Music: Smokey Robinson really has a hold on Salt Lake City's Red Butte Garden

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"Shop Around." "You've Really Got a Hold on Me." "Ooo Baby Baby." "The Tracks of My Tears." "I Second That Emotion.""The Tears of a Clown."

Take a good look at the face of Smokey Robinson on Friday in a benefit concert at Red Butte Garden -- that's the face of an icon.

Robinson, the leader of The Miracles and longtime vice president of Motown Records, said in an interview that tonight's show will be more than two hours of the hits -- and he has scores of them.

The 69-year-old silky high tenor and his Detroit group were the first act signed to Berry Gordy's Motown record label. They became one of the most successful groups of the 1960s until Robinson left for a solo career in 1972. Besides writing many of The Miracles' hits and transforming doo-wop into emotional R&B, Robinson also had a hand in writing "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "My Girl," "Get Ready," "My Guy," and "Ain't That Peculiar," which became hits for the The Temptations, Four Tops, Mary Wells and Marvin Gaye, as well as other top-10 songs.

The singer was launched again into the public consciousness earlier this year when he served as a guest mentor on "American Idol." Over two nights, he took the finalists on a trip to Motown and coached them on some of his most familiar songs. It wasn't Robinson's first appearance on the show -- he has served as a guest judge and finale performer in the past -- but was his most prominent "Idol" stint. "I get recognized in the airport all the time by children," Robinson said. "I know I got some younger fans."

Being on "Idol" is an opportunity he relishes, Robinson said, because it's such a prominent platform, and he loves mentoring young artists, something he has done throughout his career. One of the groups he consistently works with is Human Nature, one of Australia's top vocal acts, who are in residence at Las Vegas' Imperial Palace and Casino. The show is called "Smokey Robinson Presents Australia's Human Nature -- The Ultimate Celebration of Motown."

In July, Robinson will release his 23rd studio album, "Time Flies When You're Having Fun," which includes 11 tracks, 10 of them originals by Robinson. He premiered one of the new album's songs, "You're the One For Me," a duet with British soul singer Joss Stone, on "Idol" this year. "I write all the time," Robinson said. "I want people to remember these songs 50 years from now."

He has been working on "Time Flies When You're Having Fun" more than three years, and it features guest spots from Stone, India.Arie and Santana, among others. But he doesn't like to perform songs on tour before the fans get a chance to buy the album, so tonight's set list will include some of his most beloved hits.

The concert is part of the botanical garden's annual gala, the nonprofit venue's largest fundraiser of the year -- hence the slightly higher ticket prices -- and will be held this year at the Amphitheater, as opposed to the Fragrance Garden near the visitor's center, said Bryn Ramjoué, garden communications director.