Smokey Robinson ‘very blessed’
I told people on Facebook: What do you want me to ask Smokey Robinson? I asked. He answered. (Robinson sings Saturday at Terrible’s in Primm.)
QUESTION: Did you write any songs at Motown you wish you kept for yourself?
ANSWER: No. When I wrote the songs, I tailored them for the artist. … People say, "Don’t you wish you had sang ‘My Girl’ yourself?" Well no, I don’t. If (The Temptations) had not been in my life — I may not have ever written "My Girl."
Q: Did you write any songs at Motown that you didn’t get credit for?
A: Never. … If you wrote it, you got credit.
Q: Why were you so blessed with songwriting, when other people aren’t? Was it genetics, environment or what?
A: I grew up in a house of music. I heard everything from the blues to gospel, to jazz, to classical — all day, every day. So I got a great dose of music from the time I could hear.
Q: Have you had any near-death experiences on stage or tour buses?
A: I’ve fallen off the stage a couple of times, but it wasn’t that serious, fortunately. It was dark, and I stepped, and I thought I was still on the stage, but I wasn’t. I fell down into the pit!
Fortunately, there was a net down at the bottom of the pit. That’s happened a couple of times, man. One time, there was no net! But the stage wasn’t that high. You have to get up and go on singing.
Q: Why are the biggest legends, like you and Paul McCartney, always so nice to talk to?
A: I’m so very, very blessed. I get to live the life that I absolutely thought was my impossible dream as a child.
God has allowed me to do this. … I’m not going to trip on "Smokey Robinson" and think I’m better than anybody, because if it wasn’t for the cabdriver having 10 of my albums, who would I be?
CLUBBING
TODAY: Jay-Z appears at Tao. Bruno Mars sings at Bank. Skrillex DJs at Surrender.
SATURDAY: will.i.am DJs at Encore Beach Club, then Saturday night at XS.
SUNDAY: Pete Tong and Sidney Samson DJ at Encore Beach Club; the BBC will be recording a radio documentary there.
For a full lineup, see my blog.
Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Contact him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.