Smokey Robinson SXSW 2010 Keynote Speech

via Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Smokey Robinson, relaxed while sitting on an easy chair, summed up his life as a songwriter in these few words: "My goal is to always write a song," he said. "Every time I sit down, I want to write a song."

That was the gist of the Motown music legend's keynote address Thursday morning (March 18) at the South by Southwest Music Festival. Except that Robinson didn't stand behind a lectern to deliver a pre-written speech.

Instead, in a much looser setting, he fielded questions from music journalist Dave Marsh. Although all Marsh really did was introduce a general topic and let the talkative artist gab.

Robinson isn't shy. He's more than happy to tell stories about the golden days and today. Robinson hasn't slowed down, releasing Time Flies When You're Having Fun on his Robso Records label last year. Plenty of conversation also focused on 2006's collection of pop standards, Timeless Love.

"It was the first music I heard in my life at home," he said of the classics on Timeless. "I consider these songs to be timeless. They are older than me."

Of course, much discourse centered on Berry Gordy, the visionary Motown Records founder that took 16-year-old Smokey Robinson and helped mold him into a superstar singer and songwriter.

When Robinson met Gordy, he had a loose-leaf notebook full of songs that rhymed but made no sense, he said. It was Gordy who, while impressed with the persistent budding artist, made sure that Robinson learned the craft well. So Gordy had Robinson listen to the radio and study the structure of hit after hit.

"I want you to see that songs have a beginning, a middle and an end tied together," Robinson said Gordy once told him. "That's really how I learned to write songs."

A few fun factoids: Robinson wrote "Shop Around" in 25 minutes. "It just flowed out of me," he said. By contrast, "Cruisin' " took five years to pen.

Nothing Robinson said Thursday was particularly revelatory, but it was highly entertaining listening to him reminisce. We did learn just how ambitious Robinson can be and how passionate he is about his art.

"I want to be Beethoven," he said. "I want to be Mozart."

It's not that he wants to be a classical composer, it's that he wants to endure. He wants to be timeless. "I was influenced so much by George Gershwin, by Ira Gershwin," he says, "people like that who wrote songs that we're still singing."

(video courtesy of SXSW)

Motown 50th Anniversary Recognized With NFL Halftime Thanksgiving Day Show

via NFL press release

NFL fans will be dancing in their seats at home and at Ford Field in Detroit during the 2009 United Way Thanksgiving Day Halftime Show: A Motown 50th Anniversary Tribute. The Motown tribute will take place during halftime of the first game of the NFL's Thanksgiving tripleheader when the Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, November 26 at 12:30 PM ET on FOX.

Bringing the unforgettable songs of Motown back to the Motor City are: Melanie Fiona, who brings together vintage grooves in her debut album; KEM, a leader in the neo-soul movement with two gold-plus albums and two No. 1 singles; international Top 10 hit singer/songwriter Shontelle; and the alternative rock/electronic six-man band Forever the Sickest Kids. The halftime show also features two newcomers: Vita Chambers, who honors Motown's classic era with a mix of rock, pop, and soul, and Hal Linton, who updates the great vocal tradition of Motown's Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder for the new century.

The halftime show set list will be taken from the golden era of Motown, the company founded by Berry Gordy that revolutionized contemporary music in the late Fifties through Seventies with its influential fusion of pop, blues, R&B, rock and gospel elements.

In addition, singer-songwriter Jadyn Maria will kick off the game in Detroit with the National Anthem. She also is a member of the Universal Motown family and was the first artist signed to Grammy-winner Ne-Yo's Compound Entertainment label.

Following the halftime performance, fans can visit NFL.com/Thanksgiving to find out how to download a copy of the halftime medley as well as music from each of the artists. Proceeds will benefit United Way.

Melanie Fiona, Kem, Hal Linton, Shontelle and Vita Chambers also will join United Way to volunteer at the Detroit Boys & Girls Club's "I Am Thankful" Dinner on Tuesday, November 24 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. CT. (source)