This is part of an article I wrote on ehow.com. You can find me there as "raefl":Smokey Robinson was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1940. His father, "Five", was a pin setter at a local bowling alley and divorced his mother when Smokey was age 3. His mother died when he was 10. He was then raised by his sister along with her 10 children. He grew up in the same neighborhood as many of the amazing artists that Motown would soon make famous: The Temptations, Diana Ross, and Aretha Franklin, among others. He would have a long and illustrious relationship with Motown from its conception until present. Along with Berry Gordy, he is credited with Motown's success, writing for many of the Motown stars. He also served as vice president for years.
A common question around the internet is if Smokey's mother or father was white. After many searches a People article finally revealed that Smokey's maternal great grandmother was white. (http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20119938,00.html). His unique green eyes spark the questions. Both of his parents were African American.
A biography was published in 1989 where Smokey revealed the difficulties of his life. He mentioned his father's death when Smokey was 40, his crack cocaine addiction, the breakup of his 25 year marriage, his long-time affair, and the birth of his son by his mistress. He has two other children with his former wife Claudette. He credits God with turning his life around and ending his addiction.
Smokey is on the cutting edge. He has a myspace page, a Twitter account (you can see a behind the scenes play by play of American Idol), and the aforementioned American Idol appearance. He is still producing fantastic music and his voice is still as strong as it ever was. His new song with Joss Stone, "You're the One for Me", debuted on American Idol on 3/26/2009.
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