Smokey Robinson Shares a Special Memory Ahead of ‘A Motown Christmas’ Special

Motown Records icon Smokey Robinson remembers that at one of the storied label’s holiday parties in the late ‘60s, he received a very special gift.

“Stevie Wonder came,” Robinson recalls to Billboard, “and gave me a cassette tape with the music for [the No. 1 R&B/pop hit] ‘The Tears of a Clown.’ But he couldn’t think of a song to go with it and wanted me to write a song for that music. And so I did. And ‘Tears’ became one of the biggest songs I’ve ever been associated with around the world.”

Now, as NBC gets set to premiere its holiday special A Motown Christmas, Robinson is promising music fans a “great night featuring legendary Motown artists and contemporary artists singing music and having a good time together.” The two-hour special bows Wednesday (Dec. 11) at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and will stream the next day on Peacock.

Hosts Robinson and Halle Bailey will be welcoming a diverse cast of performers that includes Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and the Temptations as well as Ashanti, Andra Day, BeBe Winans, Jamie Foxx, JoJo, Jordin Sparks, MGK, October London, Pentatonix and the hosts themselves. More than 25 Motown gems and other songs will be performed via a tuneful array of solos, duets and group medleys.

Among the highlights: London’s medley of Marvin Gaye songs (including “What’s Going On”); Knight (“Midnight Train to Georgia”); Pentatonix’s Four Tops medley (including “I Can’t Help Myself”); Foxx (“Little Drummer Boy”); Bailey and The Supremes’ medley (including “Stop in the Name of Love”); a Temptations medley (including “My Girl”); Andra Day (“Higher Ground”), Ashanti (“Santa Baby”) and Robinson performing his and the Miracles’ classics including the aforementioned “The Tears of a Clown.” Rounding out the show will be a world exclusive performance from the Broadway company of MJ the Musical.

Calling fellow host Bailey “a wonderful young woman and a great talent,” Robinson also talked about working with the executive producers of A Motown Christmas, Debbie Allen and Motown alumnus Suzanne de Passe. “Debbie and Suzanne are my sisters,” he says. “I’ve known them forever and ever, so it’s always great to work with them. Debbie is one of the best choreographers and dancers that you’d ever want to meet. And Suzanne is a Motown mainstay. At one point she was our A&R director for music and now she’s a top movie and television producer.”

Asked about Motown founder Berry Gordy’s reaction to the holiday special, Robinson notes, “I think he’s going to love it because, you know, he is the reason for the season. On the very first day at Motown, he sat us down — it was four people there other than him — and said, ‘I’m going to start my own record company, and we’re not just going to make Black music. We’re going to make beats for everybody, make music for the world; quality music.’ So we set out to do that and, thank God, I think we accomplished it. If it hadn’t been for Berry, we wouldn’t be having a Motown special.”