>> Narrator: From the Library
of Congress, in Washington, DC.
>> Carla Hayden: Mr.
Robinson you are here at Ira
and George Gershwin's
-- wonderful team.
And this was George
Gershwin's favorite piano.
>> Smokey Robinson: Well -- hang on
one second [background laughter].
Get the keys -- I'll just rub
this all over me [laughs].
>> I think you've got it, but
you've got something going
[background laughter].
You've got something going.
But what does it feel like to get
the Gershwin Award, and you've had
that in your life, didn't you?
>> Well, this is kind of
like unbelievable to me.
It's something that I
never dare to even dream
about or even think about.
You know, to be -- for me to even
be mentioned in the same breath
with the Gershwin's [laughs] as
a songwriter, is just incredible.
I just -- I can't believe it.
It's just -- because I
heard the Gershwin's --
their music was some of the
first music I ever heard
as a baby, growing up in Detroit.
I had two older sisters and my mom.
And between my two
sisters and my mom,
they played all kinds
of music every day.
We had everything from gut
bucket blues, to Gospel, to Jazz,
to Classical being played
at our house all the time.
And the Gershwin's music was
prevalent in that because --
see, the Gershwin's wrote
songs when the song was king.
And I say that because
back in those days, when --
say the Gershwin's,
they wrote a hit song.
All the artists of that day or
that time recorded that song.
It's not like nowadays, you know,
an artist comes out with a song,
and the artist is like
the focal point nowadays.
So-and-so comes out with a
record, and they record it,
and people love it and so
on, and maybe sometimes
down the line someone else will
pick up that song and record it.
But back in the Gershwin days,
when they wrote a hit song,
everyone recorded it immediately.
So that song was out
by 10 or 12 artists
at the same time, because
it was a song.
The song was king, and so
everybody wanted to hear that song,
so people just sang that song.
And it was a wonderful time,
and their music was some
of the first music I
ever heard growing up.
The first voice I ever
remember hearing
in my entire life was Sarah
Vaughan, and she was singing,
"Our Love is Here to Stay."
That's one of my favorite
songs every.
>> Carla Hayden: "Our
Love is Here to Stay."
>> Smokey Robinson: "Our
Love is Here to Stay" is one
of my favorite songs ever.
But yeah, so I grew up in a home
where there was always music.
>> Carla Hayden: Always music.
Now did other people play music?
I mean in terms of
piano or instruments?
>> Smokey Robinson: Momma -- we had
an old upright piano in the house,
and my mom played the piano.
And she sang in church.
>> Carla Hayden: Ah.
>> Smokey Robinson: You know,
nobody ever sang professionally
or played professionally
like that, you know?
But we had an old upright piano in
the house where I would go and bang
on it, you know [laughs]?
But that was the closest
we got to that.
>> Carla Hayden: When did you
start to realize that hey,
this is something I just
have to do; want to do.
This is -- music is my life.
>> Smokey Robinson: I really don't
know when I started to realize it,
but I can tell you honestly that
from the time I was probably five
or six years old, I always
wanted to be a singer.
I mean that was my -- in fact,
up until I was like five or six,
it was my second ambitious.
Because my first one
was to be a cowboy.
>> Carla Hayden: Oh [laughs].
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah.
So -- and then -- but I
always wanted to be a singer.
And I watched all of the variety
shows; anything that had to do
with music or what have you,
and it was always there.
It was just my impossible dream.
It was something that I never
thought could ever happen.
From where I grew up, you know,
that's not going to happen.
I mean, you know, I'm
growing up in the hood.
I live in the joint in the
hood, so that can't happen.
That was my thoughts about that.
Because -- but I just loved to sing.
And so I really always wanted this,
and it's such an incredible
blessing,
as far as I'm concerned, to have it.
To have been able -- to have
been given this, you know?
And to live it when it
was my impossible dream.
>> Carla Hayden: Mm-hmm.
And you had a partner -- a partner
in music and crime; Mr. Gordy.
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah.
>> Carla Hayden: We
just looked at one
of your first copywrites
songs, "I cry"?
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah.
>> Carla Hayden: And it's both of
you, like Ira and George Gershwin.
Now your partnership -- now you've
been buddies for quite a while.
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah, we've been
buddies since -- [laughs] and -- no.
I -- when you were
pinning this pin on me --
>> Carla Hayden: Yes.
>> Smokey Robinson: I said
to him he should be proud
of himself because I'm his pupil.
You know? I'm one of
his many pupils.
And were it not for
him being who he is,
I probably wouldn't
be sitting here today,
getting ready to get the Gershwin
Award and all that, you know?
When I met Barry, you know, I've
always tried to write songs.
I've tried to write songs since
I was probably six years old.
>> Carla Hayden: Hm.
>> Smokey Robinson: And I had
a loose-leaf notebook full
of what I thought were
songs, you know?
When I met him -- there was at least
100 of them in there, you know?
And he was already a
professional songwriter,
because when I buy records,
even today, when I buy music --
and I always have done this --
I always like to see
who wrote this music?
You know? I'm not looking
to see who's playing it
or who's singing it, or I want
to know who wrote this music?
Who created this song that
these people are singing
or playing right here; right now.
So as a kid growing up, my number
one singing idol was Jackie Wilson.
And Jackie Wilson was dynamic.
And I have all his records.
And all his hit songs are
written by Barry Gordy, okay?
>> Carla Hayden: Really?
>> Smokey Robinson: Oh yeah.
>> Carla Hayden: I'm sorry.
I remember "Lonely Teardrops."
>> So -- that was Barry
Gordy [laughs].
So when I -- my group, they were
called The Matadors at the time.
And we had an opportunity
to go audition
for Jackie Wilson's managers.
They were in Detroit and they
were talent scouting, you know?
And so we went to the audition,
and we had a girl singer with us --
my first wife, Claudette,
was singing with us.
So we went to audition for them,
and we sang five songs
that I had written.
Which we thought was going
to be get all the things --
"They got their own material;
we will definitely
sign them, so -- " No.
That didn't -- [laughs]
did not happen.
Because we had a girl in the group,
and I sang high and all that.
So they told us that we were
too much like The Platters.
The Platters were the number one
group in the world at that time,
with a girl in the group -- Zolo
[phonetic] was in the group,
and Tony sang high notes, so they
said, "You're too much like them;
so you'll never make it."
And so on and so on;
so they rejected us.
At the same time, there's a young
man sitting over in the corner.
And he was looking at us.
And I thought he was
waiting to audition.
Because at this time I was probably
about 16; I thought he was about 17
or 18, because that
was how he looked.
And he was sitting over
in the corner, I think,
"Well he's going to
audition after us."
And so after they rejected us and
we walked out, and we were very,
very dejected and walking
down the hall and sad,
and he came up behind us.
He said, "Hey man, wait a minute.
So I turned around and
said, "Yeah, how you doing?"
He said, "Where'd you
get those songs from?"
And I'm wondering in my
mind, "What's it to him?"
Why -- so where'd I get songs from?"
[Laughs] you know?
But I'm going to be nice, because
he's interested, and what if --
so I said, "I wrote them."
Oh gosh [cell phone
ringing] [laughs].
Sorry.
>> Carla Hayden: [Laughs]
now see, everyone wants
to know what's on your ringtone?
>> Smokey Robinson:
Sorry about that.
>> Carla Hayden: Smokey
Robinson's ringtone [laughs].
>> Smokey Robinson: But --
>> Carla Hayden: What
song is on there?
>> Smokey Robinson: But anyway,
he said to me, he said, "You know,
I liked a couple of your songs man."
So I said, "Yeah", I said, "Oh
great man; thank you very much."
He said, "Yeah," he
said, "I'm Barry Gordy."
And I couldn't speak for
two minutes [laughs].
This guy right here is Barry Gordy?
The guy I'm listening to his music
all this time and I'm hearing it.
And he's -- looked
like he's about my age.
That -- this is Barry Gordy who
wrote all these songs that I got?
You know? I couldn't believe it.
So he said that he liked a couple
of my songs, and he wanted --
he made the mistake of asking me
if I had anymore, so [laughs] --
>> Carla Hayden: You
had that notebook.
>> Smokey Robinson: So
I had that notebook.
So we go in this little room, and
he said, "Hey I like the sound
of your voice man, you got
-- sing some of your songs."
So I was like, "I'm going to
sing 20 songs up here that day."
He never once said to
me, "Hey man, I'm tired."
Or, "I've got to go."
Or, "That's enough."
Or, "Okay man, I'll see you later."
He never said that, you know?
He just sat there and listened
to all of them, you know?
And every time he would listen
to one, he would critique it.
"No man, you should have
so-and-so; you should've done this.
You should've said so-and-so."
But -- because I had -- man
I could always rhyme stuff,
but I would have four or
five songs in one song,
because my first verse had
absolutely nothing to do
with my second verse
[background laughter].
And my second verse
didn't have nothing to do
with the bridge and all that.
So he finally said to me,
[laughs] he said, "Man,
you've got to look
at a song like this.
It's a short book.
It's a short story;
it's a short movie."
With a beginning and the middle
and the ending tying together,
and give people something
to work with to make --
even if you don't finish it,
you've given them enough material
so that they can work with it.
He started to mentor
me on my songwriting.
So if he hadn't been
there [choked up].
I don't -- I don't
know where I'd be.
I don't -- it's unbelievable to me.
If he hadn't been that
kind of guy, you know?
That would take that time.
But he was, so here I am
at the Gershwin piano.
>> Carla Hayden: And
his favorite piano.
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah.
>> Carla Hayden: And his favorite.
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah, the
Gershwin piano; I'm sitting here.
This is --
>> Carla Hayden: And
he's with you today too.
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah, he is.
>> Carla Hayden: He's
with you today.
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah.
>> Carla Hayden: Now one of my
favorite songs, and I'm using this
as an opportunity, is
"Tracks of My Tears."
[Laughs].
>> Smokey Robinson:
All right [laughs].
>> Carla Hayden: And it's in
the registry for all time.
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah
it is; it's beautiful.
>> Carla Hayden: As
one of the favorites.
And that one touched so many people.
>> Smokey Robinson:
Yeah that's beautiful.
>> Carla Hayden: And did
that -- is it one of yours?
>> Smokey Robinson:
I -- that's the --
the origin for that song was like
the origin of so many songs for me.
My most prolific, incredible,
fantastic writing partner
that I ever had was a guy named
Marv Tarplin; he was my guitarist.
>> Carla Hayden: T-U-R-P-I-N.
>> Smokey Robinson: Yeah.
Marv was a -- he would put his
music on tape and give it to me.
"Hey man, see what you
can come up with this."
So "Tracks of my Tears"
was one of those.
He put that music on
tape; I had that music
for three months before I could come
up with any kind of idea for it.
But he -- I loved his guitar playing
and his guitar riffs so he had it.
So I finally came up with the --
with the first three
lines of the chorus.
>> Carla Hayden: Mm-hmm.
>> Smokey Robinson: "Take
a good look at my face.
You'll see my smile
looks out of place.
If you look closer, it's easy
to trace -- that you're gone.
No, that's not it [background
laughter].
It's easy to trace that
I'm looking for you?
No, that's not it.
It's easy to trace that I'm really
sad, because -- no that's not --
I went through a hundred of those.
One morning I was in
Europe, and I was shaving.
And I was just looking in
the mirror, and I was looking
at my face, I said, "Wow, what
if somebody had cried so much
until if you looked closely at
their face, you could see tracks
that their tears had made?"
And I said, "Okay, that's it.
That's that song."
But the origin of it was Marv
Tarplin because he gave me
that music that inspired that lyric.
So he was -- he was awesome.
He's passed on now, but
he was -- he was awesome.
>> Carla Hayden: So I
have to ask you this.
We heard the ringtone
[background laughter].
I didn't recognize
what it was [laughs].
But what kind of music, and
who are you listening to?
And you can be honest.
>> Smokey Robinson:
I'm going to be honest.
I'm going to be honest, because
I'm not ashamed of it, you know.
If you could see my iPod, or even
my programming of the stations
in my car, or wherever
I listen to music.
I might be listening to Bach.
I might be listening
to Chopin or Beethoven.
I might be listening to Frank
Sinatra, or Ella Fitzgerald.
I might be listening to Bruno
Mars or Mariah Carey or Beyonce.
I might be listening
to Nelly or 50 Cent.
Or -- you know, it's just according
to what I want to hear that day.
And you know, I listen
to all musics.
And I'm not one of
these people who says,
"Well you know the kids nowadays,
they're making all this
terrible music and that."
There's some kids making some
great music out there today.
Making some great music, you know?
But they don't get the credit
because we live in this world
where the negative
gets the attention.
So all the negative music is
what people are talking about.
"Well, this is something
that -- " No.
The kids are making some
great music still, you know?
But the negative is getting
the attention, so the positive
of what they're doing [laughs]
is falling behind the wayside
of the negatives that
they're talking about.
But it's the same thing
with the whole world.
I mean we always -- we are
bombarded negatively all day long
on the news -- everything is --
well, let's report this
negativity, you know?
I think every town, every
city, every state should have
at least three or four
stations that it's mandatory
that they give nothing
but good news, you know?
But, yeah -- [background
laughter] --
>> Carla Hayden: Well --
>> Smokey Robinson: But that's
what's happening with the music.
>> Carla Hayden: Well I
think this is good news.
And I can't thank you enough.
And I know the Library
of Congress thanks you,
and so many people are going to
see you at the Gershwin piano,
and you deserve to be here.
>> Smokey Robinson:
Thank you, very much.
>> Narrator: This has
been a presentation
of the Library of Congress.
Visit us at loc.gov.