Our Reyhaneh Fathieh headed to Detroit last week to visit the place in which the Motown sound got its start, Hitsville USA, and to interview the legendary Smokey Robinson, as Motown nears it's 50th anniversary next January. She was surprised to find that the Motown label, which produced such other music icons as Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Martha Reeves and the late Marvin Gaye, got its start in a humble home on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. Hitsville, now a museum, has a family feel — you'll see a baby crib and piano sitting side by side.

Of course, Reyhaneh had quite the tour guide in Smokey Robinson, one of Motown's most successful artists.  "He embodies this warm, homey vibe of Motown," she says.  "He immediately takes you into a hug. He's soft-spoken, gentle and gracious, returning compliments with praise. All it took was two compliments for him to say he loved me."

Another Motown great, Duke Fakir of The Four Tops, joined them at Hitsville and described Smokey as "the nicest, humblest guy that has everything."  Motown's beginning — January 12, 1959 — predates Reyhaneh's birth by 25 years, and yet she says she "found myself nostalgic for a time when the music spoke to romance and chivalry. Both men are walking symbols of an important era in popular music and everything from their color-coordinated suits to their polite manners signified a sophistication prevalent in their music."

Robinson says he likes today's music — even the often violent and misogynistic genre of rap. But, Reyhaneh says, "I sensed nostalgia in both Smokey and Duke, as well. If you ask them to recount memories from the early days, you're in for long and affectionate stories of 'back in the day' -- fond recollections, which, in the case of Duke, even brought a tear to his eyes.