A former record executive, record producer, and singer-songwriter from the United States, Smokey Robinson has a $150 million net worth. Robinson is credited with creating the distinctive Motown sound, which rose to fame from the 1950s to the 1970s and is still in high demand today. The vocal group The Miracles, which enjoyed enormous popularity during the Motown era, included Smokey as a crucial member. Robinson pursued a lucrative solo career after leaving this band. Additionally, he served as Motown Records’ vice president. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honored Smokey Robinson with an induction in 1987.

Early Life

On February 19th, 1940, in Detroit, Michigan, William “Smokey” Robinson Jr. was born. Due to his uncle Claude, William, who was raised in a low-income family in Detroit’s North End, acquired the moniker “Smokey”. After taking William to see some cowboy movies, Claude gave him his own “cowboy name,” which was “Smokey Joe.” The young William then began calling himself Smokey Joe and introducing himself to people. In time, he stopped using the name “Joe” and started using just “Smokey.”

Smokey founded the Five Chimes, a doo-wop group, when he was a high school student. As a youngster, Robinson was a huge fan of music and tuned in to the radio to hear a wide range of performers. In addition to numerous others, these groups included Nolan Strong & the Diablos and Billy Ward & the Dominoes. Later, the Matadors were given to his doo-wop quartet.

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Career

The Matadors became the Miracles after making a significant amount of late-’50s touring. In 1957, Robinson made a friend in a lyricist by the name of Berry Gordy, who assisted the Miracles in releasing their debut hit, “Got a Job.” Robinson had been a college student at this point, majoring in electrical engineering, but he left after the success of his first single. The following year, Motown Records was founded by Gordy, who had previously founded Tamla Records. Following a recording contract with this label, the Miracles issued “Shop Around” in 1960, which went on to become a hit single and sell more than a million copies.

The following ten years saw a string of successes. These songs featured “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Mickey’s Monkey,” “I Second That Emotion,” “Baby Baby Don’t Cry,” and “The Tears of a Clown.” The primary singer, songwriter, and producer for the group at this time was Robinson. In 1965, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles took the moniker of the Miracles to reflect this. Smokey created numerous songs for musicians signed to Motown Records in addition to his work with the Miracles. A lot of tracks were also produced by him. Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, and the Marvelettes were some of the musicians who collaborated with Robinson. This came to an end when Motown hired a fresh group of songwriters, which also happened to be the time when more musicians started penning their own unique songs.

Smokey said he wanted to stop working in 1969. Robinson desired to spend more time with his family because his constant travel had taken a toll. The band quickly followed up with the release of “Tears of a Clown,” one of their biggest songs. Robinson was persuaded by this to stick around for a couple more years before he finally left the Miracles in 1972. Robinson only had a brief vacation from music in 1972 before beginning a solo career in 1973, contrary to predictions that he would stop making music altogether. He released his first solo album that year, titled “Smokey.” He released “Pure Smokey” as a follow-up in 1974.

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Relationships

Claudette Rogers, a fellow Miracles member, and Robinson were wed for the first time. Robinson had a third child with a different lady following the birth of her first two children with Rogers. The couple separated in 1986 as a result of this. Smokey wed Frances Gladney in the ye