Smokey Robinson has an unmistakable voice. The award-winning singer-songwriter has been performing hits for more than six decades.

"This is my wildest, impossible childhood dream," said Robinson, who will be performing at the Apollo Theater on Saturday, June 29. "As a kid, I wanted to do this for my life, you know I mean? But where I was growing up, I grew up in the hood in Detroit, man, so I didn’t think it was going to be possible."

Most people simply call the 84-year-old Smokey. He said when he met Berry Gordy, his life was changed.

"After I met him, a year or so after that he started Motown and the rest is history — and it is my history also," he said.

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles was the first group on Motown Records, and they also had the first hit for the music label. Motown remains the soundtrack of the lives of countless people.

Robinson also wrote major hits for other Motown legends and singers, including The Temptations and Marvin Gaye.

“The very first really professional date that I played in my life with the Miracles was at the Apollo on the Ray Charles show. The Apollo is tradition, particularly for Black music,” Robinson said.

Whether it was as a member of the Miracles or as a solo artist, Robinson said a lot of credit goes to growing up in Detroit in the 50s and 60s with numerous great performers. He said he was childhood friends with Aretha Franklin.

But it all started with his own family.

"I grew up in a home where there was always just music. I had two older sisters and between them and my mom I had music all day long of every kind you can think of. Blues, gospel, jazz, classical, whatever it was because we had a musical house and I’m very happy about it,” Robinson said.

"The first voice I ever remembering hearing in my life was Sarah Vaughn. My sisters played her. I heard people like that growing up, Sarah Vaughn and Billie Eckstein,” he added.

Now in his 80s, yoga and working out are a part of his daily routine to keep him going. Robinson is continuing to hit the stage, serenading generations of fans.

"I do shows, man, and there are people at the show and they have babies with them. They have lap kids with them, three and four years old, and the first time I ever saw those people they were on their parents' laps. It is a beautiful thing for me to see that.”

Robinson said he has more than 4,000 songs to his credit. Some of his hits include, "The Tracks of My Tears," "Tears of A Clown," “Just to See Her,” “Quiet Storm,” and “Cruisin’.”

“I feel wonderful about life and things right now. And I am very blessed because I have a job that I love. It’s a blessing,” he said.