Smokey Robinson is a famous American singer, songwriter, and music producer. He used to be a top music executive too. As of 2024, he is worth about $150 million, says Celebrity Net Worth. He was born William Robinson Jr. on February 19, 1940, in Detroit, Michigan.
Smokey is one of the most loved and important people in Motown music history. He started with a group called The Miracles, one of the first groups to sign with Motown Records. Later, he became the Vice President of Motown. His career is known for his success and for helping make Motown great.
Smokey Robinson Net Worth
Smokey Robinson is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer with a net worth of $150 million. He helped create the Motown sound, which was very popular from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Smokey was a key member of the Miracles, a successful singing group during the Motown era. After leaving the group, he had a successful solo career and also served as vice president of Motown Records. In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Smokey Robinson Early Life
William “Smokey” Robinson Jr. was born on February 19, 1940, in Detroit, Michigan. He grew up in a poor family in the North End of Detroit. His uncle Claude gave him the nickname “Smokey.” Claude took William to watch cowboy movies and called him “Smokey Joe” as his cowboy name. William liked it and started calling himself Smokey Joe. Later, he shortened it to just “Smokey.”
In high school, Smokey formed a doo-wop group called the Five Chimes. He loved music from a young age and listened to many artists on the radio, like Nolan Strong & the Diablos and Billy Ward and his Dominoes. His group eventually changed its name to the Matadors.
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Smokey Robinson Career
In the late 50s, the Matadors toured a lot and then changed their name to the Miracles. In 1957, Robinson met songwriter Berry Gordy. Gordy helped the Miracles release their first song, “Got a Job.” At this time, Robinson was studying electrical engineering in college, but he left school after the song became a hit.
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Gordy started Tamla Records, which later became Motown Records. The Miracles signed with this company and released “Shop Around” in 1960, which sold over a million copies. In the next ten years, they had many hits like “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Mickey’s Monkey,” “I Second That Emotion,” “Baby Baby Don’t Cry,” and “The Tears of a Clown.” Robinson was the main singer, songwriter, and producer for the group. Because of this, in 1965, the group’s name changed to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
Robinson also wrote songs and produced tracks for other Motown artists like the Temptations, the Marvelettes, and Marvin Gaye. This stopped when new songwriters came to Motown, and more artists started writing their own songs.
By 1969, Smokey wanted to retire because touring was exhausting, and he wanted to spend more time with his family. But after the group released “Tears of a Clown,” he decided to stay a few more years. Smokey finally left the Miracles in 1972.
