LOS ANGELES, May 3 (UPI) -- Motown legend Smokey Robinson is still overwhelmed by the achievements of his recording career, 46 years after his first hit.
"It always flabbergasts me, man," said Robinson who just released a new retrospective of his work, "My World: Definitive Collection." "When you're living it, you're not conscious of the fact that this is what you're doing. You're doing it for the moment -- 'Hey, I'm trying to write this song now 'cause I want to do this song right now.'
"When I sit there and I look back on the history of that and the songs and the so on and so forth, it's always overwhelming to a certain degree, man."
"My World" features 19 hits from Robinson's tenure with the Miracles and from his solo career. It also includes a pair of brand new songs co-written with fellow Motown founding father Mickey Stevenson.
Robinson is currently working on two albums, a set of original songs and another of pop standards. He'll will receive the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award at the 2005 Songwriters Hall Of Fame induction ceremony on June 9 in New York City.
