Smokey

Smokey may refer to:

People with the name

See also

Smokey (album)

Smokey is the first solo album by Motown legend Smokey Robinson after his departure from The Miracles. It was released on Motown Records' Tamla subsidiary label (T328L) in 1973, and featured the single "Sweet Harmony" which was his tribute to his former singing partners in the Miracles: Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore and Ronnie White. The album was arranged by Dave Blumberg, Gene Page and Willie Hutch. It also featured the song "Baby Come Close", his first solo hit single, and the single "Just My Soul Responding", a protest song dealing with ghetto life in America, and the plight of the American Indian.

All things equal, Smokey was his entry to place him on creative and commercial footing with labelmates, Marvin Gaye with his landmark 1971, What's Going On, Stevie Wonder and Talking Book and Diana Ross and her self-titled debut. However, performing his Vice-President duties at Motown, meant that his time would come a bit later. Producing the #7, "Baby Come Close", "Smokey" shimmers with brilliance on the medley of "Never My Love"/"Never Can Say Goodbye" and songs like the plaintive "Holly". But a couple of years later, he would get his well deserved moment.

Smokey (mascot)

Smokey is the mascot of the University of Tennessee sports teams. These teams, named "The Volunteers" and nicknamed "the Vols", use both a live and a costumed version of Smokey.

There is an actual Bluetick Coonhound mascot, Smokey X, who leads the Vols on the field for football games. The Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity cares for the hound on the University of Tennessee campus. There is also a costumed mascot that appears at every Vols game and has won several mascot championships. The costumed Smokey has a female counterpart that appears at the women's athletic events.

Smokey was selected as the mascot for Tennessee after a student poll in 1953. A contest was held by the Pep Club that year. Their desire was to select a coon hound that was native to Tennessee. At halftime of the Mississippi State game that season, several hounds were introduced for voting. "Blue Smokey", owned by a Rev. Bill Brooks was the last, and howled loudly when introduced. The students cheered and Smokey became the mascot. The most successful of the live dogs was Smokey VIII, who saw a record of 91-22, two SEC titles and one National Championship.