William “Smokey” Robinson Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He started the Motown vocal group Miracles and was the lead singer. He was also the group’s chief songwriter and producer.
He was the leader of the group from its start in 1955 as “the Five Chimes” until 1972, when he quit focusing on his job as vice president of Motown. But Robinson came back to the music business as a solo artist the next year. After the company was sold in 1988, Robinson left Motown Records in 1990.
Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 2016, the Library of Congress gave him the Gershwin Prize for his contributions to popular music over the course of his life. He got his star on the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022. As here we will discuss Is Smokey Robinson Gay and many other things related to him.
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Smokey Robinson Early Life
William Robinson Jr. was born into a poor family in the North End neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. His father was African-American, and his mother was both African-American and French.
Robinson has Nigerian, Scandinavian, Portuguese, and Cherokee ancestors. When he was a child, his uncle Claude called him “Smokey Joe.”
Robinson said this in 2012:
“My Uncle Claude was my favorite uncle, he was also my godfather. He and I were really, really close. He used to take me to see cowboy movies all the time when I was a little boy because I loved cowboy movies. He got a cowboy name for me, which was Smokey Joe. So from the time I was three years old if people asked me what my name was I didn’t tell them my name was William, I told them my name was Smokey Joe. That’s what everyone called me until I was about 12 and then I dropped the Joe part. I’ve heard that story about him giving it to me because I’m a light-skinned black man but that’s not true.”
He went to Northern High School, where he did well in school and was a good athlete. However, music was his main interest, and he started a doo-wop group called the Five Chimes. At one point, he and Aretha Franklin lived close to each other on Belmont. He once said that he had known Franklin since she was about five years old when he came to play with her older brother Clarence after her family moved to Memphis. At that time, he said, he had heard her play the piano when he came to play with Clarence.
So basically, the Penguins need a Smokey Robinson Night. https://t.co/WYNI0usU9r
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) November 25, 2022
Robinson became interested in music when he heard Nolan Strong & the Diablos and Billy Ward and his Dominoes on the radio when he was a child. He has said that Barrett Strong, a singer from Detroit, was a big influence on him. In 1955, he put together the first Five Chimes group with his childhood friend Ronald White and a classmate named Pete Moore.
In 1957, they changed their name to the Matadors and Bobby Rogers joined them. Bobby Rogers’ cousin Emerson (Sonny) Rogers was replaced by his sister, Claudette Rogers (who would marry Smokey Robinson in 1959). Marv Tarplin joined the group as their guitarist sometime in 1958. Around this time, the Matadors started going to places in Detroit on tour. In the end, they became known as the Miracles.
Smokey Robinson Personal Life
Robinson married Claudette Rogers, who was also a member of the Miracles, in 1959. The couple had two children: a son, Berry Robinson, who was born in 1968 and named after Berry Gordy, who started Motown’s first label, and a daughter, Tamla Robinson, who was born in 1971 and named after Gordy’s first label, “Tamla,” which became Motown.
Robinson also had a son with another woman named Trey, who was born in 1984, while he was married to Claudette. Robinson filed for a legal separation and then for a divorce after he said he had a child with someone other than his wife. In 1986, they officially split up. The Robinsons had also split up in 1974. During that time, Robinson had an affair with another woman, which led to the song “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” which was later included in the album A Quiet Storm.
In May of 2002, Robinson got married to Frances Gladney. They own a house in Pittsburgh, which they use to make wine. Since 1972, Robinson hasn’t eaten red meat. Transcendental Meditation is something he does. Robinson is known for his bright green eyes, which he thinks came from his French great-grandmother.
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Is Smokey Robinson Gay?
Are you eager to discover the answer? Whether or not the singer is gay is a subject of much debate and question. Many people think the famous singer is interested in men, but you might be surprised to learn that she has never been in love with a man. Still, this doesn’t mean that your idol is gay.
Me: You’re born gay, nothing MAKES kids gay.
Smokey Robinson’s performance in the 1989 Grand Opening of Disney-MGM Studios: pic.twitter.com/pBY8kbPwL0
— Adam Sass Books, Now Sold at Shreck’s Dept. Store (@TheAdamSass) April 25, 2021
That’s It! We’re happy to answer your question: Is Smokey Robinson gay? How does he feel about himself? At this point, it should be obvious that the vocalist does not identify as gay.
The musician has three kids and loves women. We appreciate you sticking with us until the end of the article. Do share your thoughts in the comment section below. For more such updates do follow us only on Lee Daily.
