As legends go, Smokey Robinson holds his own among other Smokeys. Sure, Smokey Bear has cornered the forest fire prevention market and those Tennessee mountains are pretty monumental, even if they did forget the “e” in their name. But Robinson has written about 4,000 songs, was a top executive at Motown Records and is a member of at least two halls of fame.
In short, the 77-year-old singer has had a “Miracle” career.
Smokey will be at the Holland Center on Saturday to perform with the Omaha Symphony at its annual Gala. In honor of that, here are a few things you may not know about him:
» Though he started the Miracles while still in high school, and they had a bunch of megahits such as “Shop Around” and “Tears of a Clown,” Smokey didn’t win a Grammy Award until middle age, for his solo single “Just to See Her” in 1988.
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» His real name is William Robinson Jr. He shared a love of Western movies with his favorite uncle, who gave him a cowboy name: “Smokey Joe.” It stuck, though he dropped “Joe” at age 12.
» He won the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song last year, joining esteemed former winners Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
» He recently donated $1 million and various musical instruments to a middle school in Arlington Heights, a low-income area in central Los Angeles.
» He was born in Detroit and, at one point, lived a few houses down from another legend: Diana Ross.
» He doesn’t eat red meat.
» He practices transcendental meditation, made popular by the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960s.
» The late John Lennon — a legend himself — called Smokey a major musical influence.
freeman@owh.com, 402-444-1267
Smokey Robinson with the Omaha Symphony
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Holland Center
Information: ticketomaha.com or 402-345-0606