My Girl (The Temptations song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "My Girl" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by The Temptations | ||
| from the album The Temptations Sing Smokey | ||
| Released | December 21, 1964 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); September 25, November 10, and November 17, 1964 | |
| Genre | Soul | |
| Length | 2:59 | |
| Label | Gordy G 7038 |
|
| Writer(s) | Smokey Robinson Ronald White |
|
| Producer(s) | Smokey Robinson Ronald White |
|
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| The Temptations singles chronology | ||
| "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" 1964 |
"My Girl" 1964 |
"It's Growing" 1965 |
| Music sample | ||
|
"My Girl" (file info) |
||
"My Girl", released December 21, 1964, is a 1965 number-one single recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Written and produced by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, the song became the Temptations' first U.S. number-one single, and is today their signature song. Robinson's inspiration for writing this song was his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson, and he originally intended to have his group record the song.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Recording and success
The recorded version of "My Girl" was the first Temptations single to feature David Ruffin on lead vocals. Previously, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams had performed most of the group's lead vocals, and Ruffin had joined the group as a replacement for former Temptation Elbridge "Al" Bryant. While on tour as part of the Motortown Revue, a collective tour for most of the Motown roster, Smokey Robinson caught the Temptations' part of the show. The group had included a medley of soul standards in the show, one of which, The Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk", was a solo spot for Ruffin. Impressed, Robinson decided to produce a single with Ruffin singing lead. After some persuasion from Ruffin's bandmates, Robinson had the Temptations record "My Girl" instead of The Miracles, and recruited Ruffin to sing the lead vocals.
"My Girl" climbed to the top of the U.S. pop charts after its Christmastime 1964 release, making it the Temptations' first number-one hit. The single was also the first number-one hit on the reinstated Billboard R&B Singles chart, which had gone on an eighteen-month hiatus from 1963 to 1965. The success of this single launched a series of Ruffin-led hits, including "Since I Lost My Baby" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg". The former background figure quickly became the group's main (and, excepting irregular leads by Kendricks and Williams, only) lead singer by the end of the year.
In 2004, "My Girl" was ranked number 88 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[1]
[edit] Covers and other uses
The following year, Otis Redding brought more of a traditional blues flavor to the song in his cover of "My Girl". This version, produced by Steve Cropper, was featured on Redding's critically acclaimed album Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul. The album featured a number of classic soul and R&B covers, as well as several original songs (including the future Aretha Franklin hit "Respect"). "My Girl" wasn't released as a single.
In 1977, Dolly Parton included a country version of the song on her album New Harvest - First Gathering. The Mamas & the Papas also featured this song on the third album Deliver (1967),the song was released as a single but got no higher than 15 in the US charts. It has also been a hit for Jamaican ska rocksteady legend, Prince Buster.
Now considered a classic Motown tune, "My Girl" has been frequently covered since the 1960s, including versions by other Motown stars such as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and bands such as The Rolling Stones. It has also been featured in a number of films, including the 1991 My Girl, which was also named after the tune. To promote the film My Girl, a music video of the Temptations song was produced. The clip, directed by Dominic Orlando in Los Angeles, combined footage from an archived 1965 television performance, clips from the film, and new footage of the 1991 Temptations lineup--original members Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin alongside newer members Richard Street, Ron Tyson, and (wearing glasses to look like David Ruffin) Ali-Ollie Woodson--performing a cover of the tune alongside My Girl's co-stars Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin. The first half of the music video used the original soundtrack.
On the series Full House, Danny Tanner is heard singing this song.
On the series Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Uncle Phil sings the song to Will to explain love to him.
[edit] Credits
- Lead vocals by David Ruffin
- Backing vocals by Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams
- Written and produced by William "Smokey" Robinson and Ronald White
- Arranged by Paul Riser
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
| Preceded by "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single (The Temptations version) March 6, 1965 |
Succeeded by "Eight Days a Week" by The Beatles |
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
