Legendary Motown icon and Grammy® award-winning
singer-songwriter, Smokey Robinson is set to release his highly anticipated
duets album, Smokey & Friends this September 2014 on Verve Records.
Produced by American Idol star and record producer Randy Jackson, Robinson will
be joined by an all-star roster of acclaimed artists including rock legends
Elton John and James Taylor, with additional artists to be announced soon.
Elton
John and James Taylor will duet with Robinson on treasured singles originally
released in 1965 and each having sold in the millions. Elton John and Smokey Robinson will duet on
"The Tracks of My Tears," one of the most celebrated songs of our
time. The legendary track landed in Rolling Stone's Top 500 Songs of All Time
and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame and into the Library of
Congress. "The Tracks of My
Tears" ranked #5 among 10 Greatest Songs of All Time when voted on by a
panel of songwriting experts which included Hal David, Paul McCartney, Brian
Wilson and Jerry Lieber.
Elton
John made a historic pronouncement about the song he sang on with Robinson,
"I was lucky enough to pick 'Tracks Of My Tears' because I've always loved
the song, probably one of the best lyrics of all time…just an amazing lyric.
The greatest pop song ever written."
James
Taylor and Smokey Robinson will duet on the Marvin Gaye classic "Ain't
That Peculiar" which he composed and became one of Gaye's earliest signature
hits. In fact it was Gaye's second consecutive Billboard #1 R&B Single and
his second Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.
Robinson
said, "What a great honor and pleasure it is for me to record with my
really good friends Elton John and James Taylor. They are both awesome artists
and we had a great time in the studio."
Smokey
& Friends will feature Robinson alongside a celebrated roster of
contemporary and classic artists who will sing the best loved songs from
Robinson's unmatched catalog of hits including those he has written for his
solo career, his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group, The Miracles, as well as
hits he wrote for others, including Marvin Gaye and The Temptations. Additional collaborations to be featured on
the album will be announced soon.
Once
pronounced by Bob Dylan as America's "greatest living poet,"
acclaimed singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson's career spans over four decades of
hits. He has received numerous awards including two Grammy's, the Grammy Living
Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, Honorary Doctorate (Howard
University), Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts Award from
the President of the United States. He has also been inducted into the Rock 'n'
Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.
Born and
raised in Detroit, Michigan, Robinson founded The Miracles while still in high
school. The group was Berry Gordy's first vocal group. Their single of
Robinson's "Shop Around" became Motown's first #1 hit on the R&B
singles chart. The Miracles dominated the R&B scene throughout the 1960's
and early 70's. In addition to writing hits for The Miracles, Robinson wrote
and produced hits for other Motown greats including The Temptations, Mary
Wells, Brenda Holloway, Marvin Gaye and of course The Beatles.
During
the course of his 50 plus year career in music, Robinson has accumulated more
than 4,000 songs to his credit and continues to thrill sold-out audiences
around the world with his high tenor voice, impeccable timing, and profound
sense of lyric. Never resting on his laurels, Smokey Robinson remains a beloved
icon in our musical heritage.
~ Verve Records
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