| House Party | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 4, 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1974–1975 | |||
| Studio | Motown Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA) | |||
| Genre | Soul, funk, disco | |||
| Length | 34:38 | |||
| Label | Gordy GS 973 | |||
| Producer | Jeffrey Bowen | |||
| The Temptations chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
House Party is a 1975 album released by the American R&B vocal group, the Temptations, on Motown Records' Gordy label.
This album is made up of vaulted songs recorded both prior to and following the sessions for A Song for You . House Party contains the final sessions recorded by falsetto Damon Harris as a member of the group, as well as the first for his replacement, Glenn Leonard. The sessions featured a slew of producers and composers from both within and outside of the Motown stable. The completed project was overseen by Jeffrey Bowen, who produced A Song for You and the subsequent album, Wings of Love .
The Temptations were not given creative input on the final release, to which Otis Williams referred in his autobiography Temptations as a "mismatched collection of, pardon my French, shit." [2] Despite Williams' reservations regarding the circumstances surrounding the compilation and release of these tracks, as well as the album's perceived lack of commercial appeal, fans of the group have given House Party favorable reviews in the years since its release.
Brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, collectively two-thirds of the Holland–Dozier–Holland hit-making stable, worked on the first track and only single, "Keep Holdin' On", while Stax Records stalwart Steve Cropper contributed to three songs as producer and/or writer. Vocal highlights include a rare lead performance by Otis Williams on his own composition, "Darling, Stand by Me (Song for My Woman)", the Richard Street-led ballad, "If I Don't Love You This Way" (a cover of a song by the Jackson 5 originally featured on their Dancing Machine album and named by the family group's lead singer Michael Jackson as one of his favourite songs [3] ); Glenn Leonard's debut in the ensemble vocal of "What You Need Most (I Do Best of All)"; and fan-favorite bass singer Melvin Franklin's lead vocals on "Ways of a Grown-Up Man."
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocalist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Keep Holdin' On" | Brian Holland, Eddie Holland | Edwards | 3:55 |
| 2. | "It's Just a Matter of Time" | Frank Johnson | Edwards | 3:31 |
| 3. | "You Can't Stop a Man in Love" | George Soule, Terry Woodford | Edwards | 3:50 |
| 4. | "World of You, Love, and Music" | Steve Cropper, Artie Wayne | Edwards | 4:04 |
| 5. | "What You Need Most (I Do Best of All)" | Dennis Edwards, David English, Damon Harris, Richard Street, Otis Williams | Williams, Street, Franklin, Leonard | 3:19 |
| Total length: | 18:39 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocalist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Ways of a Grown-Up Man" | Cropper, Richard Cason, Billy Ray Charles | Franklin | 4:05 |
| 7. | "Johnny Porter" | Bobby Ray Appleberry, Bill Cuomo | Edwards | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Darling, Stand by Me (Song for My Woman)" | Edwards, English, Street, Williams | Williams | 3:44 |
| 9. | "If I Don't Love You This Way" | Leon Ware, Pam Sawyer | Street | 3:31 |
| Total length: | 15:59 | |||
| Year | Album | Chart positions [4] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | ||
| 1975 | House Party | 40 | 11 |
| Year | Single | Chart positions [4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US AC | UK | ||
| 1976 | "Keep Holdin' On" | 54 | 3 | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Psychedelic Shack is the twelfth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1970. Completely written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield, Psychedelic Shack almost completely abandoned the "Motown Sound" formula, instead delving fully into psychedelia. Along with the hit title track, the album also features the group's original version of "War", which became a major hit for Edwin Starr later in 1970.
Sky's the Limit is the fourteenth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1971. The album includes the #1 hit "Just My Imagination ", the Top 40 hit "Ungena Za Ulimwengu ", and the original version of "Smiling Faces Sometimes", later a Top 5 hit for The Undisputed Truth.
All Directions is a 1972 album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, produced by Norman Whitfield. It reached number two on the Billboard 200, making it the band's most successful non-collaborative album on the chart, and became their twelfth album to reach number one on the Top R&B Albums chart.
Solid Rock is a 1972 album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, produced by Norman Whitfield. The LP was the first made primarily without founding members and original lead singers Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. Frustrated by conflicts and fights with Temptations Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin, and producer Whitfield's steadfast insistence on producing psychedelic soul for the group when they really wanted to sing ballads, Kendricks had quit the act and negotiated a solo deal with Motown's Tamla label.
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".
The Temptations in a Mellow Mood is a studio album by the Temptations, released in 1967 by Gordy Records. Composed primarily of pop standards such as "Ol' Man River" and "For Once in My Life", and similar songs written by Holland-Dozier-Holland and other Motown staff songwriters, the Mellow Mood album was part of Motown chief Berry Gordy's crossover plans for the group. Gordy wanted the Temptations, already the most popular male group among black audiences, to attract a large white fanbase and be able to secure playdates at supper clubs like the Copacabana, where the group had first performed in the summer of 1967.
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.
The Temptations Wish It Would Rain is a studio album by the Temptations, released in 1968 via Gordy Records. It was the final release from the group's "Classic-5" era, during which David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams constituted the Temptations' lineup.
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.
Wings of Love is a 1976 album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label.
The Temptations Do the Temptations is an album by the Temptations, released in 1976 via Gordy Records. The Temptations' Motown contract was terminated after the release of the album.
The Temptations' Christmas Card is a 1970 Christmas album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. The album was released on October 30, 1970. It's also the group's first holiday release, it features each Temptation leading on various popular Christmas standards and original Christmas songs.
Reunion is a 1982 album by The Temptations for Gordy Records. The album was released during the 1982 Temptations Reunion tour, which reunited David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks with the Temptations after a decade-long absence. The album also features then-current Temptations Dennis Edwards, Glenn Leonard, Richard Street, and founding members Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. Reunion featured the single "Standing on the Top", produced by and featuring Motown funk star Rick James, who had previously used the Temptations as the background vocalists for his 1981 hit "Super Freak". It was their first album to reach the top 40 since Wings of Love (1976).
For Lovers Only is a 1995 covers/pop standards album by The Temptations for the Motown label, something of a sequel to their 1967 album The Temptations in a Mellow Mood. The album features the final recordings of Melvin Franklin, who fell ill during recording and died before the album's release. Franklin was replaced on the tracks he does not sing on by Parliament-Funkadelic's Ray Davis in his only album appearance with the group. The first single, "Some Enchanted Evening", reached #40 on the Urban Adult Contemporary charts.
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.
Lost and Found: You've Got To Earn It (1962–1968) is a compilation album by The Temptations. Released by Motown Records in 1999, it includes twenty previously unreleased Temptations records alongside previously unreleased mixes of "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "You've Got to Earn It". Most of the songs were recorded during the group's "Classic 5" era with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks as lead singers, although there are some tracks present which were recorded with Ruffin's predecessor, Elbridge Bryant, in the lineup. There's also one track that was recorded with Ruffin's successor, Dennis Edwards.
Surface Thrills is the first of two 1983 albums released by the American R&B vocal group, the Temptations, on Motown Records' Gordy label.
"Check Yourself" is a 1961 song that was released as a Miracle label single by Motown singing group The Temptations; and written by Motown president Berry Gordy, and group members Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin and Elbridge Bryant, and produced by Gordy. It was the group's second single, as well as their second and last single for the Miracle label, which was deactivated immediately after this release. Starting with the next single release, the group's future recordings for Motown would be issued under the Gordy label until it was deactivated in 1988.
"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".
Hear to Tempt You is a 1977 studio album from American soul group the Temptations.
