Winner of a Grammy Living Legend Award, Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts Award, Robinson is America’s “greatest living poet,” who has crafted decades of beloved chart-topping hits.Legendary singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson will perform live Friday, April 21, presented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.
Robinson’s career spans decades of famous and beloved chart-topping hits, and he is one of the music industry’s most influential contributors. Bob Dylan once pronounced him America’s “greatest living poet.”
Tickets to the 8 p.m. performance are $125, $150 and $175. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or visit AlysStephens.org. The Alys Stephens Center will host a Motown lobby dance party for ticketholders at 6 p.m. with a DJ, cash bars and a food truck on-site.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Robinson founded The Miracles while still in high school. The group was Berry Gordy’s first vocal group, and it was at Robinson’s suggestion that Gordy started the Motown Record dynasty. Their single of Robinson’s “Shop Around” became Motown’s first No. 1 hit on the R&B singles chart. In the years following, Robinson continued to pen hits for the group, including “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Ooo Baby Baby,” “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Going to a Go-Go,” “More Love,” “Tears of a Clown” (co-written with Stevie Wonder) and “I Second That Emotion.”
The Miracles dominated the R&B scene throughout the 1960s and early ’70s, and Robinson became vice president of Motown Records, serving as in-house producer, talent scout and songwriter. In addition to writing hits for The Miracles, Robinson wrote and produced hits for other Motown greats, including The Temptations, Mary Wells, Brenda Holloway, Marvin Gaye and others. “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “My Girl,” “Get Ready” and “My Guy” are just a few from those years. His later solo career continued his tradition of hitmaking with “Just to See Her,” “Quiet Storm,” “Cruisin’” and “Being with You,” among others.
Robinson has accumulated more than 4,000 songs to his credit and continues to thrill sold-out audiences around the world with his high tenor voice, impeccable timing and profound sense of lyric, according to his bio.
Robinson’s many awards include a Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts Award from the president of the United States. He has also been inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and remains a beloved icon in our musical heritage.
This concert is sponsored in part by Regions.