SMOKEY ROBINSON: TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN

Smokey Robinson is set to release a brand new album of original material, entitled Time Flies When You're Having Fun was released on August 25, 2009. The first single will be Robinson's cover of Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why." Included guests on Time Flies When Your Having Fun include Joss Stone, Carlos Santana, and India.Arie. The new songs recall various phases of his career, boasting old-school duets (such as "You're Just My Life," with India.Arie, and "You're the One for Me" with Stone), midtempo R&B-pop ("Girlfriend") and intimate soul ("Whatcha Gonna Do," "Love Bath" and the title track). Santana's inimitable guitar chimes in on the sensual jam "Please Don't Take Your Love." Smokey's one departure from self-penned material is his take on the Norah Jones hit "Don't Know Why," which he makes entirely his own. Back in June 26, Robinson received the prestigious Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award from ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) during the 22nd Annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. The honor is bestowed on artists who have had a major impact on the legacy of Rhythm and Soul Music. Further recognition of that legacy came from Boston's Berklee College of Music, which in May conferred an honorary degree on Smokey; the Ivor Novello Awards, where he received the UK International Special Achievement Award in May; the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which inducted him with his group, The Miracles, in March (he'd already received a star as a solo artist several years earlier); and Elvis Costello's acclaimed TV series "Spectacle" on the Sundance Channel, during which the host spent a spellbinding hour chatting and singing with the music-world icon. In 2006 (the year of his last release, Timeless Love), he was among the five honorees at the Kennedy Center Honors.