Timeless. Classic. Enduring.

These words describe not only the music of legendary singer, songwriter and producer Smokey Robinson, but the man himself.

Close your eyes and recall his satiny falsetto on this 1965 hit:

I don't like you but I love you.

Seems that I'm always thinking of you.

Oh, oh, oh.

You treat me badly. I love you madly.

You really got a hold on me."

On Saturday night, it's a safe bet Robinson will perform this song among his other lyrical treasures when he takes to the stage at the Benedum Center.

And for anyone who has ever been in love, the lyrics are just as relatable today as they were when he first sang them more than 40 years ago.

"Tears of a Clown," "Tracks of My Tears," "Mickey's Monkey," "Shop Around" are part of the impressive catalog of classics Robinson wrote and performed with his group The Miracles. They are the hits audiences want to hear, and he doesn't mind singing them.

"I'm not one of those artists who comes and says, 'I don't play the old stuff,' because if there wasn't any old stuff there wouldn't be any new stuff," he said during a phone interview last week.

Asked often if he doesn't tire of having to sing the same songs year after year, Robinson said his standard reply is, "No, every night they are new to me. I'm very very blessed. I get a chance to live what I love."

He has been showered with accolades for his more than five decades of music: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Kennedy Center Honors, the Songwriters' Hall of Fame, the Grammy Living Legend Award, National Medal of Arts Award.

A co-architect of the Motown sound, the 68-year-old crooner stepped through the door with Berry Gordy when the soon-to-be music mogul opened his record company in a two-story frame house on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit.

Robinson brought his group, The Miracles, who had started out in high school as The Matadors. He also brought his songwriting talents, which Gordy, an accomplished songwriter, helped him hone.

"I've always tried to write songs since I was 6 years old," Robinson said.

At Motown, he penned hits not only for The Miracles but for Mary Wells, The Temptations, Brenda Holloway and Marvin Gaye, among others. They include "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Get Ready," "My Girl" "Don't Mess With Bill," "Ain't That Peculiar," "You Beat Me to the Punch" and "My Guy."

Eventually he became vice president of the record label. Motown was a family, he said. On the day of this interview last week, the world had just learned of the death of Levi Stubbs, lead singer of The Four Tops.

"He was not just a guy I knew. Levi was my brother and I loved him very much," Robinson said. "He got sick and just did not recover."

Robinson said he doesn't think he's ever fully gotten over the deaths of any of the Motown family members, especially Marvin Gaye.

He recalls going to Gaye's house right around the corner from his own, while he was writing "What's Going On."

"He would say, 'Smoke, this album is being written by God. It's prophesy.' "

Of all the music that has been written and produced over the past 50 years, including his own, Robinson calls "What's Going On" his favorite .

Robinson's solo career, which began in the early 1970s, spawned just as many hits, including "Being With You," "Cruisin' " and "Quiet Storm," the later inspiring a late-night radio format.

But the long and winding road of his career has not been without its bumps.

His first marriage to Claudette Rogers, a former member of The Miracles, ended in divorce, and Robinson documented his battle with drugs, affairs and his subsequent redemption in his 1989 biography, "Smokey: Inside My Life."

In 2004 he released a gospel album, "Food for the Spirit," as well as a line of soul food entrees.

While he reveres the soulful ballads and uptempo tunes that have contributed to his iconic status, Robinson does not rest on his repertoire. He's putting the finishing touches on his latest CD.

"It's all new material, really," he said.

His last album, "Timeless Love," released in 2006, was Robinson's take on classics by Cole Porter, George Gershwin ... music his mother and sisters would play, he said.

Still, he keeps his ear tuned to what's going on in today's music scene.

"I listen to everybody because first of all I want to see what they're doing, 'cause I'm still in the recording business and I have to be competitive," he said. "You've got some great young talent out there."

He got a chance to hear some of that talent recently during an event celebrating Motown's 50th anniversary and Universal CEO Doug Morris (Motown is now a subsidiary of Universal). Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie and R&B princess Rihanna were among the performers.

"There was just a bunch of people there singing and stuff and it was wonderful," Robinson said. "And they were singing all Motown songs."