STILL WARMING SOULS SMOKEY ROBINSON'S HOT NEW RELEASE MICROWAVEABLE.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Rhythm and blues king Smokey Robinson has another hit: his seafood gumbo.

``The gumbo is a gift from God,'' said the Motown legend, who has recorded 4,000 songs. ``It's good food. It's good eating, and it's going to make you feel satisfied.''

The longtime San Fernando Valley resident, who now lives in Chatsworth, has bottled his soul in a growing line of Smokey Robinson's ``The Soul is in the Bowl'' frozen foods. Last February, his Glendale-based company, SFGL Foods Inc., launched his gumbo and emptied store shelves in Chicago. This week, shoppers nearly cleaned it out from supermarket shelves across Los Angeles.

Shoppers in frozen-food aisles across the nation will soon see a youthful Smokey on boxes of frozen red beans and rice and jambalaya. A health-food line, to include bottled water, is also in the works.

A percentage of the proceeds will go toward furthering business education for minority children.

It was Robinson's late mother, Flossy, who inspired the man Bob Dylan once called America's greatest poet to concoct his own seafood gumbo - a specialty of New Orleans - based on his family recipe.

``It was like onion gumbo - so good it make you cry. But this is, too,'' said the 64-year-old Detroit native at Pavilions in Burbank last week to press the flesh - and his gumbo - onto customers.

``I'm a gumbo connoisseur,'' Robinson added. ``Gumbo is not an hour dish. Gumbo takes all day or all night to prepare. The great thing about this gumbo is that we prepare it for you, and you can microwave it in six minutes.''

Robinson, with red-orange dreadlocks, an oversize chambray work shirt and a large gold cross with a diamond, smiled easily as he hugged his fans and autographed Motown's latest miracle mix.

Fans, some who had come all the way from Las Vegas to see him, lined up two-dozen deep to meet the man behind such legendary soul classics as ``My Girl,'' ``The Way You Do the Things You Do'' and ``Ooh Baby Baby.''

``Ooh baby baby,'' cooed Genevieve Loya, 43, of San Fernando, who has seen Robinson perform at least 30 times, after posing for a photograph with her fave.

``I don't care what (his gumbo) tastes like, I'm gonna just eat it and think about the picture.''

Robinson's seafood gumbo retailed at Vons and Pavilions this week for $4.39 for a 12-ounce microwaveable bowl, or two for $6 at Vons Club prices.

The gumbo is backed by a partnership that includes Robinson, his interior-designer wife, Frances; Hollywood business man and secessionist activist Gene La Pietra; and actor-producer Leon Isaac Kennedy.

Their company is headed by Jeff Brain, former leader of the San Fernando Valley secession movement. The gumbo, produced after 18 months of testing, is made by Overhill Farms in Vernon.

``Never get tired of it,'' Brain said about Smokey's mix. ``It's a national phenomenon, rooted in the Valley.''

``I live and breathe this gumbo,'' added La Pietra. ``I think the gumbo loves me. ... It's a real feel-good product.''

It'll be sold nationwide in 2,400 Albertsons stores by October, in 1,800 Safeway stores including Vons and Pavilions by November, and in 2,500 Kroger stores including Ralphs by December, Brain said.

Next week - on Tuesday and Wednesday - the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will tour Albertsons stores in Southern California. For a calendar, contact smokeyrobinsonfoods.com.

Makers of Robinson gumbo and marketing analysts think the singer's 45- year career will appeal to a racially diverse audience eager to snap up ethnic frozen foods.

With his entry, or entree, Robinson follows the lead of other R&B artists into food, including Gladys Knight, who founded a bakery in Las Vegas and a restaurant in Atlanta; Isaac Hayes, who founded a Memphis soul-food restaurant and markets Memphis Magic meat sauces; and Patti LaBelle, who like Hayes wrote a cookbook.

Other celebrity foods include those spawned by Tracy Byrd (seasoning and spices), Jimmy Dean (sausage), George Jones (bacon and bottled water), Paul Newman (salad dressing) and Dwight Yoakam (biscuits and gravy).

``This will be on the level of Paul Newman,'' said Erin Patton, president of The Mastermind Group, a brand-strategy consultant in New York, who said Smokey Robinson foods should go over well with baby boomers.

``You take soul music and soul food, and add to that with the success and credibility of Smokey Robinson, and you'll find a nice niche in the marketplace. And the health food is a key piece of the equation for African- Americans with high rates of heart disease and diabetes.''

Tim Williams, a diversity affairs director for Safeway, said the gumbo is one of the best-selling food introductions in recent memory.

``Smokey's back,'' said Williams from his Pleasonton office. ``The item is doing excellent. We are quite impressed at the reaction.''

For Robinson, who just released a gospel ``Food for the Spirit'' CD, it's just a way to sell healthy food and help minority kids.

``We've had people in New Orleans eat it and love it. When someone in New Orleans gives it a thumbs up, it's good.''

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Smokey Robinson hugs fan Laura Aguilar of Glendale on Wednesday in a supermarket visit promoting his frozen gumbo.

(2 -- color) Maria Robone, 56, and Sherra Dunklin, 21, wait in line in a Burbank market to see soul-music legend Smokey Robinson.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer