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Smokey Robinson Returns to the Apollo as He Jokes 'Retiring Didn't Work for Me, Man' (Exclusive)

R&B legend Smokey Robinson is playing the historic Apollo Theater on Saturday, June 29 and speaks to PEOPLE exclusively ahead of the show.

"I tried retiring one time and it didn't work for me, man," Robinson tells PEOPLE exclusively, referencing a one-year break he took way back in 1972 — after scoring huge hits alongside his band The Miracles with songs including "Shop Around," "Tracks of My Tears," "You Really Got a Hold On Me," "Tears of a Clown" and "I Second That Emotion," along with chart-toppers for labelmates like The Supremes, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye — to focus on family and his executive role at Motown. The singer, who’s famously been committed to his health and fitness for decades, says one of the reasons he’s remained vital, vibrant and creatively engaged is because of his all-encompassing love of music. Robinson says audiences won’t just hear him perform his long list of indelible classics; there’ll also be plenty of fresh music from his most recent studio album, in which he added a spicier, sexier flavor to his signature that raised eyebrows among some longtime fans.

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