Happy Birthday, Smokey Robinson!

Smokey Robinson's singing is so smooth and distinct that other singers sing about his singing in their songs. (Say that five times fast.)

"When Smokey sings, I hear violins. When Smokey sings, I forget everything . . . " --ABC

"No one can sing, quite like Smokey, Smokey Robinson . . . " --Tom Tom Club

Smokey Robinson is also a great songwriter. He wrote My Guy for Mary Wells, The Way You Do the Things You Do for The Temptations,

Don't Mess with Bill for The Marvelettes,

and many, many more.

Thank you, Smokey!

M is for Motown

Aronson, Virginia. The History of Motown. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2000.

It's fun to read about what rock stars were like back in their younger years. Stevie Wonder was a prankster and master mimic. Marvin Gaye was painfully shy, and Martha Reeves got her foot in the door by working as a secretary at the Motown office.

Shop Indie Bookstores
Troupe, Quincy, and Lisa Cohen. Little Stevie Wonder. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

ps. I named this blog after a Motown compilation album, 40 Forever.

pps. Here is my karaoke version of the Motown hit, Mustang Sally. If you dare to listen carefully, you can hear my dogs playing percussion in the background.