Music is a gift that enriches our daily lives. It helps us endure the hardships, the pain, the struggle, and the plight of daily living. Music also provides the soundtrack for our happiness that paints a picture of love, optimism, unity, and pride. If music is a masterpiece, then there is only one man who could be our Michelangelo; a painter who could use this diverse palette of emotions to paint our musical Sistine Chapel, and that man is William "Smokey" Robinson. The creative force behind the legendary Motown record label, and a man once coined "America's greatest living poet" by Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson is truly one of the most gifted and talented songwriters of all time. The pen behind 37 Top 40 Hits, Smokey has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammy Society, an induction into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, and was most recently a Kennedy Center Honoree for his contributions to American Society. In our Lowrider world, it is his voice that has been recognized as our companion on many trips down the Boulevard, bringing his effortless falsetto to such Lowrider Classics as 1965's "Ooh Baby Baby," and the 1979 Lowrider anthem "Cruisin'." His group, The Miracles, also brought us a Lowrider Classic in 1976's "Love Machine," which was the nickname of Chicano comedian Cheech Marin's Impala in the movie "Up In Smoke."
William "Smokey" Robinson was born on February 19, 1940, in the rough-and-tumble area of North End Detroit, Michigan. The product of a working class family, he loved cowboy movies as a child, and thusly was given the nickname "Smokey Joe," by an uncle. The nickname stuck in the shortened form of "Smokey," and his love for cowboy movies turned into a love of singing, after he formed a vocal group with his high school friends. They called themselves the Matadors, and the vocal harmony group serenaded the hallways of Detroit's Northern High any chance they could get. Original members included Smokey, Ronald White, Pete Moore, and the blood-related Emerson, Bobby, and Claudette Rogers, who would eventually become the foundation for The Miracles. The group began to tour and recorded a song called "Got a Job," written by a frustrated songwriter named Berry Gordy, which was released on Chicago's Chess Records imprint. The song did well regionally, but Gordy wanted more attention from the label, and Smokey suggested that Berry start his own label instead. Berry agreed, and decided to form Tamla Records, which would go into business as Motown Records. Even better for business, Gordy made a home for the label in the legendary Hitsville U.S.A. building at 2648 West Grand Boulevard, right in the heart of Detroit.
By Mike Landers
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