About
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Robinson founded The Miracles while still in high school. The group was Berry Gordy’s first vocal group, and it was at Robinson’s suggestion that Gordy started the Motown Record dynasty. Their single of Robinson’s “Shop Around” became Motown’s first #1 hit on the R&B singles chart. In the years following, Robinson continued to pen hits for the group including “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Ooo Baby Baby,” “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Going to a Go-Go,” “More Love,” “Tears of a Clown” (co-written with Stevie Wonder), and “I Second That Emotion.”
Once pronounced by Bob Dylan as America’s “greatest living poet,” acclaimed singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson’s career spans over 4 decades of hits. He has received numerous awards including the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, Honorary Doctorate (Howard University), Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts Award from the President of the United States. He has also been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
In addition to writing hits for the Miracles, Robinson wrote and produced hits for other Motown greats including The Temptations, Mary Wells, Brenda Holloway, Marvin Gaye and others. “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “My Girl,” “Get Ready,” “You Beat Me to the Punch,” “Don’t Mess with Bill,” “Ain’t That Peculiar,” and “My Guy” are just a few of his songwriting triumphs during those years.
He remained Vice President of Motown records until the sale of the company, shaping the label’s success with friend and mentor Berry Gordy. Following his tenure at Motown, he continued his impressive touring career and released several successful solo albums.
For Smokey Robinson, music has never just been a career — it's been a calling. And for the Motown legend, that calling extends far beyond the recording studio. Through his ongoing relationship with Music Will — the largest nonprofit music education programme in the United States — Robinson has become one of the charity's most passionate and visible champions.
Smokey Robinson's love of animals has led him to lend his name and voice to one of America's oldest and most respected animal welfare organisations. Robinson has appeared in television spots for American Humane — the nonprofit behind the iconic No Animals Were Harmed® certification — recording both 30- and 60-second PSA versions to help spread the organisation's message. For a man whose life's work has been about bringing joy through music, championing the wellbeing of animals is, perhaps, a natural extension of that same generous spirit.
When it comes to The Midnight Mission — the Los Angeles organisation offering a path out of homelessness since 1914 — Smokey Robinson's support goes well beyond a celebrity cameo. Every summer at Valencia Country Club, Robinson hosts an annual invitational golf tournament to benefit the charity, followed by a reception, auction, and awards dinner. What began as a single event has grown into a decade-long commitment, raising funds year after year. "I'm a proud supporter of The Midnight Mission," Robinson has said. "It is doing amazing things."
... and Shiloh
Smokey Robinson's love of animals is anything but abstract. "I'm a dog lover. I have an English white lab. His name is Shiloh. He's my heart," - and that affection has translated into real advocacy. Robinson and Shiloh spent time together with American Humane advocating for the adoption of pets from shelters, with the Motown legend happy to let his beloved lab share the spotlight in support of a cause close to both their hearts.
Golf
Golf is not a hobby for Smokey Robinson — it's a lifelong obsession. He started playing in 1969, introduced to the game by Berry Gordy's brother Robert, who brought the whole Motown family into it. It quickly took hold. "Golf is the heroin of sports," Robinson has said. "If you call me at 4:30 a.m. and say, 'Let's go play some golf,' I'll say, 'Where?'" He has described golf as his "first love," even before music — which, from a man with over 4,000 songs to his name, is quite the statement. And true to form, his passion has always found a way to give back — his long-running invitational tournament at Valencia Country Club has raised funds for The Midnight Mission for over a decade.
Motown Museum
For Smokey Robinson, the Motown Museum in Detroit is not just a tourist attraction — it's personal. He was one of five people present at Motown Records on its very first day, and his connection to Hitsville U.S.A. has never dimmed. Robinson has been a consistent presence at the museum's key milestones, helping open a time capsule he had sealed two decades earlier and contributing a poem written in tribute to the museum's founder Esther Gordy Edwards. "This is so beautiful to me," he said at the unveiling of the museum's expanded plaza. "This is just a wonderful, wonderful thing to be happening." For a man who was there at the very beginning, keeping that flame burning in his hometown clearly means everything.
Honours
Few artists have been recognised as comprehensively as Smokey Robinson. He holds a Grammy Living Legend Award and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — first as a solo artist in 1987, and again alongside the original Miracles in 2012. In 2006 he was named a Kennedy Center Honoree, and the President of the United States presented him with the National Medal of Arts. In 2016 he received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song — one of the highest honours in American music. He holds honorary doctorates from both Howard University and Berklee College of Music, received the BET Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, and was honoured as MusiCares Person of the Year in 2023. Bob Dylan once called him America's "greatest living poet" — and the honours make a compelling case.