LOS ANGELES — Friday night's MusiCares Persons of the Year gala marked the first time the Recording Academy's charitable organization honored the work and philanthropy of two musicians instead of just one at its annual Grammy weekend tribute concert.
It was also the first time one honoree sang a tender song of devotion to the other.
"In my life I have been blessed enough to get a few awards," Smokey Robinson told the crowd of donors and industry types [including Elton John] at the Los Angeles Convention Center near the end of the two-hour event. "But this one is really, really, really, probably the most special to me because I'm getting this award tonight with my very best friend in the world": 93-year-old Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. Robinson, 82, went on to say that meeting Gordy — with whom he revolutionized Black pop as a singer and writer of such foundational classics as "Shop Around," "My Girl," "The Tears of a Clown," "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Ooo Baby Baby," "Get Ready" and "I Second That Emotion" — "was the beginning of my dream come true."
