Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight: 7 Highlights From Their Hollywood Bowl Show

Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight opened their two-night “Just the Two of Us” run at the Hollywood Bowl on 24 July, offering a contrast between Robinson’s energetic, polished performance and Knight’s more limited set. The concert mattered as a rare appearance by two enduring Motown and R&B figures in their eighties, though the review found their current live capabilities markedly different.

– Robinson, 86, was praised for singing strongly, moving energetically and engaging the audience, including a Stevie Wonder impression before “The Tears of a Clown”.– The review criticised Robinson’s lengthy audience-participation section during “Cruisin’”, particularly as songs such as “Shop Around” and “More Love” were omitted.– Knight, 82, was said to retain flashes of her signature intensity but to rely heavily on backing singers, shortened arrangements and occasional lead vocals from them.– Knight refreshed “The Nitty Gritty” by combining it with The Jacksons’ “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” and incorporated Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much” elsewhere.– Her gospel section included Donnie McClurkin’s “Stand” and “Take Me to the King”, reflecting a strand of her career that has earned her recent Grammy awards.– Despite the show’s title, Robinson and Knight did not perform together or sing the 1981 song “Just the Two of Us”.– Both artists first reached the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 in 1961 and remain prominent members of their generation’s musical legacy.