smokey Joe" when he was a child.

Smokey Robinson used to take me to see cowboy movies all the time when I was a little boy because I loved cowboy movies.

Smokey Robinson got a cowboy name for me, which was Smokey Joe.

Smokey Robinson attended Northern High School, where he was above average academically and a keen athlete, though his main interest was music, and he formed a doo-wop group named the Five Chimes.

At that time during the audition, Smokey Robinson had brought along with him a "Big 10" notebook with 100 songs he wrote while in high school.

Smokey Robinson dropped out after only two months, following the Miracles' release of their first record.

However, the success of the group's "Tears of a Clown" made Smokey Robinson stay with the group until 1972.

Smokey Robinson struggled to compete with his former collaborators Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and former Temptations member Eddie Kendricks, as all three had multiple hit singles during this period.

Smokey Robinson answered his critics the following year with A Quiet Storm, released in 1975.

At this point Smokey Robinson relied on other writers and producers to help him with his albums.

Smokey Robinson later wrote the lyrics that became his first solo top ten Pop single, "Cruisin'".

Smokey Robinson would follow a similar approach with his next album, Warm Thoughts, which produced another top 40 hit, "Let Me Be the Clock", though it did not repeat the success of "Cruisin'".

In 1981, Smokey Robinson topped the charts again with another sensual ballad, "Being with You", which was another number one hit in Cash Box and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Gold-plus parent album sparked a partnership with George Tobin and with Tobin, Smokey Robinson released his next several Motown albums, Yes It's You Lady, which produced the hit "Tell Me Tomorrow", Touch the Sky and Essar.

In 1987, following a period of personal and professional issues, Smokey Robinson made a comeback with the album, One Heartbeat and the singles, "Just to See Her" and "One Heartbeat", which were Top 10 hits on Billboards Pop, Soul, and Adult Contemporary charts.

Smokey Robinson was inducted as a solo artist to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, later igniting controversy as the committee had inducted only Robinson and not members of his group, the Miracles, which Robinson was personally offended by.

Smokey Robinson remained virtually quiet during the nineties, making a brief comeback in 1999 when he re-signed with Motown and issued the album, Intimate, which included the song "Easy to Love".

In 2004 Smokey Robinson sang the main title theme song "Colorful World" to the American children's animated series ToddWorld for Discovery Kids, TLC and Mike Young Productions.

Two years later, Smokey Robinson released the standards album, Timeless Love, in 2006 on Universal Records.

Smokey Robinson subsequently released "Now And Then" in 2010, which peaked at number 131.

On July 31,2018, Smokey Robinson appeared as a special guest on the Fox network's show Beat Shazam as a special guest.

Smokey Robinson appeared on the song "Make It Better" from Anderson Paak's 2019 album Ventura.

In 2023, Smokey Robinson announced that he would release his first album in almost a decade in April 2023.

Smokey Robinson married a fellow Miracles member, Claudette Rogers, in 1959.

Smokey Robinson had a son named Trey was born on 1984 and with another woman during his marriage to Claudette.

Smokey Robinson is notable for having golden green eyes, which he believes were passed down from his French great-grandmother.

On February 22,1983, Smokey Robinson was awarded an individual star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1993, Smokey Robinson was awarded a medal at the National Medal of Arts.

In 2005, Smokey Robinson was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

In December 2006 Smokey Robinson was one of five Kennedy Center honorees, along with Dolly Parton, Zubin Mehta, Steven Spielberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Smokey Robinson was inducted with the rest of the original Miracles, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Claudette Robinson, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012,25 years after Robinson's controversial solo induction in 1987.

Smokey Robinson was awarded Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.