Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson discusses his musical milestones with Matt Everitt in a programme first broadcast in 2013.

Even amongst the ranks of the greatest songwriters of all time, few can claim to have genuinely changed the world. Smokey Robinson can, both as a member of The Miracles and a solo artist. He's sung, written and produced some of the greatest songs of all time - including I Second That Emotion, Tears of a Clown and The Tracks of My Tears. As vice president at Motown for nearly thirty years, he shaped the style and sound of the label and helped the racial integration of popular music by achieving huge crossover success.

Smokey discusses his early life and formative musical influences, meeting Motown founder Berry Gordy, and the enormous worldwide success that followed. He also discusses the challenges he faced in the segregated music industry of the time and tells the stories behind some of his best loved songs.

He also talks openly about the problems he faced in the mid-80s (both professionally and his own battle with drugs) and his creative rebirth - providing an incredible insight into the man Bob Dylan called "America's greatest living poet".