The Temptin' Temptations

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The Temptin' Temptations
The Temptin' Temptations cover
Studio album by The Temptations
Released November 1, 1965
Recorded 1964 - 1965
Genre Soul/doo wop
Length 31:33
Label Gordy
GS 914
Producer Smokey Robinson, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter, and Norman Whitfield
Professional reviews
The Temptations chronology
The Temptations Sing Smokey
(1965)		 The Temptin' Temptations
(1965)		 Gettin' Ready
(1966)

The Temptin' Temptations is a 1965 album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. The album includes several of the group's hits from 1965, and also includes a handful of singles that were not included on the Temptations' first 1965 album, The Temptations Sing Smokey. Among these are the 1964 singles "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)", "I'll Be in Trouble", and "The Girl's Alright With Me"; and 1965 singles "Since I Lost My Baby", "My Baby", and "Don't Look Back".

Contents

[edit] Overview

The three pre-"My Girl" singles all feature Eddie Kendricks on lead vocals. "I'll Be in Trouble" was written and produced by Smokey Robinson, while "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" was a Norman Whitfield production. Both songs were Top 40 hits for the group immediately following the success of their first hit, "The Way You Do the Things You Do". "The Girl's All Right With Me", "I'll Be in Trouble's" b-side, charted on its own at number 102, and was written by Kendricks, Whitfield, and Eddie Holland, but produced by Smokey Robinson and Whitfield.

"Since I Lost My Baby", a heartbroken ballad exemplary of Smokey Robinson's work, features David Ruffin on lead vocals, pining away for a lost lover even though the world around him is a relative nirvana. Longing and melancholy, "Since I Lost My Baby" (written by Robinson & fellow Miracle Pete Moore ) tells a story about the pain of losing a lover. Temptations lead singer David Ruffin paints a picture as the song's narrator of an idyllic world where he has everything anyone could ask for, except for love. Contemporary R&B singer Luther Vandross would later cover the song on his 1982 album Forever, For Always, For Love.

"My Baby", an extension of the theme from "My Girl", features Ruffin and the Temptations bragging about the qualities of a special lady. Unusually for Temptations singles, "My Baby's" b-side, the Paul Williams-led "Don’t Look Back", was a minor hit in its own right, becoming a top 20 R&B hit and serving for several years as the Temptations' live-show closing number. It was also the original "A" side of this recording, and as such, was performed by the group on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was later relegated to "B" side status in the wake of "My Baby's" bigger pop success at the time. However, today, "Don't Look Back" is the better-remembered tune. Although the Temptations retired "Don't Look Back" from their reperoire following Williams' 1971 departure from the group, several cover versions have been recorded. These include versions by Al Green, Bobby Womack, The Persuasions, and Teena Marie, as well as a collaboration between Peter Tosh, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards for Tosh's 1978 album Bush Doctor.

[edit] Track listing

Superscripts denote lead singers for each track: (a) David Ruffin, (b) Eddie Kendricks, (c) Paul Williams, (d) Melvin Franklin.

[edit] Side one

  1. "Since I Lost My Baby" (Smokey Robinson, Warren Moore) a
  2. "The Girl's Alright with Me" (Norman Whitfield, Edward Holland, Jr., Eddie Kendricks)b
  3. "Just Another Lonely Night" (Ivy Jo Hunter, William "Mickey" Stevenson) c
  4. "My Baby" (Robinson, Moore, Robert Rogers) a
  5. "You've Got to Earn It" (Robinson, Cornelius Grant)b
  6. "Everybody Needs Love" (Whitfield, Holland) b, d

[edit] Side two

  1. "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" (Whitfield, Holland) b
  2. "Don't Look Back" (Robinson, Ronald White) c
  3. "I Gotta Know Now" (Whitfield, Holland) b
  4. "Born to Love You" (Ivy Jo Hunter, William "Mickey" Stevenson) b, a
  5. "I'll Be in Trouble" (Robinson) b, d
  6. "You're the One I Need" (Robinson) b (bridge: a,c)

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Producers

  • Smokey Robinson: "Since I Lost My Baby", "The Girl's Alright with Me", "My Baby", "You've Got to Earn It", "Don't Look Back", "I'll Be in Trouble", "You're the One I Need", Executive Producer (Album)
  • Norman Whitfield: "The Girl's Alright with Me", "Everybody Needs Love", "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)", "I Gotta Know Now"
  • William "Mickey" Stevenson & Ivy Jo Hunter: "Just Another Lonely Night", "Born to Love You"

[edit] Chart and singles history

Title Information
"I'll Be in Trouble"
"Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)"
  • Gordy single 7035, August 20, 1964
  • B-side: "Baby, Baby I Need You"
"Since I Lost My Baby"
  • Gordy single 7063, June 1, 1965
  • B-side: "You've Got to Earn It"
"My Baby"
  • Gordy single 7047, September 30, 1965
  • B-side: "Don't Look Back"
Name Chart (1964-1965) Peak
position
The Temptin' Temptations U.S. Billboard Pop Albums 11
The Temptin' Temptations U.S. Top R&B Albums 1
"I'll Be in Trouble" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 33
"The Girl's Alright With Me" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 102
"Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 26
"Since I Lost My Baby" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 17
"Since I Lost My Baby" U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 4
"You've Got to Earn It" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 123
"You've Got to Earn It" U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 22
"My Baby" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 13
"My Baby" U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 4
"Don't Look Back" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 83
"Don't Look Back" U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 15

[edit] References

  • Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. ISBN 0-8154-1218-5.
  • Williams, Otis and Weigner, Harry (2002). My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations (Compact disc liner notes). New York: Motown/Universal Records.