Smokey Robinson

William Robinson Jr. was born on February 19, 1940, to an African-American father and a mother of African-American and French descent, in a poor family in the North End area of Detroit. He had two maternal half-sisters, Rose Ella and Geraldine, and his parents divorced when he was three years old. Robinson's ancestry is also part Nigerian, Scandinavian, Portuguese, and Cherokee. His uncle Claude gave him the nickname "Smokey Joe" when he was a child. In 2012, Robinson explained: My Uncle Claude was my favorite uncle. He was also my godfather. He and I were really, really close. He used to take me to see cowboy movies all the time when I was a little boy because I loved cowboy movies. He got a cowboy name for me, which was Smokey Joe. So from the time I was three years old if people asked me what my name was I didn't tell them my name was William, I told them my name was Smokey Joe. That's what everyone called me until I was about 12 and then I dropped the Joe part. I've heard that story about him giving it to me because I'm a light skinned black man but that's not true. When Robinson was 10, his mother died, and he began living with his older sister, Geraldine, with her husband, who had 10 children together. Robinson's interest in music started during childhood after he heard the groups Nolan Strong & the Diablos and Billy Ward and his Dominoes on the radio. He has cited Barrett Strong, a Detroit native, as a strong vocal influence. In 1955, he formed the first lineup of the Five Chimes with childhood friend Ronald White and classmate Pete Moore. Two years later, they were renamed the Matadors and included Bobby Rogers. Another member, Emerson (Sonny) Rogers, Bobby Rogers' cousin, was replaced by his sister, Claudette Rogers (who would marry Smokey Robinson in 1959). The group's guitarist, Marv Tarplin, joined them sometime in 1958. The Matadors began touring Detroit venues around this time. Eventually they changed their name to the Miracles. ==Career==

The Miracles and Motown In August 1957, Robinson and the Miracles met songwriter Berry Gordy after a failed audition for Brunswick Records. At that time during the audition, Robinson had brought along with him a "Big 10" notebook with 100 songs he had written while in high school. Gordy was impressed with Robinson's vocals and even more impressed with Robinson's ambitious songwriting. on End Records. It was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration. During this time, Robinson attended college and started classes in January 1959, studying electrical engineering. He dropped out after only two months, following the Miracles' release of their first record. Gordy formed Tamla Records, which was later reincorporated as Motown. The Miracles became one of the first acts signed to the label, In late 1960, the group recorded their first hit single "Shop Around", which became Motown's first million-selling hit record. The album became one of his most successful ever, selling over 900,000 copies in the United States alone. In the same year, Robinson released One Heartbeat, the UK group ABC released a tribute song, "When Smokey Sings". He was inducted as a solo artist to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, In 2012, however, the committee rectified the mistake announcing that the group would be inducted on their own merit. Though Robinson was not listed as an inductee, he was due to induct his former group at the ceremony in April 2012. Robinson performed a rewritten version of the song "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" on Sesame Street in 1989 called “U Really Got a Hold on Me”, alongside a grabby feminine-looking Muppet letter "U", that keeps squeezing and grabbing him. After MCA purchased Motown in 1988, Robinson relinquished his position as vice president. Following the release of the album Love, Smokey in 1990, Robinson left Motown for a deal with SBK Records in 1991. However, the album Double Good Everything failed to chart. Robinson remained virtually quiet during the nineties (though he would make a notable cameo appearance in The Temptations 1998 miniseries), 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 2003, he once again split ties with Motown, releasing the gospel album Food for the Spirit on Liquid 8 Records in 2004. In 2004, 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, Robinson released the standards album Timeless Love in 2006 on Universal Records. In 2009, he issued the album ''Time Flies When You're Having Fun on his own label, Robso Records. It reached number 59 on the Billboard album chart, his highest showing since One Heartbeat''. He subsequently released "Now And Then" in 2010, which peaked at number 131. while testifying at the United States Congress to support the CLASSICS Act in 2018 Smokey & Friends was released in mid-August 2014. It was an album of duets, including songs with Elton John, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor. It reached number 12 on the Billboard album chart. Christmas Everyday was Robinson's first post-Miracles Christmas album, and was released on November 10, 2017. In 2018, he appeared on an episode of CMT Crossroads alongside country singer Cam. In April 2017, Robinson visited Fremont-Lopez Elementary School in Stockton, California, where he served as a designated arts mentor under Turnaround Arts. On July 31, 2018, Robinson appeared on the Fox network's show Beat Shazam as a special guest. Robinson appeared on the song "Make It Better" from Anderson Paak's 2019 album Ventura. In 2023, Robinson announced that he would release his first album in almost a decade in April 2023. The nine-track album will be called Gasms, and will feature entirely new music. The first single from the album, called "If We Don't Have Each Other", was already available on streaming services by January 2023. ==Personal life==

Robinson married a fellow Miracles member, Claudette Rogers, in 1959. The couple had two children: a son, Berry Robinson (born 1968), named after Motown's founder Berry Gordy, and a daughter, Tamla Robinson (born 1971), named after the original "Tamla" label set up by Gordy that would eventually become Motown. According to Robinson, he had affairs with multiple women while married to Claudette, among them an approximately year-long affair with Diana Ross. According to Robinson, Ross ended it because she felt uncomfortable as she was friends with Claudette, whom Robinson admitted he still loved. (A representative for Ross had no comment on Robinson's claim.) Robinson says that loving multiple people in that way simultaneously is natural. Robinson also had a son named Trey (born 1984) with another woman during his marriage to Claudette. After Robinson admitted to having fathered a child with a woman other than his wife, he filed for legal separation and later filed for divorce that was finalized in 1986. The Robinsons had also separated in 1974 and during that separation, Robinson engaged in an extramarital affair that inspired the song "The Agony & The Ecstasy" (later featured on A Quiet Storm). Robinson married Frances Gladney in May 2002. They own a home in Pittsburgh and use it as a winery. Robinson has not eaten red meat since 1972. He practices Transcendental Meditation. Robinson has golden green eyes, which he believes were passed down from his French great-grandmother. Beginning in November 2023, Robinson is the current owner and host of the SiriusXM channel Soul Town, a station that plays R&B and soul hits from the 1950s to the early 1980s. Released under the banner ''Smokey's Soul Town'', Robinson occasionally appears on the channel, recalling his best moments with Motown and meeting other artists as well as pick his favorite songs during that time period. 2025 sexual assault allegations On May 6, 2025, it was reported that Robinson and his wife were being sued by four former female housekeepers who were alleging sexual battery, assault and false imprisonment from 2012 to 2024. The women are asking for a trial with general damages for several allegations of no less than $50 million. The women also claimed that Robinson's wife Frances created a hostile work environment by using "ethnically pejorative words and language." The women said that they did not take action against Robinson prior to 2025 for fear of losing their livelihood, familial reprisal or embarrassment. Some of the women were fearful it could affect their immigration status. Robinson has denied the allegations. According to a statement from his lawyer, Christopher Frost, "the evidence will show that this is simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon". On May 15, 2025, it was reported that Robinson was under criminal investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Robinson's lawyer responded to the investigation by stating, "It is clear to us what is happening here. Plaintiffs filed a police report only after they filed a $50 million lawsuit. This means that only the police are now required to investigate." On May 28, 2025, Robinson filed a $500 million counter-complaint against his former employees accusing them of slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress and financial elder abuse. The suit states that the women made pre-litigation demands for $100 million or more, which were not met, prompting them to "[create] a media circus and [make] a public spectacle of themselves." The following day, the legal team for his accusers responded to Robinson's counter-complaint saying that "[The countersuit] is nothing more than an attempt to silence and intimidate the survivors of Mr. Robinson’s sexual battery and assault. It is a baseless and vindictive legal maneuver designed to re-victimize, shift blame and discourage others from coming forward." On May 30, 2025, it was revealed that Robinson had been the subject of a criminal investigation due to an allegation of the singer sexually abusing an unrelated fifth woman in 2015, but the case was dismissed for "insufficient evidence". In November 2025, two additional employees, a man who worked as a car valet and a woman who worked as a housekeeper for Robinson, joined the May 2025 lawsuit. ==Awards and accolades==

with singers Dolly Parton and Robinson during a reception for the Kennedy Center honorees in the East Room of the White House, December 3, 2006 On February 22, 1983, Robinson was awarded an individual star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Four years later, in 1987, Robinson was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Robinson's single "Just to See Her" from the One Heartbeat album was awarded the 1988 Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. This was Robinson's first Grammy Award. At its 138th Commencement Convocation in May 2006, Howard University conferred on Robinson the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa. In December 2006 Robinson was one of five Kennedy Center honorees, along with Dolly Parton, Zubin Mehta, Steven Spielberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber. On March 20, 2009, the Miracles were finally honored as a group with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Robinson was present with original Miracles members Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, (Bobby's cousin) Claudette Rogers, and Gloria White, accepting for her husband, the late Ronnie White, whose daughter Pamela and granddaughter Maya were there representing him as well. Robinson's replacement, 1970s Miracles lead singer Billy Griffin, was also honored. Controversially, original Miracle Marv Tarplin was not honored, against the wishes of his fellow Miracles and the group's fans, who felt that he should have also been there to share the honor. Later, Tarplin did receive his star. He was also 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. He was also awarded Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Robinson at No. 23 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. ==Discography==

The Miracles • ''Hi... We're the Miracles'' (1961) • ''Cookin' with the Miracles'' (1961) • ''I'll Try Something New'' (1962) • The Fabulous Miracles (1963) • ''The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey'' (1963) • I Like It Like That (1964) Smokey Robinson & the Miracles • Going to a Go-Go (1965) • Away We a Go-Go (1966) • Make It Happen (1967) • Special Occasion (1968) • Time Out for Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1969) • Four in Blue (1969) • What Love Has...Joined Together (1970) • A Pocket Full of Miracles (1970) • The Season for Miracles (1970) • One Dozen Roses (1971) • Flying High Together (1972) Studio albums • Smokey (1973) • Pure Smokey (1974) • A Quiet Storm (1975) • ''Smokey's Family Robinson'' (1976) • Deep in My Soul (1977) • Love Breeze (1978) • ''Where There's Smoke...'' (1979) • Warm Thoughts (1980) • Being with You (1981) • ''Yes It's You Lady'' (1982) • Touch the Sky (1983) • Essar (1984) • Smoke Signals (1986) • One Heartbeat (1987) • Love, Smokey (1990) • Double Good Everything (1991) • Intimate (1999) • Food for the Spirit (2004) • Timeless Love (2006) • ''Time Flies When You're Having Fun'' (2009) • Now and Then (2010) • Smokey & Friends (2014) • Gasms (2023) • What the World Needs Now (2025) ==References==