Temptations: 1960 - 1978 (eBook)

Every Album, Every Song

George Haffenden (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
160 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
9781789524789 (ISBN)

Infos

As one of the greatest acts to come out of the Motown Record Corporation, the influence of the Temptations cannot be overstated. The 'Classic Five' line-up of Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin created a catalogue of hits that endures to this day. Aided by William 'Smokey' Robinson and, later, Norman Whitfield, the group produced classics such as 'Get Ready', 'Ain't Too Proud To Beg', and, of course, 'My Girl'. This line-up only lasted four years, but they created a hugely impressive legacy.
The introduction of Dennis Edwards to the group in 1968 coincided with a new style of music for them, produced by Whitfield, dubbed 'psychedelic soul'. Inspired by Sly & The Family Stone, this new sound gave the group a second act of new hits. However, by 1972, only Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin would remain from the 'Classic Five' line-up, and the hits were becoming more elusive.
This book explores their releases from their founding to 1978, when the group had endured further personnel challenges and a change in record label. It examines the group's triumphs and struggles during this period and tells a remarkable story of persistence and longevity.

The author
Born and raised in Sussex, George Haffenden grew up listening to his parents' record collection and developed a deep admiration of soul, funk, and disco. He spent his formative years shunning current trends in music, instead collecting obscure records, largely by the Temptations. He is now a content designer and the curator of the blog The Funk & Soul Revue, writing reviews and in-depth pieces on the history of soul. He's also interviewed several of the great soul icons, including George Clinton, Patti LaBelle and members of the Whispers, The Stylistics, and The Temptations.

Textauszug

Chapter 1

Meet The Temptations (1964)

Personnel:

Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Eldridge ‘Al’ Bryant, David Ruffin (on ‘The Way You Do The Things You Do’ only): vocals

The Funk Brothers: instrumentation

Produced at Hitsville USA, Detroit, by Berry Gordy, Andre Williams, William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson, Smokey Robinson and Norman Whitfield between October 1963 and January 1964

Label: Gordy

Release date: 13 April 1964

Length: 31:33

Chart position: US pop: 95

After signing with Motown in 1961, The Temptations initially struggled to reach a level of success that would merit an album release. Berry Gordy himself had written and produced several singles for the group, but with little success. Eventually, Smokey Robinson, in between writing, producing and touring with his group The Miracles, gave the group their first national hit, the evergreen single ‘The Way You Do The Things You Do’. Released in January 1964, Motown decided that it was now worthwhile releasing an album by the group, capitalising on their newfound fame, and it would be titled, appropriately, Meet The Temptations. It was hardly an original title, for The Supremes had released their own Meet The Supremes album in December 1962, and the concept was the same: introduce the group to a wider audience by collecting their previous singles on an album. It also made financial sense: no new material was needed, so no additional recording costs were incurred.

In this early period, as the tracks on Meet The Temptations show, the group were recorded by almost anyone who wanted them, including Gordy himself, A&R man William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson and Norman Whitfield. They even recorded two songs with Clarence Paul, who would shepherd Stevie Wonder’s early career, as ‘The Pirates’ on Motown’s short-lived imprint label ‘Melody’ (these songs weren’t included on Meet The Temptations, however, but are now available on 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1961-1971). Otis Williams recalled that Gordy joked that if ‘The Pirates’ singles had been successful, the group would spend the rest of their days performing in pirate outfits.’ He wrote that they would ‘have died for a hit, but if it meant going through life in pirate uniforms, no thanks.’ Luckily for the group, the singles weren’t hits, and their time as ‘The Pirates’ was blissfully short.

As Williams recalled, Motown was a singles-driven company; therefore, their approach to albums could be summarised in the following way:

Basically, selling an album was like reselling one, two or three hit singles, plus some throwaway filler tracks that nobody really gave a damn about.

Interestingly, unlike some of the earlier Motown album covers, which featured cartoons or often white faces (Come And Get These Memories by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas had a teddy bear on the front, while Mary Wells’s The One Who Really Loves You had cartoon love-hearts), Meet The Temptations featured the new, soon-to-be ‘Classic Five’ lineup on the front, posing against a dark background, looking contemplative with all but David Ruffin (not yet wearing his trademark spectacles) staring directly at the camera, exuding class and confidence.

Equally interesting here is that several of the group are given writing credits: famously, Gordy largely compartmentalised Motown along the lines of Detroit’s automobile factories, having separate departments to handle different areas of the business, rarely allowing a member of staff to straddle several parts, unless, of course, your name was Smokey Robinson. Yet, on Meet The Temptations, with the exception of Paul Williams, all the group members contribute writing, something that, later on during their time at Motown, Williams claims they were prevented from doing.

Eldridge ‘Al’ Bryant appears on all the tracks apart from ‘The Way You Do The Things You Do’. After the group’s initial lack of success, Bryant grew frustrated and restless, and after an altercation backstage following a performance when Bryant wanted to give the crowd another encore but the rest declined, he flipped and ended up glassing Paul Williams with a bottle of beer, requiring hospitalisation. The others, naturally, wanted Bryant fired immediately, but, trying to keep the peace, Paul stepped in for him and the inevitable was put off for a couple of months. During the Motown Christmas party, Bryant’s attitude so disturbed Otis Williams that when he suggested letting Bryant go, the others agreed. Bryant was out, and David Ruffin was in.

Ruffin’s timing was perfect, joining the group just weeks before Robinson presented them with ‘The Way You Do The Things You Do’, their first hit, which still endures today and remains part of the group’s core live repertoire. This, along with Ruffin’s arrival, marked a welcome change in fortunes for the group.

After nearly three years struggling at Motown while others like The Miracles and Mary Wells were having national success (they even backed Wells on tour, compounding the humiliation), The Temptations were simply thrilled, with Otis Williams recalling:

We’d prayed for that album for so long – we cherished it. Each one of us had his own copy, and when we were on the road and staying someplace, walking down the hall, we’d hear it playing.

Along with the recordings made as ‘The Pirates’, two earlier singles – ‘Oh Mother Of Mine’ and ‘Romance Without Finance’– were also not included, both produced by Stevenson and Andre Williams. They were later included on the 1999 CD reissue.

Meet The Temptations holds up well listening back today. It shows the faith that Gordy, Robinson, Stevenson and others at Motown had in the group’s abilities, even as their initial run of singles flopped. Looking back six decades later, it’s clear the album is a pivotal moment in the group’s history, where both Motown and The Temptations hadn’t quite found their signature sound, although there’s plenty to suggest the greatness to come. It also allowed Motown to market The Temptations as the hottest new act from Hitsville USA, even if the group had been signed three years earlier.

‘The Way You Do The Things You Do’ (Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rodgers)

A week after David Ruffin joined the group, Smokey Robinson let the group know he’d booked the studio to record a new song he’d written, a song that would transform the group’s fortune and become their first major hit. Robinson had co-written the song while driving back from a performance with The Miracles, along with his bandmate Bobby Rodgers. The song had a jaunty feel, with some typically sweet Robinson lyrics bordering on the corny. For example:

You got a smile so bright

You know you could’ve been a candle

I’m holding you so tight

You know you could’ve been a handle

The way you swept me off my feet

You know you could’ve been a broom

And baby you smell so sweet

You know you could’ve been some perfume

Yet, somehow, Robinson made the song work. He gave the lead to Kendricks, who sings in his exceptionally clear falsetto throughout, the sweetness of his voice mirroring that of Robinson’s lyrics. The backing harmonies are equally sweet, especially as the song comes to a close, repeating the song’s title as Kendricks sings to the woman in the song about all the things she does to him. The group are backed by The Funk Brothers, Motown’s in-house backing band that performed on the majority of the label’s recordings from 1959 until 1972 when the company relocated to California. One of the guitarists, Eddie Willis, plays the riff at the centre of the track and James Jamerson’s light, bouncy bass, along with a funky horn arrangement. There’s a bonus saxophone solo from Henry Cosby, which, on stage, gave the chance for the group to show off their trademark choreography.

Otis Williams recalled in his autobiography:

The first time we heard the song, we loved it. The melody swung, and the lyrics had lots of charm. They were silly in a way, talking about a girl you loved as a candle, a handle, a schoolbook, a cool crook, a broom, a perfume, but, typical of Smokey, he made it work.

In time, Williams would come to understand the lyrics as a parody of what guys tell girls as they’re trying to seduce, and after the group’s initial reservations over the words, they began to love the song. The record-buying public, too, valued the song, buying enough copies of the single to give The Temptations their first national hit, reaching an impressive number 11 on the US pop charts. The group only found out about its success when they returned to Detroit after another gruelling ‘Motortown Revue’ tour. Ruffin was so overwhelmed by the news that he broke down in tears. As Williams would write, ‘there would be bigger hits, but nothing ever beat that first time’.

With the success of Kendricks fronting the group here, the next two Temptations singles would also feature him on lead vocals,...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.11.2025
• Reihe/Serie: On Track
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Musik ► Jazz / Blues
• Themenwelt: Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Musik ► Musikgeschichte
• Schlagworte: Ball Of Confusion • Papa was a rolling stone
• ISBN-13: 9781789524789 / 9781789524789