About twelve years ago, Berry Gordy told Smokey Robinson how to write songs. “Every song should have an idea, tell a story, mean something.” Smokey put aside his exercise book, full of painstakingly-written teen songs about being in love with his fifth-grade teacher and not wanting to go in the army, and started again. “Shop Around,” “You Really Got A Hold On Me,” “My Guy,” and “I Second That Emotion” were among the songs he came up with to meet Berry Gordy’s specifications.

In a list of the hundred best songs of the 1960s, at least ten written by Smokey Robinson would have to be included. “Tracks Of My Tears,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” “My Girl,” “Ain’t That Peculiar,” “It’s Growing,” “The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage.” For anybody who has heard the songs a few times, the titles by themselves conjure a mood, a few intricately-rhyming lines, even a place where a vocal group comes in to harmonize.