Don't Know Why: Smokey Robinson

[hmngbrd]

lawd ham mercy, now THAT''S a singer !

[cindiloohoo552]

Sing it Smokey !! 

[TheNicoleali007]

His Live Version of this Song is better. I've heard his Studio Release of Don't Know Why and this one is better it's got more Heart and Energy!

[Capri1160]

sexy, sensuous, very romantic. I would hav kicked your ass if u didnt come. lol. Great job smokey

[AmeliaRay]

Smokey is so badass!

[Ebonyivorymusic]

Just listen to that voice. Loved watching that show. What a song and what a great artist/man. I just love this tune and Smokey's a genius. Wayne

[Smokey1458]

Love this, and still looking sexy Smokey xxx

[bigazzdianedotnet]

good great misic smookey

[seksifu]

Owesome!!!

[hmngbrd]

Superb !

[pekoe67]

i came.

[hotina]

What can I say, I totally love this guy! What an amazing voice!

[comixgod50]

I'm a big fan of Norah Jones, and this song is a truly awesome cover!!!! 10/10

[Teenom]

@comixgod50 This song was written and first performed by Jesse Harris. All three are great versions though....must be the message

[aaa1234ize]

Smokey nailed it!!! Truly BRILLIANT

[tvwatcher35]

This is a fantastic version. I love Smokey Robinson's interpetation of this song. RBChild4ev is correct. Some artists fail to realize that it is the quality, not the quantity.

[pussbuss]

He's now become my favourite singer because of this song, the way he sings it is sooo smooth.

[monkeyguitarist]

Smokey Robinson... That's a true talent. ★★★★★

[niggaman50]

I had the esteem privalige of hearing this song sung live by Smokey at the Barbados Jazz Festival 13th, Janurary 2010, (2 days ago). I tell you, the show, awsome, but when he performed this song that was my evening right there. I swear his voice is sounding sweeter, too me.

[anise79]

Goosebumps... I love the song when Norah sings it too though. Smokey's voice is different, the feeling he puts into any song is HIS feeling and interpretation. I can't compare the two singers. But Smokey = goosebumps for me!! :)

[sondra723]

damn i love smokey...... 33 years ago he sang the same way. thats true talent

[MysticNostalgia]

I'm not trying to say anything bad about Nora. That is not my intention. But a song sung with great feeling of emotion and story telling is what catches MY ear. Smokey's voice remains golden; and at this point in his life I dare say it will always be GOLDEN! And he's an excellent story teller!

[MysticNostalgia]

This is the first time I have viewed these comments and I MUST say my adrenalin is pumping! To me trying to compare one singer to another is futile. People like who they like. Smokey's rendition of this song is so heart piercing that there can be NO comparison of any other singer who may have recorded it to date! Coupled with his video, anyone can see the pouring out of heartfelt emotions. I listened to Nora sing this same song years ago, and have never had the inclination to listen again.

[efbrooklyn13]

Norah Jones is a great performer, but she didn't write this song. It was written by one of her peers/friends/fellow musicians, Jesse Harris.

I think both versions have their own beautiful appeal. You get that when a song is sung by different people, male and female. Smokey kills me when he sings "Forever." Love it.

[pappadean]

After reading all the negative comments about Smokey doing this song, I still have to say, he blew it out of the water. Don't get me wrong, I love Noah Jones ,but when Smokey does it, I feel sad that "he didn't go". Soooo much feeling! That's the difference! There are and have been and will be vocalist without perfect voices, but it's all in how they project themselves in the song and how they make you feel what they are singing about.

[GERAVIAJERO]

excelente ,conserva la magia de su voz con los años

[hmngbrd]

Cool as the other side of the pillow !

[ZaneAli]

That song is soo smooth, thanks Smokey for the years of claasic hits!

PAC

[maryatvan]

Hey, but what about My Girl...wowie zowie...everyone at Deer Lake was swaying, and singing to the sounds of perfection.

[firegrrrrl]

ya norah should be flattered that smoky wanted to cover this, BUT......very seriously.......his version is weak im comparison to hers. dont get me wrong smokey is a god in his own right, i think anyone who knows much about music can recognize that, but i think he just killed this song....ran over it, then backed up and ran over it again.....

[sweetheartsammy22]

I love this version. Nora Jones should be happy that the Legend recorded her song

[ibeaty]

Very few great singers' voices last to such an age. Stevie Wonder is the one guy i've seen (last year in Vancouver) who is still unbelievably on top of his game. I love smokey robinson, but this sucks. It is not that is a bad choice for him. If he'd motowned it up and cut out that terrible vibrato, it could have been cool. I wonder what the original sounds like....

[ibeaty]

To be fair, He's got a pretty good bit of his falsetto magic left, but Autism is right, the phrasing and above all his vibrato (which is what I think autism means by "shrill") is very off putting. The moment where he shines is the big fermata (pause) on the high falsetto note, but truth is, whenever anything he does in this video pleases us, it is because he is showing us the voice that we remember with fondness from the hits like tears of a clown when he was good, and moreover young and good.

[ibeaty]

Autism is mainly right.

He is not a "hater", and not a fool. He recognizes that Smokey the voice (and let's not forget he was a producer and megahit songwriter himself) is golden and pulls heartstrings. He also recognizes that smokey and his band pretty much suck on this recording. He is perhaps too far outside his ideal genre- big brash motown sounds and clipping tempos-but mainly, he's just old....

[autsim]

Thanks I beaty! But it's AutSim instead of Autism. SO many people get that confused... I"ll have to change it *chuckles*

[beriththomas]

iris i do believe i clicked your name by mistake the comment wasn't a reply on what you said lol.

[IrisMG]

Once Smokey releases this gem, Jesse Harris will seriously get paid! And I hope Norah gets some, too. I downloaded it yesterday.

[beriththomas]

why you're talking smokey's counting his money. If anything he liked the song enough to sing it and that is a compliment to norah that a legend would want to remake her song. Especially the garbage thats coming out nowadays.

[IrisMG]

Reading comprehenson is your friend...

[Ronsky89]

You are truely autism, autsim

Smokey Robinson is a incredible artist with impecable timing and this song proves that he still has it. Stop drinkin your hateraide

[autsim]

He RUINED it! When you remake a song, you make so good that the listener FORGETS the original (i.e., "Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Respect", "Say a Little Prayer", "Bridge over Troubled Waters" et al). Smokey has a tendency to lilt too much. The falsetto & shrill are awful. His pace is DOUBLE that of the original, as if he's singing behind the beat (DRAGGING!). The song isn't a good match for him. No need to throw personal insults. Nostalgia won't give Smokey a pass for crappy crooning.

[Strobreeze]

You dont know music. go back to the Britney stuff you are use to.

[autsim]

How wrong it is to assume that a person likes that crap as well. The instrumentation is great. I'm talking about the vocals. This song is not for Smokey. He's dragging it w/ his style of vocals. Norah's is better.

[Strobreeze]

Ok Norah is better. I get that. This is her best material. But lets see her take on some of Daylight and Darkness and Cruisin.

[Strobreeze]

I would actually love to see Norah tackle my favorite, "Quiet Storm."

[autsim]

She doesn't have to. Norah has carved out a niche for herself and her style of music. As has Smokey. Bottom line, if you cannot improve a song or interpret it in such a way that it makes people fall in love with your verson - better yet, think that your cover of the song is better, then don't step to it. That's for ANY artist. Norah stays in her lane - and Smokey should stay in his. It's just not a good fit for him. That's all.

[Strobreeze]

She doesn't have to???!!! Really? Norah has one real hit. A true one hit wonder. It's really foolish to even have this discussion. Norah is good, but she's milking "Dont Know Why" to death! If anything, it's Smokey that doesn't have to. Smokey is a true singing legend who turns everthings he sings to gold, but you dont even have to take my word for it.

[autsim]

Not sure if you're aware but Norah is 7/8 time Grammy winner and has released two more albums since "Come Away With Me", which have also been successful. Even before his death, Ray Charles said the girl was the truth. Now, back to Smokey... he can sing... HIS generation/genre of music. This is out of his area. And his vocals suck on this song. If you notice, all of his songs from the Motown area have the same syncopation... because he drags the hell out of them.

[MysticNostalgia]

BRAVO, BRAVO!!! He can sing anything! The phonebook included!

[autsim]

He re-released this song... I thought it was awful. He absolutely drags this song... and that shrill... this is horrible.

[imaccuish]

It's hard to top Smokey.

[jjaniero]

what a masterful performance

i saw this on tv in hi-def & it was really beautiful

only wish smokey had credited the writer & not just norah jones

[undertowmusic]

A great song by Jesse Harris!

[pappadean]

Oh Wow! Norah Jones Is lucky Smokey didn't released it first. He smoked, killed and blew it out of the water. I hope he releases it.

[Strobreeze]

You got your wish.. He released it today.

[Ilovebeefroxmypants]

@pappadean watch this episode of spectacle elvis costello, he talks about his new album that he's finished, and this is one of the cuts off it