Smokey Robinson is still having fun breaking out the classic songs he recorded with the Miracles, such as Tears of a Clown, I Second That Emotion and Tracks of My Tears.

"Once we get there and the concerts start, we have two-and-a-half hours of a party," Robinson said in a phone interview with the Burnaby NOW.

The 69-year-old Motown legend is headlining the 10th annual Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival in Deer Lake Park.

The performance comes on the heels of the recent loss of his "little brother" Michael Jackson.

Robinson was among the celebrities who spoke at the July 7 memorial.

He says, now, he wishes the media would leave Michael Jackson and his children alone.

"I just wish they would let him rest in peace," Robinson says. "I am pissed off at the media for dragging his kids through this. For talking about 'who's the real dad,' 'where the sperm came from.' That's just so uncaring and unfeeling, as far as I'm concerned, because those are kids. They've got to live through this."

Jackson's children have been devastated enough, he says. "They've lost the closest person to them in life, at a very young age. I know how that feels because my mom passed when I was 10."

Robinson, who struggled with drug addiction in the 1980s, says he was unaware of the extent of Michael Jackson's drug use.

"I think if I'd known he was doing that, I would have hunted him down."

Robinson hadn't seen Jackson in 10 years, but he knew of the intense scrutiny that Jackson lived under.

"It's a really, really deep life that you live because you're under a microscope. Everything you do or say, you (get) scrutinized," he says.

Very few people - maybe two or three - have ever experienced that level of international fame, Robinson adds.

And Jackson had been under that microscope from the time he was 10.

"Everything he said or did was being scrutinized at all times, so maybe he went to that, like Elvis Presley, to escape," says Robinson.

Today, Robinson speaks out against drug use whenever he can, at schools and other places.

"People think people start using drugs when a deep, dark figure comes out of the shadows. ... Most people start doing drugs recreationally with their friends. Ninety-nine per cent of people who do drugs start recreationally with their friends," he says.

When Robinson picked up cocaine, his career and life were "going wonderfully," but for more than two years he smoked crack until one night, a visit to a church prompted a spiritual experience that took away the craving for drugs.

"I always tell people, 'I was not cured. I was healed,'" Robinson says. "It was in May of 1986, and since that moment, I have not done one drug, period.

"Since that moment, I have not wanted any. The only thing I have done as far as drugs, is to have war against them," he says. "I'm not, by any means a religious man, but I have a wonderful, fantastic relationship with God. I talk to God everyday of my life."

Robinson, whose new album is slated for release on Aug. 25, is still living and enjoying the dream.

The man, made a legend for his gorgeous songs and his sweet tenor voice, says he started singing before he could talk. His two older sisters evidently weren't early fans. They'd get annoyed when he'd sing, but his mom must have heard early on what the world would discover.

"My mom used to tell them, 'One of these days, you gonna be glad he sings,'" Robinson says, laughing.

When his career kicked off at Motown in 1959, Robinson was essentially second-in-command, next to founder Berry Gordy. Along with showcasing some of greatest artists in music, the record company also played a role in breaking down racial barriers in America.

When the label formed, segregation was still a reality in parts of the southern United States. Young, attractive singers and groups (such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross and the Supremes) were a major force in popular culture and helped changed attitudes, not just on this continent, but overseas as well.

One of the most profound moments in Robinson's life occurred during the Cold War between Russia and the U.S., when he learned that Russians loved Motown.

Last fall, when his country elected an African-American president, it was an emotional moment for Robinson.

"I cried like a baby. Most black people did - especially those of us who lived through the civil-rights movement, who were soldiers for Dr. Martin Luther King," says Robinson. "One of my regrets was the fact that - spiritually, I believe that Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. (Ralph David) Abernathy know what happened - but they weren't here physically to see that, and it was their doing. It was their doing that brought this about. Dr. Martin Luther King was the catalyst for Barack Obama."

Robinson's support for Obama hasn't waned.

"It pisses me off also that people are saying, 'Well, he hasn't done anything,'" he says. "He's trying to clean up the stuff that's been going on for 10 years. The man hasn't even been in office for a year, so give him a break."

Robinson acknowledges that he's had a few breaks along the way.

His new record is aptly called Time Flies When You're Having Fun.

"That's how I feel about my life," he says, simply and eloquently, in a way that only Smokey Robinson can.

A FEW QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE BLUES FESTIVAL:

The 2009 Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival takes place at Deer Lake Park on Sunday, Aug. 9 from 1:30 to 10 p.m.

Some things to know for those planning to attend:

- Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and include advance ticket price of $45 plus service charges, if bought before Aug. 8 or $55 plus service charges on the day of the event. A party pack, including four admissions, is $140.

- Chairs are permitted, but there are no reserved seats. Deer Lake Park is a general admission lawn seating environment.

- If you have a physical disability or are mobility challenged, there is a small special needs seating area available on site - contact Ticketmaster at 604-280-4444 with your confirmation number from your order. They will make arrangements for you to sit in this area.

- There will be a variety of food and beverage options available. Food vendors accept cash only, but there is an ATM, on the south plaza, on site.

- For all the details, check out the website at www.burnaby

bluesfestival.com.