SMOKEY ROBINSON: WHERE THERE’S FIRE

Detroit, October, 1960: It was three o'clock in the morning when 20-year-old William "Smokey" Robinson got a surprise phone call from his boss, Berry Gordy of Motown. Smokey and his group, the Miracles, had by that time released a few singles with Gordy, and the latest, "Shop Around," had just been mastered. But Gordy still wasn't satisfied with it. Smokey and the Miracles were to come down to the studio—now, at 3 a.m.—to cut the song yet another time, at a quicker tempo.

Smokey didn't argue. The session took place as ordered, and a week later the record was in the stores, on the radio, and on its way to becoming both Motown's and Robinson's first bona fide million selling hit.