Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)

Last updated
"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) by the Temptations US single side-A variant A.png
One of label variants of the US single
Single by The Temptations
from the album Sky's the Limit
B-side "You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth"
ReleasedJanuary 14, 1971
RecordedNovember 24, 1970 and December 3, 1970
Studio Golden World (Studio B)
Genre
Length3:54
Label Gordy (G 7105)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Norman Whitfield
The Temptations singles chronology
"Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)"
(1970)		"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
(1971)		"It's Summer"
(1971)
Official audio"Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" (Lyric Video) on YouTube
Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
Album version of "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", performed by The Temptations.
Problems playing this file? See media help.
"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
Song by The Rolling Stones
from the album Some Girls
ReleasedJune 9, 1978
RecordedOctober –December 1977
Studio Pathé Marconi (Paris)
Genre Blues rock
Length4:38
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) The Glimmer Twins
Some Girls track listing
10 tracks
Side one
  1. "Miss You"
  2. "When the Whip Comes Down"
  3. "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
  4. "Some Girls"
  5. "Lies"
Side two
  1. "Far Away Eyes"
  2. "Respectable"
  3. "Before They Make Me Run"
  4. "Beast of Burden"
  5. "Shattered"
Official audio"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" (Remastered) on YouTube

"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" 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 one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single held the number one position on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart for two weeks in 1971, from March 28 [2] 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. [3]

Contents

Today, "Just My Imagination" is considered one of the Temptations' signature songs, and is notable for recalling the sound of the group's 1960s recordings. It is also the final Temptations single to feature founding members Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. During the process of recording and releasing the single, Kendricks left the group to begin a solo career, while the ailing Williams was forced to retire from the act for health reasons. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine listed "Just My Imagination" as number 399 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time but exited after the 2021 update. The song was covered by the Rolling Stones on their Some Girls album in 1978. [4]

Composition and lyrics

A full orchestral arrangement with strings and French horns adorning a bluesy rhythm track and bass line provides the instrumentals. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of allmusic notes that the song is narrated by a man who imagines a relationship with the woman he loves, is canny enough to realize that his daydreams are fiction, yet is overwhelmed by them. The lyrics capture his resignation to his fantasies. The song as a whole captures their full emotional effect on him. The first two verses establish the theme and explore the narrator's daydreams, in which he and the object of his affections are lovers preparing to be married, to "raise a family" and build "a cozy little home / out in the country / with two children, maybe three". In the bridge, the narrator prays that he will never lose her love to another, or he will "surely die". By introducing this doubt, the musical bridge simultaneously connects the movement from dream to reality, completed when the final lines shift from imagery to bald statement: "But in reality / she doesn't even know me". For Erlewine, "the Temptations' performance has a dream-like quality, quietly drifting through the singer's hopes and desires." [5]

Origins

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, producer/composer Norman Whitfield and lyricist Barrett Strong crafted a string of "psychedelic soul" tracks for the Temptations. [6] By 1970, the Temptations had released psychedelically influenced hits such as "Runaway Child, Running Wild", "Psychedelic Shack", "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", and the Grammy Award-winning "Cloud Nine". [7] In a 1991 interview, Eddie Kendricks recalled that many of the Temptations' fans were "screaming bloody murder" after the group delved into psychedelia, and demanded a return to their original soul sound. [8]

"Just My Imagination" was the result of one of the few times that Whitfield relented and produced a ballad as a single for the group. Whitfield and Strong wrote the song in 1969, but with the Temptations' psychedelic soul singles consistently keeping them in the US Top 20, Whitfield and Strong decided to shelve the composition and wait for the right time to record it. In late 1970, the Temptations' single "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)", a psychedelic soul song about world peace, failed to reach the Top 30, and Whitfield decided to record and release "Just My Imagination" as the next single. He approached Barrett Strong, and asked him to pull out "that song we were messing around with a year ago... because I'm going to record it today." [9] Except for their late 1960s duets with Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Temptations had not released a single that was not based in psychedelia since "Please Return Your Love to Me" from The Temptations Wish It Would Rain in 1968.

Recording

Norman Whitfield began the recording of "Just My Imagination" by preparing the song's instrumental track. Whitfield arranged and recorded the non-orchestral elements of the instrumental with Motown's studio band, The Funk Brothers, who for this recording included Eddie Willis and Dennis Coffey on guitar, Jack Ashford on marimba, Jack Brokensha on timpani, Andrew Smith on drums, and Bob Babbitt on bass. Jerry Long, an arranger who had previous experience with scoring films in Paris, worked on the orchestral arrangement and conducted several members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in performing the horns and strings for the recording. The Temptations had heard the Funk Brothers' tracks and loved them, but were "totally knocked out", according to Otis Williams, when they heard "the finished record with all the strings". [10]

The Temptations added their vocals at Motown's Hitsville USA headquarters. While all five Temptations usually sang lead on singles during the psychedelic soul era, "Just My Imagination" is primarily a showcase for Eddie Kendricks, who sang lead on such Temptations hits as "Get Ready," "The Way You Do the Things You Do," and "You're My Everything"; in fact, this is the only Temptations hit in which Dennis Edwards did not have a lead vocal during his entire tenure with the group.[ citation needed ] The Temptations remained at Hitsville overnight recording "Just My Imagination," and while the other four members went home at six o'clock in the morning, Kendricks remained in the studio, spending several additional hours recording takes for his lead vocal.

The song was recorded in the midst of a bitter feud between Kendricks and the Temptations' de facto leader, Otis Williams. Dissatisfied and frustrated with Williams' leadership, Kendricks began to withdraw from the group, and picked several fights with either Williams or his best friend, bass singer Melvin Franklin. When Kendricks told his friend ex-Temptation David Ruffin about his problems in the group, Ruffin convinced Kendricks that he should begin a solo career. After a final altercation during a November 1970 Copacabana engagement, both Kendricks and Williams agreed that it would be best for Kendricks to leave the group. By the time "Just My Imagination" was recorded, Williams and Kendricks were no longer on friendly speaking terms. Nevertheless, Williams was impressed by Kendricks' performance on the recording, and in his 1988 Temptations biography referred to "Just My Imagination" as "Eddie's finest moment". [11]

Paul Williams, the Temptations' original lead singer and Kendricks' lifelong best friend, who sings the first line in the bridge ("Every night, on my knees, I pray..."), had suffered for three years from health problems related to alcoholism and sickle-cell disease. By the time "Just My Imagination" was cut, Paul Williams' contributions to the Temptations' recordings had been reduced, and the group had Otis Williams' old associate Richard Street lined up as Paul Williams' replacement. As for Kendricks, he was eventually replaced by Damon Harris, who would be featured in the group's 1972 hit "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone".

Release and reception

Motown released "Just My Imagination" as a single on their Gordy label on January 14, 1971, with the up-tempo psychedelic soul song "You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth", from the 1970 Psychedelic Shack LP, as the B-side. The Temptations performed "Just My Imagination" and "Get Ready" for their final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show , broadcast live on January 31. On-screen, for "Get Ready" Kendricks stood several feet away from the other Temptations, and made little eye contact with them, and for ""Just My Imagination" sat on a separate piece of staging; Otis Williams later remarked that one could see the group was no longer a complete unit:

But there was such a bittersweet feeling. Eddie had really changed. Paul was on his last legs. Watch the clip of us doing the song on Ed Sullivan we're not together. Eddie is off by himself. There was no more group. Sure enough, when we played the Copa that week, Eddie left between shows. He didn't come back. [12]

Cash Box described the song as The Temptations' "softest single performance in recent time," stating that it is "exceptional material for markets that generally overlook the team's material." [13]

On February 7, 1971, "Just My Imagination" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 71 and later number one on both the Hot 100 and the U.S. Billboard R&B Singles charts. [9] It also became the group's first entry on the Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number 33; the group would not return to that chart until 1984. [14]

The single was included along with "Unite the World" on the Temptations' ninth regular studio album, Sky's the Limit , which included the final Temptations recordings to feature Eddie Kendricks. He began working on his solo album All By Myself shortly before officially leaving the group. [7]

The intended follow-up to "Just My Imagination" was "Smiling Faces Sometimes", on which Kendricks sang lead. When Kendricks left, they released, instead, "I'm the Exception to the Rule", a song in the same vein (featuring Kendricks, Otis Williams and Edwards on lead) which follows "Just My Imagination" on the album. Unable to promote the song because they did not have anyone to do his parts in concert, the song failed miserably so the company pushed the "B-side" – the group's re-recording of "It's Summer", initially the B-side of "Ball of Confusion", at the last-minute, and Norman Whitfield had The Undisputed Truth record "Smiling Faces Sometimes", for whom it was a major hit. The Temptations and Norman Whitfield returned to psychedelic soul for their next album, Solid Rock , whose second single, "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)", was written by Whitfield and Barrett Strong as an alleged criticism of both Kendricks and David Ruffin.

Personnel

The Temptations

Chart performance

Notes

  1. ↑ Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard . Retrieved February 15, 2024. One of the most beautiful, bittersweet R&B ballads of all time, thanks to Eddie Kendricks' yearning lead vocals...
  2. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard . 1971-04-03.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 572.
  4. ↑ "The Rolling Stones - Some Girls Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 2021-03-09.
  5. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)". allmusic. Retrieved 2008-11-07..
  6. ↑ Eder, Bruce. "Norman Whitfield > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  7. 1 2 Ankeny, Jason. "The Temptations > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  8. ↑ Audio interview with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin Archived 2010-02-12 at the Wayback Machine , recorded in 1991 in the United Kingdom. Retrieved on September 28, 2005. When asked several times about the Temptations' psychedelic records, Kendricks asserts that having the group record psychedelic soul was wholly "the producer's [Norman Whitfield's] idea", and that by 1970, "the fans were screaming bloody murder", and demanding a return "to what we do best".
  9. 1 2 Bronson 2003
  10. ↑ Williams & Romanowski 2002 , p. 151
  11. ↑ Williams & Romanowski 2002 , p. 150
  12. ↑ Williams, Otis and Weinger, Harry (2002). My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations [CD liner notes]. New York: Motown/Universal Records.
  13. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. January 30, 1971. p. 26. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  14. ↑ Bronson, Fred (October 9, 2008). "Chart Beat". Billboard . Retrieved 2008-11-07..
  15. ↑ Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "Just My Imagination – Temptations". Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  17. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN   0-89820-089-X
  18. ↑ "The Temptations Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard . Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  19. ↑ "The Temptations Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard . Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1971/Top 100 Songs of 1971". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  21. ↑ Billboard. 1971-12-25. p. 15. Retrieved 2016-10-03.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Temptations</span> American rhythm and blues group

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 to mid 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Kendricks</span> American singer (1939–1992)

Edward James Kendrick, better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor 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 singles "Keep On Truckin'" and "Boogie Down."

<i>Psychedelic Shack</i> 1970 studio album by The Temptations

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Too Busy Thinking About My Baby</span> 1969 single by Marvin Gaye

"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.

<i>Skys the Limit</i> (The Temptations album) 1971 studio album by the Temptations

Sky's the Limit is the fourteenth studio album by the Temptations, released in 1971 through Gordy Records. 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.

<i>Solid Rock</i> (The Temptations album) 1972 studio album by The Temptations

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)</span> 1971 single by The Temptations

"Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)" is a 1971 hit single for the Gordy (Motown) label, recorded by The Temptations and produced by Norman Whitfield. Something of an early ancestor to the "diss songs" prevalent in hip hop music towards the end of the 20th century, "Superstar" is an attack at two former Temptations members, David Ruffin (who had been fired back in 1968) and Eddie Kendricks (who quit the act in early 1971 and negotiated a Motown solo deal). The song appears on the 1972 album Solid Rock.

<i>Meet the Temptations</i> 1964 studio album by The Temptations

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".

<i>Greatest Hits II</i> (The Temptations album) 1970 greatest hits album by The Temptations

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.

<i>Cloud Nine</i> (The Temptations album) 1969 studio album by The Temptations

Cloud Nine is the ninth studio album by American musical group The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1969.

<i>The Temptations with a Lot o Soul</i> 1967 studio album by The Temptations

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.

<i>The Temptin Temptations</i> 1965 studio album by The Temptations

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.

<i>Emperors of Soul</i> 1994 box set compilation by The Temptations

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 (After Loving You)" 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloud Nine (The Temptations song)</span> 1968 single by The Temptations

"Cloud Nine" is a 1968 hit single recorded by The Temptations for the Motown label. It was the first of their singles to feature Dennis Edwards instead of David Ruffin in the lineup, was the first of producer Norman Whitfield's psychedelic soul tracks, and won Motown its first Grammy Award. The song was written by Whitfield and former Motown artist Barrett Strong.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All I Need (The Temptations song)</span> Song of The Temptations

"All I Need" is a 1967 hit single recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. It is the group's first single to be produced by Norman Whitfield's protégé Frank Wilson. Written by Wilson, Eddie Holland and R. Dean Taylor, the single was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 8; it was also a number-two hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

"(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need" is a 1963 song that became a 1967 hit single recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, produced and co-written by Norman Whitfield. Billboard described the single as a "groovy rocker" that "is loaded with excitement and another top vocal workout."

"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."

"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".

References

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.