(I Know) I'm Losing You

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"(I Know) I'm Losing You"

Single by The Temptations
from the album The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul
Released	November 2, 1966
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville USA (Studio A); September 12 & September 16, 1966
Genre	Soul
Length	2:30
Label	Gordy G 7057
Writer(s)	Norman Whitfield Edward Holland, Jr.
Producer(s)	Norman Whitfield
Chart positions
#8 (US Pop Singles) #1 (US R&B Singles)
The Temptations singles chronology
"Beauty is Only Skin Deep" (1966)	"(I Know) I'm Losing You" (1966)	"All I Need" (1967)

"(I Know) I'm Losing You"

Single by Rare Earth
from the album Get Ready
Released	July 1970
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1970
Genre	Rock
Length	3:36 (single edit) 10:56 (album version)
Label	Rare Earth R 5021
Producer(s)	Rare Earth
Chart positions
#7 (US Pop Singles) #20 (US R&B Singles)
Rare Earth singles chronology
"Get Ready" (1970)	"(I Know) I'm Losing You" (1970)	"Born to Wander" (1970)

"(I Know) I'm Losing You" is a 1966 hit single recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label and produced by Norman Whitfield.

1 History
2 Credits
- 2.1 Temptations version
- 2.2 Rare Earth version
3 Sample

[edit] History

This song was another step away from the group's softer records recorded with Smokey Robinson as producer, a change that Whitfield had begun with "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" earlier in the year. "I'm Losing You" features a much more dramatic arrangement than most contemporary Motown songs: a rock-styled guitar riff (devised by Temptations road manager/band director Cornelius Grant), sharp horn blasts, and the Temptations' doo-wop vocals paint the backdrop for one of David Ruffin's trademark raspy lead vocals.

As The Funk Brothers keep time with the song's James Brown-inspired beat, Ruffin pointedly accuses his lover of gradually slipping away from him. The closing vocal riff to the song's chorus had the other four Temptations call out an extended "losing you...!" shout in falsetto. The choreography for the line, with each member cupping their hands around their mouths as they shout the line out, became a Temptations standard.

"I'm Losing You" was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart, and reached number eight on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. The single was included as the anchoring track for the summer 1967 album The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul.

Among the most notable covers of "I'm Losing You" was a 1970 version by Motown rock band Rare Earth for their Get Ready album. Rare Earth's ten-minute cover was edited for single release, and peaked one position higher than the Temptations' original on the U.S. pop charts. The song was later covered by Rod Stewart on his 1971 album Every Picture Tells A Story. Again in the 1980s, On the Dallas, Texas based Oak Lawn Records label, this song was covered by a girl group called "Uptown" and was transformed into an upbeat dance tune. The duo, Jan and Michelle of Dallas Texas, became known as "The Uptown Girls." Their version was a smash initially at Dallas' popular Starck nightclub due to early play by DJ Rick Squillante. Eventually the Uptown Girls version became a standard in most US nightclubs and went on to hover around the #85 spot for several weeks on Billboard's Hot 100.

[edit] Credits

[edit] Temptations version

Lead vocals by David Ruffin
Background vocals by Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams
Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers.

[edit] Rare Earth version

Lead vocals by Pete Rivera
Background vocals by Gil Bridges and Rod Richards
Instrumentation by Gil Bridges (saxophone), Pete Rivera (drums), John Parrish (bass guitar), Rod Richards (guitar), and Kenny James (keyboards)