Smokey Robinson Quotes

I left Motown because of the regime of people who were there.

I had been stockpiling Gospel songs for other artists, and had planned to submit them to Gospel artists.

You know what, life is full of temptations.

There`s so many wonderful gospel people out there, and I don`t necessarily want to compete with those people.

As a kid, this is what I wanted my life to be. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever dare to dream that it would be this.

As human beings, we`re very materialistic and have all this stuff - furs and cars and diamonds and money.

I`ve been speaking at churches for years, as well as juvenile jails, rehabs and hospitals, and I always talk about my faith. That is a declaration of my relationship with God.

People still look at Michael Jackson as being a Motown artist.

The only thing you`re taking out of here is your spirit and your soul, so we need to be conscious to try and develop that part of ourselves, because we`re all spiritual creatures.

That`s because we did not set out to make black music. We set out to make quality music that everyone could enjoy and listen to.

When you write a song, a song has longevity.

My mother was a churchgoing lady, so I always heard about God at home.

When someone picks up one of my songs and records it, I`m a flattered man, it`s a blessing to me.

I really haven`t strayed too far, musically, from my roots.

Songwriting is my gift from God.

Once you`re a Motown artist, you`re always a Motown artist.

There are very few courses around Detroit I haven`t played.

I don`t ever balk at being considered a Motown person, because Motown is the greatest musical event that ever happened in the history of music.

Drugs are in every walk of life - doctors, lawyers, preachers, the guy who works for IBM, teenagers on the street, teenagers in school.

You know what, I`m probably one of the most blessed people there`s ever been, and I thank God for it.

In fact, I wouldn`t really call this a Gospel album, I call it more an inspirational album.

One thing I can say about the Motown acts is that we were a family. That`s not a myth.

Even if I don`t release it myself, somebody else might hear it and want to record it. When you write a song, it gives it that potential.

We`re very physical creatures, and we worry about how we look sometimes more than our spiritual selves.

I always try to write a song, I never just want to write a record.

Had I not come out with an inspirational CD, you perhaps would have never known that I feel like I feel, that all songs, all the music I`ve ever done is a gift from God.

Once you`re a Motown artist, that`s your stigmatism, and I was there from the very first day.

We`re all going to be victims of temptation at several points in our lives.

I played golf all over Detroit.

So I wanted to sing inspirational music, and that`s exactly how I approached it - only the words have been changed to declare my relationship with God.

Originally I was not writing songs for myself.

And I can say this, most of the people who have recorded my songs are songwriters themselves.

Motown will always be a heavy-duty part of my life because those are my roots.