Talk:Smokey Robinson

NPR interview
[Terry Gross interview] Would someone listen to this and fill in the article. Thanks. --Gbleem 20:25, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

early life section
Robinson was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan's North End neighborhood. < is that all??? what about his parents, what ethnic group/race/whatever ??? and is he looks like he is mixed, is he maybe a mulatto?-- ♫Greatorangepumpkin♫ T 15:14, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't think Smokey would appreciate his parents being called "African-American". He did not like the term. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bIhD6GzYq4) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.97.156.175 (talk) 14:47, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

girl
Why is there no mention of the fact that he sounds like a girl? I didn't know it was a guy singing "Cruisin" for a long, long, long time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.163.0.44 (talk) 17:27, 9 January 2008 (UTC)
 * It's not mentioned because "Smokey sounding like a girl" is merely your opinion. Remember this is an encyclopedia, FACTUAL INFORMATION ONLY. The article is fine the way it is, why it's not a featured article candidate is beyond me. 74.224.50.136 (talk) 06:37, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Is smokey black?
it's not listed anywhere in the article, he definitely looks mixed to an extent. would you guys consider him a genuine 'african-american'? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.18.247.69 (talk) 23:57, 25 February 2007 (UTC).
 * No question, he is African-American.--SidP 16:30, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Smokey Robinson's grandmother (not sure which one) was Caucasian. He self-identifies as African-American, so I'm assuming one parent is mixed while the other is African-American. --FuriousFreddy 22:46, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Nickname origin
I once saw a television interview with Smokey, and he was asked how he got his nickname. He said that since he was light-skinned and the name "Smokey" is usually given to a very dark skinned person, it was sort of an ironic joke name. Is there any reference to his uncle's nicknaming him?--SidP 16:32, 3 April 2007 (UTC)


 * That's not what Smokey told CBN (to whom I don't imagine he'd want to lie): "I loved cowboys. My Uncle Claude used to take me to see cowboy movies. He had a cowboy name for me, which was 'Smokey Joe.' So whenever anybody asked me what my name was, I told ‘em Smokey Joe!". --FuriousFreddy 22:46, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Best Show Ever
I just saw Smokey perform at the Cerritos Center,Cerritos, Ca. and just wanted to say that it was one of the best shows I have seen in ages. He still has the greatest voice, and I would say that it has even improved over the years. I love the way he interacts with the audience. After all these years of loving his music it was my first time to see him perform live, but I can assure you it won't be the last! Dabloozer. 08/20/07

Tamla Motown
In the description of Robinson's & Gordy's formation of 'Motown Records' it mentions it was originally called 'Tamla' and soon was re-incorperated as 'Motown.' Here in the UK at least, for a very long time (throughout the sixties at least), all these records were labelled 'Tamla Motown.' Was this a purely UK label?


 * Yes, "Tamla Motown" was the UK-only label distributed by EMI from 1965. In the US, the Motown corporation had many different "labels"; Tamla Records was the first one established (before Motown Records was founded and before Tamla became part of the Motown "group"), and Smokey/Miracles records always came out on Tamla.  US Tamla records are easily recognisable because of their predominantly bright yellow labels; UK Tamla Motown records usually had black and white labels. 90.198.51.2 (talk) 19:42, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

And, as a curious aside, if one is to search the -legally ambiguous- P2P networks, (limewire, bearshare et al) while almost anyhting you care to mention is available, from Gangster Rap to Classical Ballet, it is extremely difficult to find ANY 'Smokey Robinson' records. Astounding, considering the vast contribution he made to music in this most crucial era of the history of popular music. Would anyone care to suggest why this might be?Macthefork (talk) 08:40, 5 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Try searching for "Miracles" rather than "Smokey Robinson". 90.198.51.2 (talk) 19:42, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Controversy?
The title "Later years, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Controversy, and awards and accolades" - what Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Controversy? The article does not give any info on that. Shouldn't the title be amended to "Later years, awards and accolades"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.241.161.223 (talk) 16:05, 21 October 2009 (UTC)

Lead sentence
This sentence in the lead has numerous problems: "Robinson delivered thirty-seven Top 40 hits for Motown between 1960 and 1987." First off, per WP:LEAD, the lead should summarise info in the main body of the article but there's nothing in the article about how many top 40 hits he had. Secondly and more importantly, which top 40? The American top 40, the Australian top 40, the British top 40? More than one country has a music chart. If it is, as I assume, the US charts, then does it refer to the Billboard hot 100, the R & B chart or a combination of them? Until that's clarified it needs changed. Valenciano (talk) 20:15, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Nominated Smokey Robinson for vital article
Wikipedia has a project running to identify 10,000 topics so important that the articles on them get "vital article" rating. The music category includes Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, but to complete the Great Motown Three a nomination has been made to include SR as wel:

Wikipedia_talk:Vital_articles/Expanded

Any editor can vote for this, so don't hesitate.MackyBeth (talk) 16:25, 1 September 2014 (UTC)

Where's his discography?
Shouldn't he have a list of albums and singles on his biography like all the other singers you find on Wikipedia? --Soren84 (talk) 09:02, 6 June 2015 (UTC)


 * I've added a discography section, pointing to the two main articles (Miracles and solo career). These are already linked, but way down at the bottom, so I agree that they seemed to be missing. Thanks for raising this. --Hobbes Goodyear (talk) 09:25, 6 June 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks! --Soren84 (talk) 14:32, 6 June 2015 (UTC)

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info on His former frozen food line is missing from article
Back in 2006 Robinson launched a since discontinued frozen food line. I don't know why it went away but it should be mentioned in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.239.8.149 (talk) 01:27, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

Actor?
Is he also and actor? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Clrichey (talk • contribs) 23:02, 20 June 2020 (UTC)

Childhood Home
I believe it was Diana Ross who grew up a few doors down from Smokey on Belmont — not Aretha Franklin.

Smokey lived at 581 Belmont; Diana Ross lived at 635. Rflerner (talk) 02:06, 21 May 2023 (UTC)
 * , you can hear Smokey himself explaining how both of them were his neighbours at this recent interview with Marc Maron. Alexcalamaro (talk) 18:14, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

A recent Jennifer Hudson show had him as a guest, and he confirmed both of these, but why is Ross’s living nearby not mentioned in the article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:645:4300:EE90:D01A:E07D:3302:758D (talk) 19:28, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

Mother’s death and sister raising him
Should we mention this if there is RS? His mother was Flossie Robinson and she died in 1950 from a cerebral hemorrhage. His half-sister Dorothy raised him. TheGreatestLuvofAll (talk) 18:04, 18 May 2024 (UTC)