Motown legend Smokey Robinson gets ‘Up Close and Personal’ at Wind Creek Bethlehem on Dec. 6
From a press release:
It was announced this week that legendary singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, and Motown Records co-founder Smokey Robinson will bring his Up Close and Personal Tour to the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets, which are $59, $79, $99.50, and $129.50, plus applicable fees, are on sale now and available at windcreekeventcenter.com, the Event Center box office (77 Wind Creek Blvd., Bethlehem), ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster outlets, and by phone at 800-745-3000.
William “Smokey” Robinson, Jr. and his group The Miracles met Berry Gordy after a failed audition for singer Jackie Wilson’s managers. Gordy was impressed with Robinson’s vocals and ambitious songwriting. With his help, they released “Got a Job.” It was the beginning of a successful collaboration and the beginnings of Motown.
In 1960, The Miracles recorded their and Motown Records’ first million selling hit, “Shop Around.” Between 1960 and 1970, Robinson would produce 26 Top 40 hits with The Miracles, including several Top 10 hits like “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” “I Second That Emotion,” and the group’s only No. 1 pop hit, “The Tears of f Clown.” Other notable hits include “Ooo Baby Baby” and “The Tracks of My Tears.”
Robinson was one of the major songwriters and producers for Motown, penning several hit singles, such as, “Who’s Loving You,” “My Guy,” “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “My Girl,” “Get Ready,” and “Ain’t That Peculiar.”
In 1975, Robinson released his most successful solo album, “A Quiet Storm,” which yielded three hit singles: “Baby That’s Backatcha,” “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” and “Quiet Storm.” His classic hit “Cruisin'” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. He topped the charts again with another sensual ballad, “Being with You,” and teamed up with fellow Motown labelmate Rick James to record the R&B ballad “Ebony Eyes.”
Robinson made a triumphant return with the album “One Heartbeat” and the singles “Just to See Her” and “One Heartbeat,” both Top 10 hits. “Just to See Her” won Robinson his first Grammy Award. In the same year, he was inducted as a solo artist into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the U.K. group ABC released a tribute song, “When Smokey Sings.”
In recent years, Robinson released the standards album “Timeless Love,” “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun,” “Now and Then,” and “Smokey & Friends.” He released his first-ever solo Christmas album, “Christmas Everyday,” in 2017 as an Amazon exclusive.
Robinson has been inducted into the Kennedy Center, awarded an individual star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a second star with The Miracles. He was awarded a medal at the National Medal of Arts, a Heritage Award at the Soul Train Music Awards, and a BET Lifetime Achievement Award. Howard University conferred on Robinson the degree of Doctor of Music, as did the Berklee College of Music.
During the course of his 50-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.
