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"Get Ready" | ||||
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Single by the Temptations | ||||
from the album Gettin' Ready | ||||
B-side | "Fading Away" | |||
Released | February 7, 1966 | |||
Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); December 5, December 9, and December 29, 1965 | |||
Genre | Soul | |||
Length | 2:39 | |||
Label | Gordy G 7049 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Smokey Robinson | |||
Producer(s) | Smokey Robinson | |||
The Temptations singles chronology | ||||
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"Get Ready" is a Motown song written by Smokey Robinson, which resulted in two hit records for the label: a U.S. No. 29 version by the Temptations in 1966, and a U.S. No. 4 version by Rare Earth in 1970. It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer.
The original Temptations version of "Get Ready", produced by Smokey Robinson, was designed as an answer to the latest dance craze, "The Duck". The Temptations' falsetto Eddie Kendricks sings lead on the song, which Robinson produced as an up-tempo dance number with a prominent rhythm provided by Motown drummer Benny Benjamin. The song made it to No. 1 on the U.S. R&B singles chart, while peaking at No. 29 on the pop charts. [1]
The B-side to "Get Ready" was the ballad "Fading Away", which was also led by Kendricks. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Bobby Rogers, and produced by Robinson, "Fading Away" was later included on the Temptations 1966 album Gettin' Ready along with the hit side.
The group's previous singles since "My Girl" had all landed in the U.S. Pop charts (and R&B charts) Top 20. However, although it hit No. 1 on the R&B charts (their first since "My Girl"), "Get Ready" was only a Top 30 hit (missing the Top 20 by nine positions), while "Fading Away" missed all U.S. national charts. As was promised, the next single released would have Norman Whitfield's song on it. When Whitfield's "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (also a No. 1 R&B hit) made it to thirteen on the pop charts, Motown chief Berry Gordy assigned him to be the Temptations' new main producer. Ironically, the song did eventually become a Top 10 pop hit, but not by the Temptations, but by the Motown rock band Rare Earth. (The Temptations' version eventually reached No. 10 in the UK in 1969).
Until the group recorded "Please Return Your Love to Me" in 1968, this was their last song to feature lead vocals solely by Kendricks, as David Ruffin (who was with the group at the time), and later, Dennis Edwards, would be placed in that role in later songs.
The Temptations re-recorded the song as part of a series of promos for American television network CBS during the 1990-91 TV season. At the time, the network had been using the "Get Ready for CBS" tagline since 1988, and the song's lyrics were modified to incorporate the tagline.
Chart (1966-1967) | Peak position |
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Canada RPM Top Singles [2] | 32 |
UK Singles Chart | 10 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [3] | 29 |
US Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles | 1 |
US Cash Box Top 100 | 29 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI) [4] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Get Ready" | ||||
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Single by Rare Earth | ||||
from the album Get Ready | ||||
B-side | "Magic Key" | |||
Released | February 18, 1970 | |||
Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1969 | |||
Length | 21:32 (album version) 2:46 (single version) | |||
Label | Rare Earth R 5012 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Smokey Robinson | |||
Producer(s) | Rare Earth | |||
Rare Earth singles chronology | ||||
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The rock band Rare Earth regularly played "Get Ready" in concert, where it was a popular staple of their live performances, and recorded a version for their 1968 Verve release, Dreams/Answers. [5] After signing with Motown, executive Barney Ales asked the band to re-record the song for their first release on Motown's then-unnamed rock subsidiary, due to the audience response to the band's cover. [5] After recording a version which was scrapped, the band themselves set up their own recording equipment and recorded a 21-minute version, which later had audience applause dubbed in. [5] The new recording of "Get Ready" was edited down to 2:46 for a single, which was given a Tamla Motown release in the UK, the only release by the band to appear on Motown itself, and unlike the Temptations' version, Rare Earth's recording was a success on the pop chart. [5] The single peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970. [6] The Rare Earth version of the song also peaked at number twenty on the R&B chart. [7]
Rare Earth's version of "Get Ready" was routinely used by hip hop artist DJ Kool Herc in turntablism performances. [8] Pioneering hip hop journalist Steven Hager wrote that Rare Earth's recording "was a favorite in the Bronx because it lasted over twenty-one minutes, which was long enough for the serious dancers to get into the beat. They loved to wait for the song's two-minute drum solo to show their most spectacular moves." [9]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [23] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"My Girl" is a song recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) record label. Written and produced by the Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, it became the Temptations' first U.S. number 1 single, and is considered their signature song. Robinson's inspiration for writing "My Girl" was his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. The song was included on the Temptations 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey. In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" is a 1966 song and hit single by the Temptations for Motown Records' Gordy label, produced by Norman Whitfield and written by Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Chart, and was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B charts for eight non-consecutive weeks. The song's success, in the wake of the relative underperformance of the previous Temptations' single, "Get Ready", resulted in Norman Whitfield replacing Smokey Robinson, producer of "Get Ready", as the Temptations' main producer. In 2004 it finished number 94 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs poll thanks to its inclusion in The Big Chill soundtrack.
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"Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" is a Motown song written by Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, and Janie Bradford. The song was first recorded by The Temptations as a track on their 1966 album Gettin' Ready. Eddie Kendricks sings lead on the recording, which was produced by Whitfield. Jimmy Ruffin also recorded a version with The Temptations providing background vocals in 1966. It remained unreleased until 1997.
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