| "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Temptations | ||||
| from the album The Temptin' Temptations | ||||
| B-side | "Baby, Baby I Need You" | |||
| Released | August 20, 1964 | |||
| Recorded | Hitsville USA; July 6, 1964 | |||
| Genre | Soul, R&B, Pop | |||
| Length | 2:16 | |||
| Label | Gordy G 7035 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Norman Whitfield Edward Holland, Jr. | |||
| Producer(s) | Norman Whitfield | |||
| The Temptations singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" is a 1964 hit single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. It was the group's first A-side release to be produced by Norman Whitfield, who co-wrote the song with Edward Holland, Jr. of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. With Eddie Kendricks singing lead for the third single in a row, it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts in the top 30 at number 26. [1]
As the narrator of the up-tempo song, Kendricks tells his girl "I love you, girl, with all my heart and soul/ I can't understand why you treat me cold", and now his "heart feels the pain" cause by her mistreatment of him. This single would be Kendricks' last as lead on an A-side until "Get Ready" in 1966, and the last for Whitfield as producer until "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"; this would be due to the fact that "Get Ready", composed and produced by Smokey Robinson, had missed the Pop Top 20 just like this single did.
Cash Box described the single as "a bright, shuffle-rock handclapping thumper" with a "very commercial 'Detroit' sound." [2]
The next Temptations single, "My Girl", would be the first to feature David Ruffin as lead and would be produced by Robinson. Ruffin, up to this point, had only sung lead on stage and on a few unreleased tracks, otherwise singing backgrounds behind Kendricks and then main lead singer Paul Williams. When "My Girl" hit number 1 on the R&B and Pop Charts in 1965, it signaled the continuing of Robinson as the group's main producer, and the start of Ruffin's run as The Temptations' main lead singer.
| Chart (1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart | 26 |
| U.S. Cash Box R&B Singles Chart | 11 |
Phil Collins recorded a version of the song for his album of soul covers, Going Back . In the 1990s, Italian-Brazilian songstress Deborah Blando recorded a version of the song as the first cut out of her debut album, A Different Story . She retitled the song to "Boy (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)". The song and video were a theme for Pepsi advertisements in the summer of 1991.
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The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.
Eddie James Kendrick, best known by the stage name Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination ". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the number-one single "Keep On Truckin'".
"My Girl" is a soul music 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 today 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 artistically 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 #94 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs poll thanks to its inclusion in The Big Chill soundtrack.
"Just My Imagination " is a song by American soul group The Temptations, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and produced by Norman Whitfield, it features on the group's 1971 album, Sky's the Limit. When released as a single, "Just My Imagination" became the third Temptations song to reach number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single held the number 1 position on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart for two weeks in 1971, from March 27 to April 10. "Just My Imagination" also held the number one spot on the Billboard R&B Singles chart for three weeks, from February 27 to March 20 of that year.
Meet the Temptations is the debut studio album by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1964. It includes most of the group's early singles, excluding only the first, "Oh Mother of Mine", and its b-side, "Romance Without Finance" ; as well as the single "Mind Over Matter", in which the group is credited as The Pirates. The album consists entirely of previously released singles, including the group's first hit single, "The Way You Do the Things You Do".
Greatest Hits II is a 1970 greatest hits album for The Temptations, released by the Gordy (Motown) label. The sequel to the first Temptations greatest hits LP from 1966, Greatest Hits II collects several of the late-1960s hits that followed the release of the first compilation. Included here are the final collection of David Ruffin-led singles, including "(I Know) I'm Losing You", "I Wish It Would Rain" and "I Could Never Love Another ", and the first of the Dennis Edwards-led psychedelic soul records, including "Cloud Nine" and "Psychedelic Shack". A new non-album single, the #3 hit "Ball of Confusion ", is also included.
Cloud Nine is the ninth studio album by American musical group The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1969.
The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul is the fifth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1967. Featuring four hit singles, With a Lot o' Soul is the most successful Temptations album from their "classic 5" era, during which David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams constituted the Temptations' lineup.
Temptations Live! is the first live album to be released by The Temptations. The album was recorded on October 3, 1966 at the Roostertail in Detroit, Michigan. The album cover photograph was taken on March 1966 at The 20 Grand, 14th and Warren in Detroit, Michigan, and the album was released on Gordy (Motown) Records in 1967. The album features David Ruffin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams performing their regular live repertoire for a highly receptive crowd mostly consisting of young women. Included in the set are Temptations hits such as "My Girl", "My Baby", "Get Ready", "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", "Don't Look Back", and the group's then-current single, "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep". Out of the several live albums the group recorded during their career, this is the only one to feature David Ruffin. The album remained on the Billboard 200 album chart for 51 weeks peaking at number 10.
The Temptin' Temptations is the third studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1965. 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 " and "I'll Be in Trouble"; and the 1965 singles "Since I Lost My Baby", and "My Baby". Seven of the album's 12 tracks had previously been released as singles and their B-sides, though "My Baby" preceded the album only by a month.
The Temptations Sing Smokey is the second studio album by The Temptations for the Motown label, released on the Gordy Records subsidiary in 1965. As its name implies, it is composed entirely of songs written and produced by Smokey Robinson, and several other members of the Miracles as well.
Live at London's Talk of The Town is a 1970 live album recorded by The Temptations at the Talk of the Town nightclub in London, England. It was the final live album released by the group for over thirty years, until The Temptations in Japan, recorded in 1973, was released in 2004. The album reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200 Pop Album Chart, and No. 5 on its R&B album chart.
Emperors of Soul is a 1994 box set compilation for The Temptations, released by Motown Records. The five-disc collection covers the Temptations' entire four-decade history, from the first recording of The Distants in 1959 to four new recordings by the then-current Temptations lineup of Ali-Ollie Woodson, Theo Peoples, Ron Tyson, and stalwart members Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin.
"I Could Never Love Another " is a single recorded by the Temptations and released on Motown Records' Gordy label during the spring of 1968. The song is the last with lyrics by Rodger Penzabene, and as the final Temptations single to feature David Ruffin as lead singer.
"I'll Be in Trouble" is a 1964 hit single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label and written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson.
"Please Return Your Love to Me" is a 1968 hit single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Produced by Norman Whitfield, who co-wrote the song with Barrett Strong and Barbara Neely, it is the last single to feature David Ruffin in the lineup. With Eddie Kendricks singing lead, it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts in the Top 30 at number 26, and number 4 on the Billboard R&B Singles charts. Billboard described the single as a "strong easy beat ballad loaded with sales appeal." Cash Box said that it is "in a slow vein that carries new shades of power in the group’s familiar style" and is "backed by the solid Motown rhythm section."
"Baby, Baby I Need You" is a 1963 song recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. It was written by Smokey Robinson, and was later used as the B-side to their Top 40 1964 hit "Girl ".
"Farewell My Love" is a 1963 single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. It was the last single that was written and produced by Motown president Berry Gordy for well over a decade, and the last released during the period of the "Original 5" lineup. It is also noted as the group's last single to miss the Billboard pop chart's Top 40 until 1971's "It's Summer". Up until now the group was jokingly referred to at this time as the "Hitless Temptations" by the Motown staff, much like their "sister" group, The Supremes, were called the "no-hit Supremes". However, their next single, the Smokey Robinson-produced "The Way You Do the Things You Do", would reach the Top 20 of the U.S. pop chart, breaking the group's streak of being "hitless".
"A Tear from a Woman’s Eye" is a 1964 song written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, and recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. It competed with several songs, including "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "Just Let Me Know" in an effort to become the A-side to the group's seventh single. It was recorded just three days before the hit song that it lost the nomination to, which was "The Way You Do the Things You Do". The group's falsetto Eddie Kendricks as the song's narrator, compares several sad situations to a woman crying, which he says is "the saddest thing I've ever seen." This would be the first of only two times in which H-D-H would produce any material for the group, who would be one of the few major Motown acts never to release a single produced by the trio, due to Berry Gordy, Jr., Smokey Robinson, and (later) Norman Whitfield having a tight hold on the group's released material. This song would go unreleased until the 1994 box-set "Emperors of Soul", while "Just One Last Look" would be released as album filler on "The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul". The group would also later cover The Vandellas' "I'm Ready for Love", which would be released on "The Temptations in a Mellow Mood" but not produced by H-D-H.
