Topic: Smokey Robinson
Quotes
Norman Whitfield was one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers of our time
Songwriter/producer Whitfield dead at 67 Sep 19, 2008
It is like an insult to our intellect and our intelligence and our integrity and our leader and our love for each other and our legacy
Robinson: 'Dreamgirls' execs owe apology Feb 05, 2007
It was great, just playing with them and hearing the stories of how they put the records together
Feature: In the 'Shadows' of Motown Nov 12, 2002
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy. Robinson's consistent commercial success and creative contributions to the label have earned him the title "King of Motown." As an original member of Motown Records' first vocal group The Miracles and as a solo artist, Robinson delivered many U.S. and U.K. Top 40 hits for Motown between 1960 and 1987. He also served as the company's vice president from 1961 to 1988.
Robinson was born and raised in the North End neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan.
According to Entertainment Weekly, "when he was 6 or 7, his Uncle Claude christened him "Smokey Joe," which the young William, a Western-movie enthusiast, at first assumed to be "his cowboy name for me." Some time later, he learned the deeper significance of his nickname: It derived from smokey, a pejorative term for dark-skinned blacks. "I'm doing this," his uncle told the light-skinned boy, "so you won't ever forget that you're black."
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Smokey Robinson."