Oddly enough, my main recollection of this week's tune isn't the first time I heard it or a TV show or a movie where it suddenly struck me how great it was. Rather, it's that after my first marriage ended the gentleman who lived above me in the apartment I rented after moving out used to crank the volume to ten on his stereo and blare the song at 5:00 AM every single morning. Fortunately for me, I wasn't sleeping much during that time in my life, and he moved out within a few months...lest there might have been a good chance the tune didn't make it to a blog post (other than most hated songs).
The Temptations started in the mid-fifties with various line-ups in various local bands before settling in my current home, Detroit, Michigan. In 1961 they had a successful audition with one Berry Gordy and joined his Motown label. They actually had some trouble in their early years having hit songs, and were jokingly called "The Hitless Temptations" by their label mates. Eventually their silky smooth vocals and harmonies, as well as their finely choreographed movements kick started their hit making abilities and they went on to become one of Motown's most successful groups and earned a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. They are often credited with being the progenitor of psychedelic soul (their song "Cloud Nine" is considered the first), which near as I can tell was a very short-lived, if incredibly successful, movement. The Temptations were the first Motown act to win a Grammy, and totaled three for their career. In all, the Temptations released 43 studio albums (four top tens on the Billboard 200, and a stunning 14 #1's on the R & B chart), and 109 singles, enjoying four number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The Temptations continue to perform sixty years after their start--twenty-five different men have been members of the Temptations at one time or another. Sadly, twelve of those men have gone to the great Motown Revue in the sky, a number of them at far too young of an age.
"Papa Was a Rolling Stone" was released in 1972 on their album All Directions. The album version runs almost twelve minutes, and was listed at #169 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time. The single version was just shy of seven minutes, and became the last #1 hit and top 40 hit the Temptations would have on the pop charts.
Fun Fact: The Temptations did not want to record or release "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" fearing it would be a flop. Funny how sometimes things work out....
The surprising thing about my choice this week is that a guy who adores a good pop song...didn't choose "My Girl" or "Just My Imagination" from the pantheon of Temptations' songs. But there's a maturity to this one, a band being pushed (successfully) past its comfort zone and creating an incredible piece of music. Some of the credit goes to producer Norman Whitfield for the incredible instrumentation and using four different singers (each representing a different child of the father noted in the title), but the Temptations had to execute those vocals to capture the song's nuances, and execute they did. It's a poignant and deft portrait of a man who didn't live up to his fatherly responsibilities, and of the heartbreak of the children he left behind. A masterwork from a band at the height of its powers.
Lyric Sheet: "Folks say Papa was never much on thinking/Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking/Mama I'm depending on you/To tell me the truth..."
Enjoy:
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Peace,
emaycee
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