The legendary musician originally performed the record alongside Aretha Franklin in 1979
Most daytime talk shows save their musical performances for a particular segment, but Jennifer Hudson can’t help but break into song with her guests as often as possible. On the latest episode of the Jennifer Hudson Show, the singer welcomed music legend Smokey Robinson into her impromptu approach to re-create another spur-of-the-moment performance: Robinson singing “Ooo Baby Baby” with Aretha Franklin on Soul Train in 1979.
“I don’t remember exactly how it came about,” Robinson recalls. “I think that she was going to do a performance on Soul Train that day, and I just happened to be there because the New Miracles were there, and they had a new lead singer. I brought them over to do Soul Train. And Don Cornelius, you know, he was the instigator. He said, ‘I want y’all to sing something for me.’ And she just want to the piano and started playing ‘Ooo baby baby’ and we sang it.”
Before launching into their own rendition, Hudson warned, “I’m no Aretha,” but Robinson wasn’t having the self-deprecation, reassuring her: “Oh, please, girl. You are Jennifer.”
Robinson knows a thing or two about being a music great, and being around even more. “I grew up four doors down the street from Diana Ross. She was my neighbor, and I’ve known her since she was probably about eight years old. And right around the corner was Aretha Franklin,” he explained, taking a beat to praise Hudson’s performance in the 2021 film Respect: “And I want to say this since we’re talking — you were Aretha Franklin, baby.”
The music legend also delved into his experience spending over three hours in the presence of another, far more recent music icon: Taylor Swift. The musician took his granddaughter to the Eras tour over the summer (“She’s a Swiftie, or whatever you call them,” he shared). “I took her to meet Taylor Swift and I mean Pittsburgh was shut down,” Robinson remembered. “It was shut down. The traffic was just, it was like the President was in town.”
