This song is just about the coolest song ever. It was a long way from My Girl a few years earlier. That innocent sound is gone, replaced with hardness and grit, not to mention strings and a wah-wah.
The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The first recording wasn’t by The Temptations, but by The Undisputed Truth, a psychedelic soul group also produced by Whitfield. Released in May 1972, their version had a rawer, less refined sound and was under four minutes long. It charted but not huge, peaking at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Temptations version peaked at #1 (of course) in the Billboard 100, #14 in the UK, and #12 in Canada in 1972. This was the last big hit recorded in Motown’s famous Studio A, located in a two-story house in Detroit. Most of Motown’s studio work had moved to Los Angeles by then, but The Temptations still recorded in Detroit.
Whitfield reworked the song for The Temptations. By 1972, they had transitioned from smooth Motown pop to a grittier sound under Whitfield’s guidance in what some called psychedelic soul. The intro alone runs nearly four minutes in the full album version, which is a lot for a mainstream soul song. The band initially hated the long instrumental sections, feeling like it sidelined them, but the track’s success changed their minds.
The B side to this single was Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (Instrumental). Both sides of the single won Grammy awards. The A-side won for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus, and the B-side took the award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance.
Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone
It was the third of September
That day I’ll always remember,
Yes, I will
‘Cause that was the day that my daddy died
I never got a chance to see him
Never heard nothin’ but bad things about him
Mama, I’m depending on you
To tell me the truth
Mama just hung her head and said, “Son,..
Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.
Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”
Hey, mama!
Is it true what they say that papa never worked a day in his life?
And, mama, some bad talk goin’ round town sayin’ that papa had three outside children and another wife,
And that ain’t right
Heard them talking papa doing some store front preachin’
Talked about saving souls and all the time leechin’
Dealing in debt and stealing in the name of the Lord
Mama just hung her head and said,
Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.
Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”
Hey, mama,
I heard papa called himself a “Jack Of All Trades”
Tell me is that what sent papa to an early grave?
Folks say papa would beg, borrow, steal
To pay his bills
Hey, mama,
Folks say papa never was much on thinking
Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking
Mama, I’m depending on you
To tell me the truth
Mama looked up with a tear in her eye and said, “Son,..
[Chorus]
Papa was a rolling stone (well, well…)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
Papa was a rolling stone
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”
I said, “Papa was a rolling stone (yes, he was, my son)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
My daddy was (papa was a rolling stone), yes, he was
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”
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