The Intro
11 years after Smokey Robinson and The Miracles had a UK number 1 with the classic The Tears of a Clown, their frontman was a solo star and perhaps surprisingly became a chart-topper once more with Being With You.
Before
Robinson had been ready to quit The Miracles back in 1969 and concentrate on being Motown Records vice president and a family man. But the unexpected release and success of their 1967 recording The Tears of a Clown caused him to hang on a few more years.
Although he eventually retired in 1972, and The Miracles continued, Robinson couldn’t stay away for long. A year later he released his debut solo LP, Smokey, featuring contributions from former Miracles guitarist Marv Tarplin. In 1974 the track Just My Soul Responding became his first solo hit in the UK – but it only reached 33. Next to the likes of former collaborators Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, who were releasing great records, Robinson looked a little old-fashioned. And he was still Motown vice president, too, so perhaps too busy to do his own material justice.
In 1975, Robinson’s Baby That’s Backatcha reached 26 in the US, but other than that, most of his 70s material was poorly received critically and commercially. His fortunes finally changed when Tarplin presented him with Cruisin’. Robinson wrote some lyrics, and this smooth and sexy single took him all the way to four in the US.
Robinson was impressed by the singer Kim Carnes’ cover of the Smokey Robinson and The Miracles’ track More Love, and penned her the ballad Being With You. However, Robinson didn’t know that Carnes’ and her producer George Tobin had parted ways. When Tobin heard Robinson’s demo, he told him he should keep it for himself, and Tobin would produce it. Good idea. Tobin wasn’t actually much of a producer, but got guitarist Mike Piccirillo to help out.
Review
There’s no denying Robinson is a musical legend, blessed with the voice of an angel that you can hear on a number of classics such as You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me, The Tracks of My Tears and The Tears of a Clown. Not only does Being With You come nowhere near to these hits, it’s also the least memorable chart-topper of 1981 to date. It’s silky smooth and well-produced, and Robinson’s voice is as great as always – but the tune is bland and insubstantial. Being With You washes over you in the same way as buying milk in a supermarket does. The most interesting aspect is the video, in which Robinson hangs around a beach house.
Actually, it’s also interesting to note that Being With You was kept from the top of the Billboard chart in the US by Kim Carnes’ far superior Bette Davis Eyes – and both featured the synth work of Bill Cuomo.
After
Gordy wasn’t very keen on Being With You, and probably even less keen on a Motown release being produced by somebody who wasn’t on his label. But as Being With You began to climb the charts, he started throwing money at the single, and it paid off.
Robinson and Tobin continued to work together for several albums, but to little success. He duetted with Rick James in 1984 on Ebony Eyes, but his hits dried up.
In 1987, Robinson made another comeback with the album One Heartbeat, which saw a return to commercial form, scoring top 10 hits with the title track Just to Hear. That same year, Sheffield pop band ABC paid tribute to the great man with When Smokey Sings, which peaked at 11 in the UK.
The following year, there was some controversy when Robinson found himself inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – minus The Miracles. Robinson didn’t take kindly to this, considering it an affront to his group. It took 24 years before he was able to introduce Tarplin, Bobby Rogers, his ex-wife Claudette Rogers Robinson (they divorced in 1986) and Ron White.
Motown was sold to MCA Records in 1988 too, so Robinson resigned as vice president. A year later he made his final appearance in the UK top 40, recording Indestructible with the Four Tops. Robinson left Motown as an artist in 1991 for SBK Records, but returned in 1999 for the album Intimate.
He left Motown once more in 2003, this time for good. Three years later came his album of standards – Timeless Love – for Universal Records. In 2009 he released Time Flies When You’re Having Fun on his own label, Robso Records. It was his most successful in 22 years.
Robinson experienced something of a comeback over the next few years, with each album charting higher than the last, peaking with Smokey & Friends in 2014, which featured Elton John and Linda Ronstadt.
As a singer best known for romantic, often slushy material, Robinson shocked many with his most recent album, called, er, Gasms. This concept album dealt primarily with, surprise surprise, sex! Behind the scenes, Robinson was known as a bit of a ladies man, indulging in many affairs while with Claudette, including Diana Ross.
The Outro
For a much better example of later period Motown Robinson, try Cruisin’, not Being With You.
The Info
Written by
William Robinson Jr
Producers
George Tobin & Mike Piccirillo
Weeks at number 1
2 (13-26 June)
Trivia
23 June: Blue singer Antony Costa
25 June: Actress Sheridan Smith
Deaths
13 June: Actress Joan Benham
15 June: Author Philip Toynbee
17 June: General Richard O’Connor/Welsh rugby player Ike Fowler
18 June: Rugby player Stan Brogden/Actor Richard Goolden/Novelist Pamela Hansford Johnson/Conservative MP Robert Taylor
20 June: Labour MP Gordon Lang
Meanwhile…
13 June: Marcus Sarjeant shoots six blank cartridges at Queen Elizabeth II as she enters Horse Guards Parade.
13–14 June: 80 people are arrested when fighting breaks out between white power skinheads and black people in Coventry.
15 June: Lord Scarman opens an enquiry into the Brixton riots.
16 June: The SDP-Liberal Alliance is formed.
17 June: War hero Sir Richard O’Connor dies shortly before his 92nd birthday.
20 June: The HMS Ark Royal is launched.
21 June: One person is killed and 16 are injured due to a fire at Goodge Street tube station.
23 June: Unemployment reaches 2,680,977.