Smokey Robinson Still Rockin’ It

People say he’s the life of the party. He has been for decades.

Smokey Robinson, 76, has provided countless Americans with thousands of hit songs throughout his lengthy and storied career in the music industry — songs many of us are still singing and dancing to today.

So it makes perfect sense that the legendary singer/songwriter/record exec and all-around R&B icon — who was just seen live on stage at PBS’ “A Capitol Fourth” — will be getting the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in November.

Or, in Smokey’s case, some 4,000 very popular songs — plural — he has had a hand in through his many years in the music business.

Robinson, whose uncle gave him the nickname Smokey Joe, will become the ninth recipient of the Gershwin, which salutes living musical artists whose lifetime achievements promote a cultural understanding through song.

He’ll be joining previous honorees Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and the late Hal David, Carole King, Billy Joel, and Willie Nelson.

“It gives me such joy and gratitude to be included among the past recipients of this most prestigious songwriting award,” said Robinson in a statement.

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“His rich melodies are works of art — enduring, meaningful, and powerful,” said Acting Librarian of Congress David Mao in a statement that called Robinson “the poet laureate” of soul. “He is a master at crafting lyrics that speak to the heart and soul, expressing ordinary themes in an extraordinary way.”

The Library of Congress selects the winners after consulting members of the music industry and the library’s curators in the divisions of music, folklife, and motion pictures, broadcasting, and sound recording.

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No doubt everyone who was consulted is well-versed in Robinson’s work.

Born in Detroit, Robinson founded the Miracles. Under Barry Gordy’s guidance, the group’s “Shop Around” song became Motown’s first million-selling record.

Robinson retired from the group in 1972 to focus on his role as Motown’s vice president — something he retained for three decades as the company grew into a musical powerhouse.

But he also nurtured his career as a solo artist the following year, later scoring Top 10 hits with many of the songs we know him for, including: “Cruisin'” (1979), “Being With You” (1981), and “Just to See Her” (1987).

His music influenced scores of other groups and artists, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, and the Supremes.

Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

“The Tracks of My Tears” was named to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2007 as one of the nation’s culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant sound recordings.

Robinson’s Gershwin will go alongside other awards he’s received, including the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, the presidential National Medal of Arts Award, and the BET Lifetime Achievement Award.