Artist Smokey Robinson

With a voice like his—possibly the most mellifluous of all time—and so many hits, Smokey Robinson would be forgiven for taking it slow in his latter days. After all, it’d be painful to imagine a world without “The Tears Of A Clown,” “Tracks Of My Tears,” or any of the hooks he penned as a vital part of Berry Gordy’s Motown machinery. But Robinson has done more than push on—he’s continued to record, returning to the smooth soulfulness of his post-Miracles output on 2009’sTime Flies When You’re Having Fun. Tracks from that album mingled with live cuts of vintage material on the 2010 compilation Now And Then, distributed exclusively by grits-and-wooden-toys retailer Cracker Barrel.

Updated 05/04/2011