The Untold Truth Of Smokey Robinson

The name Smokey Robinson is practically synonymous with the '60s heyday of Motown Records. As the frontman of the Miracles, his vocals led the way on many of soul music's most beloved hits. But Robinson wrote plenty of hits for other artists, too, and his legacy on the music industry stretches far beyond his own songs. Here are a few things you probably don't know about the Motown great.

William Robinson Junior was named for his father, but the name by which the world would come to know him was given to him by a different family member — because of a shared love of the movies. Robinson told the Los Angeles Sentinel:

"My uncle Claude was my favorite uncle. He was also my godfather. He and I were really, really close. He used to take me to see cowboy movies all the time when I was a little boy because I loved cowboy movies. He got a cowboy name for me, which was Smokey Joe."

In his L.A. Sentinel interview, Robinson was asked if, as one story goes, Uncle Claude gave him the nickname to remind the fair-skinned William that he's black. His response:

"I've heard that story about him giving it to me because I'm a light-skinned black man, but that's not true."

Watch the video to find out more about the untold truth of Smokey Robinson!

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Smokey | 0:21
Electric fate | 1:06
Meeting Berry | 1:53
Shop Around | 2:46
Diana Ross | 3:42
America's greatest living poet | 4:23
Aretha | 5:13
Motown classics | 6:05
Inspiration | 6:55
Cocaine | 7:58
The soul of Motown | 8:53

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