A Matter of Time, and Music
DR. DRE CALLS, AND SMOKEY MAKES IT BETTER
Let me be the clock for the time of your life/Let me be the pendulum that strikes your chime for the first time.
When Smokey Robinson endorses expensive watches produced by a fashionable company in his hometown, you just know it’s time to call on the opening lines of his 1980 hit, “Let Me Be The Clock.”
Welcome to news from Shinola, the nine-year-old luxury design brand based in Detroit, which makes watches, leather goods, jewellery and audio gear. Last month, Robinson lent his name to a $950 timepiece, as well as a $3,000 turntable and one or two more modestly-priced items, all styled in a colour to match the mesmerising blue-green of the singer/songwriter’s eyes.
Shinola’s guest of honour
To promote the line, Shinola founder Tom Kartsotis threw a party for Robinson at his firm’s Los Angeles retail store during Grammy week. The shindig was as trendy as the watches, even down to the serving of vegan pizza. “Over the last 60 years, it’s not just music you’ve affected, it’s the entire planet,” said Kartsotis, obligingly, to his guest, “and we’re happy you could be here.”
A few days later, so were the Grammys. They’ve become more inviting for Robinson in recent times, despite the fact that that the recording academy’s members bestowed no blessings on him – nominations, yes, awards, not one – during the 1960s or ‘70s. Last year, he took part in the Grammys’ televised celebration of Motown’s 60th anniversary. This year, he was one of the awards show presenters, and sang a snatch of “My Girl” with country music’s Little Big Town. He was also connected to a Grammy winner: Anderson .Paak, whose Ventura triumphed as Best R&B album. Robinson sang on one track, “Make It Better,” which he helped to write, too.
With his 80th birthday approaching next week, the Motown magician has been true to his earlier declaration that he has no intention of slowing down or retiring from life on the road and in the spotlight. Robinson seems especially partial to performing in Las Vegas and at casinos around America, but hasn’t ventured abroad often – unless you count his one-night guest appearance last year on the “Soul Train” cruise to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Meanwhile, tonight (14) he’s playing a Valentine’s Day show in National Harbour, Maryland, and one of his summertime gigs will be at a prestigious, new concert venue in San Diego, The Shell. Oh, and he’s working on a Spanish-language album.
Then there’s his wider commercial universe, such as the Shinola association and Smokey Robinson Wines. (For a closer look at the latter, check here.) Some of this activity is the result of his 2016 deal with Primary Wave Music Publishing, which acquired – for a reported $22 million – the writer’s share of his Motown song catalogue. More provocatively, the pact included rights to Robinson’s name and likeness, and at the time, Primary Wave chief executive Larry Mestel said this offered substantial business opportunities. “It’s brands, alliances, maybe helping Smokey start a food company or taking Smokey songs and creating a television show,” Mestel told Billboard. “It’s all of those things. Maybe it’s getting him a sneaker deal…why not?”
Sometimes, it’s the titles of Robinson’s masterworks which are branded onto merchandise, such as his $29.99 bottle of “Being With You” Pinot Noir or Shinola’s $5 “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” greeting card. The latter company also sells the “Smokey Robinson Journal Set,” with three $20 notebooks, each featuring a different song title embossed on the cover: “Baby Come Close, “You Can Depend On Me,” “I Second That Emotion.”
A mellow Ms. Michaels
It helps that these songs remain resolutely popular, whether streamed by millions of listeners, or covered anew by a rainbow of recording artists. Robinson recently – and proudly – tweeted his 2019 Spotify stats: 20.3 million streams by 4.4 million listeners in 79 countries. Claudette Robinson did the same for the Miracles, showing that globally, their music attracted 13.9 million streams by 4.2 million listeners in 2019. It’s unclear whether Smokey’s total included tracks by the group, but the numbers are notable, nevertheless – and that’s only on Spotify. The music is available on other digital platforms, too, such as those operated by Apple, Amazon and YouTube.
This audience reach is fortified by the continuing use of Motown anthems in movies, on TV and in advertising, and on stage in Motown tribute shows and, of course, in Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations on Broadway. That musical will hit the road in the U.S. this year, which means more income for Mr. Robinson and/or Primary Wave.
And his songs continue to inspire others. Sophisticated soul singer Kea Michaels, for example, recorded and released “Being With You” last year, in a slower groove than Smokey’s 1981 hit. “I’ve been performing his music for over a decade,” she explained to me recently, “and decided to cover that song. I wanted to put a different spin on it, to kind of mellow it out and add some smooth jazz elements.” Referring to James Casey’s sax solo on the track, she added, “It’s so funny, because when you add instrumentation to a song nowadays, it’s put in a category as smooth jazz.”
By way of contrast, there’s blue-chip rock guitarist Brian Ray, the onetime musical director for Etta James and longtime member of Paul McCartney’s band. He co-wrote (and played on) the title track of Robinson’s 1987 album for Motown, One Heartbeat, and in 2017, he recorded loud and striking treatments of that song and “The Tears Of A Clown” – both featuring Smokey on vocals with Ray. They were subsequently issued via Steve Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool label. Of “Clown,” the guitarist said it was his way of celebrating Robinson, “and to thank him for making my song, ‘One Heartbeat,’ a hit just as I was getting off drugs and alcohol at age 31.”
Those are but three recent examples. Then there’s Canadian singer/songwriter Luke McMaster, who released an entire album devoted to Robinson’s work just a few days ago. His Songs Of Smokey selections are what you’d expect, and their treatment is light, with the focus firmly on McMaster’s confident, sometimes-falsetto vocals. “The Tears Of A Clown” stands out because it’s decidedly lower-key in delivery (and tempo) than the Miracles’ boisterous original.
A Wicked Cool ‘Clown’
Songs Of Smokey also includes McMaster’s take on “Cruisin’,” another copyright with its share of admirers, including Andra Day with Gallant in 2017. Robinson himself re-recorded it as a duet with Britain’s Jessie J for his last album, Smokey & Friends, in 2014. His attachment to the song is understandable: the 1979 hit single earned his first Grammy nomination as a solo artist, for Best R&B Vocal Performance.
Robinson’s latest Grammy moment, with Anderson .Paak, came about via a hip-hop legend who was born during the same month that the Temptations’ “My Girl” was climbing the charts, in February 1965. “Dr. Dre called me,” Smokey told Billboard, “and said he wanted me to come down and meet Anderson – I hadn’t met him – and write some stuff for him.” By this account, Paak “had the beginnings of a song there on a track, gave it to me, I took it home, wrote the song and brought it back, and that’s what happened.” Hey, presto!
Meanwhile, “My Girl” is making a fresh appearance on vinyl, performed by Robinson himself. When you buy one of Shinola’s limited-edition turntables tinted with his approval, it comes with a 45 featuring his new version of the song, with Ramsey Lewis III. By my count, this marks the fourth time Robinson has recorded “My Girl.” The third was for the soundtrack to the Netflix children’s TV series, Motown Magic, the second for the above-mentioned Smokey & Friends, with Miguel, Aloe Blacc and JC Chasez. And the first? Well, it’s on his 1969 album with the title of…Time Out For Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
Music notes: the majority of tracks on this week’s playlist are interpretations of Smokey’s songs as recorded by others over the past three years. His own most recent work, aside from the duets with Brian Ray and Anderson .Paak, appeared on Christmas Everyday, his holiday album exclusive for Amazon. As of this writing, it doesn’t seem that you can yet acquire his Shinola watch from Amazon, but perhaps it’s only a matter of time [That’s enough–Ed.]
Media notes: insights into how several hip-hop producers sampled SR's work appear in this Reverb article, "Reimagining Smokey Robinson," by Gino Sorcinelli. A savvy survey of his finest songs can be found in "Smokey Robinson Changed Everything" by Gene Santoro for Music Aficionado. And Tom Kartsotis' adventures with Shinola are colourfully sketched in "The Real History of America's Most Authentic Fake Brand" by Stacy Perman for Inc. She reveals that Bill Clinton owns a number of Shinola watches, and so, since the former president is also a Smokey fan (he was invited to the White House), there's a fair chance that he'll buy the Robinson timepiece.