30 Minute Hit Wonder

Motown legend Smokey Robinson wrote Shop Around in just 30 minutes.

10:37 10 March 2016

Speaking at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, Robinson said: "That was the quickest song I ever wrote in my life. It came out in about 30 minutes."

 

Gordy set up his record label in 1959 and its list of artists include the Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.

 

Robinson said that Gordy called him in the middle of the night to demand the Miracles to re-record Shop Around.

 

"He told us to go to the studio right away, so everybody showed up at three o' clock in the morning - except the piano player - and we changed the beat and sound and it was our first million-selling record."

 

Speaking about Motown the Musical in London, Gordy said: "The

 UK has meant so much to Motown. It's the first place in the world outside of America that discovered us, loved us and backed us," he said.

 

"We're so proud of the young kids who used to listen to pirate radio and formed the Tamla Motown Appreciation Society. It grew from there. The UK was the gateway to the world and we will never forget that."