The multi-Hall of Famer is touring the country this spring
Living music history took the stage at MGM National Harbor on Friday (Apr 12th) when Smokey Robinson walked out to begin his 15-song set. The Motown legend covered a range of songs, mostly from his catalog with The Miracles.
The night featured over a dozen songs, and stories to go with them. Before the Miracles classic “Tears of a Clown,” Robinson discussed his friendship with Stevie Wonder, and Wonder’s involvement in the song. Robinson also shared memories from the Motown days. He is a walking encyclopedia of one of music’s most important eras.
Robinson still sounds amazing. That high-pitched voice is still instantly recognizable. In a live setting, Robinson shows why he was tailor-made for all those romantic ballads. His unassuming falsetto communicates a tenderness of heart. Yet the slightest hip movement or wink in their direction, and the ladies in the room swooned immediately.
Robinson is also supremely charming. His stories were humorous. They were told to evoke laughter and a feeling of closeness to an artist so accomplished, that he shouldn’t be as approachable as he genuinely seemed on stage.
Part of that humility was in the time spent on songs that weren’t made famous by Robinson but still composed by him during the Motown years. A mashup of songs popularized by The Temptations served to demonstrate that things work out the way they are supposed to. It took Temptations convincing Robinson that late lead singer David Ruffin’s vocals were better suited to “My Girl” before Robinson agreed to let them record it. The rest, as they say, is history.
The all-around highlight of the night was Robinson’s flawless “Ooo Baby Baby.” The emotion and power behind the song drew the air out of the room by rendering the crowd breathless. Smokey reached for the stars with each higher-than-heaven note, earning a five-minute rapturous cheering break and two standing ovations. “Those of you that know me, know it’s hard to render me speechless,” Smokey said as he soaked in the reception. “But you just did that.”
Along with hits, Robinson played a few newer selections. One was a Spanish-language number from an unreleased project, and the other was a song from 2023’s Gasms. The latter drew controversy for its title, but Robinson said he named it that so listeners would think about “Whatever makes them happy and feel good.”
Motown has almost become a genre unto itself. There are a handful of people still performing R&B in the smooth, elegant style that puts melody and lyrics above groove and beat. Smokey Robinson remains among them. It’s clear his love for his catalog is still so strong, that he could write one of his iconic love ballads about the music itself. Of course, that he is still performing is a love letter in and of itself.
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