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Gordy G 7038 (A), December 1964
b/w (Talking ’Bout) Nobody But My Baby
(Written by Smokey Robinson and Ronnie White)
Stateside SS 378 (A), January 1965
b/w (Talking ’Bout) Nobody But My Baby
(Released in the UK under license through Stateside Records)
Q. What’s the best thing about the Temptations’ My Girl?
A. Everything.
I’VE GOT SUNSHINE
If it’s strange to be reaching December ’64 on Motown Junkies whilst we’re actually in August – and what’s laughably called “summer” here in Wales, meaning “the two weeks of the year when it rains slightly less than the other fifty weeks” – then it’s doubly strange to be rummaging around Motown’s end-of-year clearance sale and suddenly find My Girl, which has always felt to me like the sound of spring becoming summer. Or the sound of the month of May, if you like.
Coming across My Girl here, in the middle of a fairly ropey run of Motown sides shoved out at the end of the year when nobody was looking, it shines brighter than ever. That first bass pulse, as familiar and comforting as a heartbeat, heralds our return to home ground, a first sighting of land after what feels like months at sea.
It’s a strangely minimalist start, quiet and repetitive; as well as providing stressed-out radio listeners with a little bit of clear air and thinking space after the detergent ads have finished, its sheer familiarity now gives it the same kind of feel as the reverent hush that falls over a congregation before dearly beloved. But then that beautiful, beautiful Robert White guitar loop kicks in, climbing the scale two steps at a time like a ladder of sunlight stretching up to heaven, and you realise that this is just a great song no matter what surrounds it. And we’re only eight seconds in.
WHAT CAN MAKE ME FEEL THIS WAY?
I could write a whole book just filled with the things I love about My Girl, and still be thinking about what was left over to put in Volume 2. Just those opening few seconds are full of things that drive me to ever more stretched similes: the tiny, tiny hint of echoing reverb on those bass strings that sound like brushed drums coming from down the hall, the finger snaps that let us know we’re among friends while still making it impossible to tell just how many people’s fingers are being clicked even after two hundred listens, the benign hiss in the air that seems to swell and breathe between each pluck of the bass. But it’s almost pointless to go through the song highlighting these things, because the beauty of My Girl is that it’s a song made of highlights.
It can be difficult trying to find new things to say about these Motown “monuments”, the iconic (in every sense) songs that everyone’s already heard so many times that they blend into the background. Doubly so with My Girl, which is perhaps the Motown song that more than any other has become part of the trans-Atlantic cultural fabric; more overplayed than even Baby Love, it’s the one song where you could play pretty much any ten-second stretch and still get people singing along.
But with My Girl, that’s kind of the point. Which is why I started this review with the question: what’s the best thing about it? And the answer is, everything. If there’s no obvious high point, no moment where you, the listener, is moved to sit down and say oh, wow, it’s because the entire song is made out of them, and limiting yourself to just one favourite bit is a pointless waste.
Plus, every great moment somehow makes every other great moment stronger. Even the one relative moment of weakness – the last ascent, the final push to the summit, as we hear the I guess you’ll say… bit for the valedictory last time, being underscored by a string section that has got ever so slightly out of hand and briefly tries in vain to compete with our boys’ vocals – feels like a deliberate mistake, like a beautiful Islamic carpet made almost imperceptibly imperfect so as not to offend those heavens we’re now gatecrashing.
WHEN IT’S COLD OUTSIDE
And still, that’s not why I love My Girl so much. No, I love this because it doubles down on its emotional impact, perhaps Motown’s best example of dovetailing form and function to emphasise both.
What am I talking about? It’s a feeling, simple to appreciate but hard to explain. The lyrics (which I’m not going to quote, but for anyone just joining us from Mars, they make up the sub headings sprinkled throughout this page) feature David Ruffin’s narrator celebrating the feelings of sheer joy that come from being head-over-heels in love, making devastatingly effective use of deceptively simple lyrical imagery. Not only do David and his fellow Temptations make us feel it too (it’s almost impossible not to smile along with his good fortune when this is playing), the song itself inspires the same kind of feeling in me: it’s exactly as cheering and warming as the feelings David’s describing, so you get a two-for-one double hit. Sunshine on a cloudy day, indeed; no Motown record has ever felt more like the perfect tool for parting those clouds.
Reading about this cold, without it playing in the background, I imagine there’s the tiniest hint of an iconoclastic rejection, an involuntary turning away from the obviousness of it all, kind of like the reaction to other ultra-overplayed Motown monoliths (as with Mary Wells’ My Guy, for instance, or the aforementioned Baby Love). But listening to this when you’re not expecting it, it’s just wonderful, something like those beautiful moments when you can actually feel the summer in the air after a rainstorm, shielding your eyes from the dazzling flashes on the wet ground even as you taste the warmth on your neck.
That’s why I love My Girl.
ALL THE RICHES ONE MAN CAN CLAIM
Poor old Ronnie White has often been airbrushed out of the history of My Girl, Midge Ure style, and so it’s worth noting Smokey was often better when he had a trusted partner, someone to mix his palette; Robinson himself has credited Ronnie with stopping him from getting too rote and cheesy when writing this song. But really, it stands as Smokey’s masterpiece to date, empirically the best song he’d yet put his name to (already a pretty hotly-contested title).
Less than a year had elapsed since the Funk Brothers had cut another majestic Smokey Robinson number, My Guy, similarly themed and similarly titled. Less than a year had elapsed since the Temptations had put months of endless, thankless, hitless toil behind them, bounding out of obscurity with another fine Smokey Robinson number, The Way You Do The Things You Do. But to listen to either of those next to My Girl, the difference is nothing short of remarkable, the band and the group both great, giant, seven-league strides ahead of where they’d been before. So it’s a foolish task to try and take any of the credit for this amazing record away from either the Brothers or the Tempts, all of whom are on the form of their lives here (not least David Ruffin, for whom this was a first single lead vocal with the group – talk about making a winning start). But if any one person deserves to be singled out, it’s Smokey Robinson.
It was Smokey who realised the mileage in writing a male “answer” to My Guy, Smokey who singled out the previously-unheralded David Ruffin as the group’s secret killer weapon, Smokey who wrote this song especially for Ruffin’s voice, riding the very edge of sweetness and sandpaper, Smokey who spent hours in the cramped, low-tech conditions of the cobbled-together Hitsville studio endlessly mixing vocal tracks down on a 3-track tape machine to make room for more ingredients, Smokey who wrote what must be the first pop hit with a string break as an instantly memorable hook – and, of course, Smokey who’d solved the problem of getting the five Temptations to sing together in the first place. To see Robinson still singing this in his live shows 50 years later, or to see him taking up half the cover of the Temptations’ second LP, the modestly-titled The Temptations Sing Smokey (above), you can’t begrudge him taking some of the glory; he earned it.
THE BEES ENVY ME
I haven’t done a full and complete count, weeding out all the doubles and re-issues, but my current estimate is that we’ll finally be done here on Motown Junkies when we reach something like review number 4150, which means we’re only one eighth of the way in. Regular readers will know that I’ll be giving just fifty of these sides top marks, ten out of ten, marking them out as my fifty personal favourites, my own highly subjective Motown 50, and that once they’re gone, they’re gone. So some people may be rolling their eyes at me wasting another precious ten on such an obvious pick. (Oh, this is getting ten, if you hadn’t guessed already. Sorry to ruin the suspense.)
But sometimes there’s just nothing else to be done. And if My Girl isn’t in your fifty top Motown tunes, I fear nothing can be done for you.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
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Wow! I can’t believe I am the first to comment here. Excellent review, Mr. Nixon. Yes, I agree this is a wonderful song – completely flawless, kudos to Smokey, Temptations, the Funk Bros, the janitor – whoever. Again, great! great! great! …. HOWEVER, for some strange reason I can pick maybe 20 Temptations songs that I technically like better than “My Girl”. I wonder what is wrong with me? Maybe because it has been so overplayed? Not sure. Of course, I love it everytime I hear it though for a period in the 80s when it was so overplayed I did groan a little when it came on the radio the umpteenth time. I guess the drawback of a big hit record (& wonderful record) is that it can obscure the other great work an artist has done. I guess it troubles me that the average Joe on the street can name “My Girl” but just try to mention “It’s Growing” “My Baby” or “Since I Lost My Baby” & you will probably get blank stares. I know that we MJ’ers understand but for some reason it troubles me still. So…. I realize I am getting way too analytical here. Definitely agree with your 10 but it almost bothers me that I possibly might not pick this for my desert island set. Maybe this song is so familiar that I can hear it in my mind almost perfectly. I think my quandry might be that I discovered Motown (& soul music in general) in their 1967-68 period so many of those records (particularly those of the Temptations) are very dear to me. I didn’t even hear “My Girl” until 1968 at the tender age of 10. I know just about every note of the “With A Lot Of Soul” album by heart! So this is my somewhat garbled response to this song. Hoping my Motown Junkie friends still love me! And, again, Mr. Nixion this was wonderful review & worth the wait!
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My good friend, Mr Nixon, I know that apologies aren’t expected here, but please do know that I meant in no way to slight this song. As I said above, your review is excellent & spot on & this is a great song. Outside of you friends here I have little opportunity to discuss music as I do here.
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We forgive! Lol. But I think you are suffering from your own diagnosis which is overplay. It happens to the best of songs.
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Thanks! Been waiting for your comments lady. Saw them below. Great as always!
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= )
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A wonderful review of a wonderful record. I would take “My Girl” over all the other Temptation singles and there are a few more 10’s there for me. This is one of the top 5 Motown Records of all time in my opinion.
Overplayed? There is a reason that “My Girl” has had so much airplay, it’s that good!
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You’re right, “My Girl” is a great recording by any measure. Co-writer Robert White’s role should be illuminated. Further credit must be given to Paul Reiser, a talented Motown house arranger. It was Reiser who created the nearly perfect string and horn arrangement that really separated “My Girl” from the pack. Even insiders at Motown were knocked out by the final product. Most still are.
It is worth noting that per David Ruffin, he was thinking of his infant daughter as sang the words to “My Girl” during the recording process. Some trivia: The Tempts put their background on first then David added his lead vocal. “My Girl” was David’s first lead on a Tempts single, his first lead on a Tempts recording was “You’ll Lose A Precious Love”, written and produced by Smokey, recorded March 2, 1964, the B-side of “Ain’t To Proud To Beg”.
Smokey saw David’s talent very early on.
Finally, to what problem did Smokey solve “getting the five Temptations to sing together” do you refer?
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Correction: Paul Riser
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Thanks Charles. Yes, Paul Reiser is the guy from Mad About You and Aliens 🙂
Ronnie White of the Miracles was the co-writer, Robert White the immortal guitarist who played that great riff. Neither is still with us, both having passed within a few months of each other in 1994/5, but neither should be underestimated.
There’s a heartbreaking bit in the Standing in the Shadows of Motown documentary where one of his fellow Funks (I can’t remember who offhand – Eddie Willis, possibly?) relates a story of him and Robert eating in a restaurant in the mid-80s and hearing My Girl strike up on the radio; White started to excitedly tell the waitress “that’s me!”, and then abruptly stopped, and when his friend asked why, he said he’d sound like just another crazy old man to be humoured. It’s just crushing.
Anyway. It’s a great arrangement, and Paul Riser is a twice-over Motown great for both his arranging and his trombone work – check out this fantastic and fascinating lecture he gave in Madrid last year! – but I’m fundamentally uncomfortable flat-out crediting him with writing the string and horn parts he arranged, just because there’s so much of a thin and blurry line between arranger and composer, and it’s always maddeningly unclear how much was him and how much was the credited writer/producers – even in that lecture, he goes from saying “credit where credit is due”, saying how meticulous Smokey and Stevie Wonder were (“every beat was put in there on purpose”), and how his work was just “a little icing on the top”, and then almost in the same breath points out how “un-funky” Smokey was, and claims the Temptations hated the song until he got his hands on it and fixed it, which doesn’t ring true at all. So, um, who knows? It’s a great arrangement whoever wrote it, but this is Smokey’s show.
You’re quite right about this not being David’s first lead vocal, I didn’t realise You’ll Lose A Precious Love (of which more later) predated this – I’ve amended the review accordingly.
As for the last bit, it’s my contention the early Tempts’ harmonies (’61-’64) are often chaotic and lacking discipline until Smokey gets involved and sorts out their vocal chart arrangements – check out some of the earlier reviews where I expound on this in much more detail. The best metaphor I could come up with was the bit in Ben Hur where Charlton Heston puts the brilliant but disorganised chariot horses in the right order and they suddenly become champions…!
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Wow! I didn’t realize that Mr. Riser arranged this. Add him to my list of thank yous, and add both Mr. Whites as well! Cheers!
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Quick, name the finest sides you can think of issued by Presley, Lennon & McCartney, Phil Spector or Brian Wilson, and “My Girl” is instantly their equal. If there’s something that makes, for instance, “Love Me Tender,” “Yesterday,” “Be My Baby” or “God Only Knows” greater masterpieces, go ahead and make the argument. I’ll wait.
Today, you can still make your way through secondary Temptations’ sides like “Runaway Child Running Wild” and “Don’t Let The Joneses Get You Down,” but after all these years, they have the unmistakable under taste of soap opera. “Psychedelic Shack,” no loser, nevertheless, is a period relic, as though someone dug up a time capsule. Even the otherwise unassailable “Cloud Nine” and “Ball of Confusion,” here and there, have musical and lyrical points that pin them to an era one knows is gone, and not coming back.
Not “My Girl.” Never “My Girl.” Five generations after we’re all dead, young people in love for the first time –especially young men- will effortlessly take this song to their hearts as robustly as the public did when 1965 was dawning. What the Taj Mahal is to architecture, what the Mona Lisa is to art, what the aurora borealis is to natural wonders, “My Girl” is to records. A “10” if there ever was one.
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“Five generations after we’re all dead, young people in love for the first time –especially young men- will effortlessly take this song to their hearts as robustly as the public did when 1965 was dawning.” Dave L — I certainly hope so my friend!
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Wow! Wonderful commentary Dave L. I was tempted to try to make an argument with “Be My Baby” — excellent song it is, but it doesn’t have that timeless quality of which you speak of.
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I think it’s certainly worth a 10/10, though it is certainly overplayed. Fortunately I wasn’t personally overexposed, and for that I’m grateful.
Without doing a survey of all the Temps singles, I think the construction of the chorus is pretty unique. David sings an ascending melody line, and at the peak, it unfolds like a flower, with each Temp (or 3 of the 5, anyway) repeating the title, then folding back together underneath David for the ‘whoa-oh-oh-oh’ as he resumes the lead (and they echo him to finish it all off.) Quite an arrangement and quite unlike anything else in their catalog, or any other Motown songs for that matter, though you might argue that the seed of that idea was there in ‘Too Many Fish in the Sea.’ They certainly traded leads a lot more on the more psychedelic material, but not quite like this.
And I think it’s worth pointing out from a musical standpoint that the key change is extremely well used here. It’s as if the narrator’s singing of the song has taken his affection to an even greater extreme, and the musical lead-in is seamless.
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My friend, another good “brief lead vocal trade off song” is “Its You That I Need” by the Tempts. Everybody gets to chant the title (even Otis). It is a wonderful song. And yes friends, please believe me, despite my rambling diatribe above I do love “My Girl”! It is playing as I write this!
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Of course, one more “lead vocal trade off” song which actually came before “Fish” & “My Girl” is “Breathtaking Guy” by the Supremes. Back to the Tempts, I thought the traded lead vocals motiff worked well with some of the psych-soul stuff & not so much in others. I am the first one to admit that the whole psych-soul sound wore very thin to my fragile ears very quickly but of course we are light years away from that!
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Great shoutout to the Supremes Grandpa Landini! Lol
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Smokey Robinson will turn 25 the following February, and “My Girl” is the first in what was almost surely the busiest year of his life, and maybe his most creative.
In addition to some of the most striking compositions and productions Motown ever knew, Smokey will spend the year not only propping up his own group, but The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Brenda Holloway, and soon enough again, The Marvelettes. When you factor in his television and concert schedule as well, he might very well have been busier than Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Today, he probably looks back on this period and wonders how the hell he did it. Smokey’s Motown vice-presidency was no gift – he earned it.
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My friend Dave L. I woke up this morning a little embarrassed by my ramblings from yesterday. Good thing I’m not a politician! I do love this song. I have included several mea culpas. I also know that I am amongst friends here so I feel free to give my views no matter what they are. My own friends that I hang around with are the absolute best as far as friendship, etc but I really cannot discuss music with them as I do with you dear friends here at MJ. So thank you. And no offense to anyone here was intended in the least.
As example of people’s (outside of MJers) ignorance about Tempts/Motown, I recently had a very well intentioned young man tell me how much he like “Build Me Up Buttercup” by the Temptations! I had to very gently correct him.
By the way, I am so impressed that a talented singer such as Mr. Robinson had the foresight to give his song to Mr Ruffin & his co-horts rather than be tempted (No pun intended) to keep it for himself. In one of my crazy alternate universe scenarios I wonder what would have happened had Smokey & his fellas recorded the song first. Hmm… I mean Smokey’s great and all that but I wonder… Of course, I do know that Smokey got around to recording his own version of “My Girl” on the Miracles ‘Time Out” album. His version is pleasant but even there he wisely chose not to try & recreate the Temptations arrangement.
One more thing & I promise I’ll shut up. in 1998 the Tempts slyly referenced (or sampled) a bit of “My Girl” in their comeback hit “Stay” (not the Maurice Williams song). Cheers & best to all!
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Imagine how happy the Motown Christmas party of 1964 must have been. Despite the sting of losing Mary Wells, the Tempts knew this beauty was on its way to radio and stores, the Tops had finally broken through, the Vandellas had an anthem-ish masterpiece, every new single of Marvin’s was gathering more fans, and the Supremes had three consecutive number ones. There couldn’t have been a frown in the building. 🙂
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Well said … and Smokey & his guys are about to have a banner year in the hit singles department!
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Unless you were in the Marvelettes, maybe.
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Why would the Marvelettes be sad? They’ve got a big hit with “Too Many Fish in the Sea”.
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Well, one fleeting appearance in the Top 30 three months ago (all they’d have to show for a year and a half of work) isn’t really what you’d call commercial success, certainly not compared to what the other marquee Motown acts mentioned were doing – and their next single wasn’t slated to come out for another four months again, long after the rest of the acts Dave listed had had new material out, which shows the kind of faith the company had in them. Brilliant though it is, I’d struggle to really call Too Many Fish a “big hit” in the context of the other breakthroughs Dave mentioned, and there’s no denying they were visibly slipping down the label’s pecking order.
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Grandpa Landini I think you may be amused to know this but my favorite cover of “My Girl” is Dolly Parton’s “My Love”. Am no way am I saying it’s better or just as good as, but Dolly makes it totally Dolly lol. It’s very sweet & enduring. She made it during the late 70s when she was trying to crossover.
I also like Dennis Edward’s version he did on the “My Guy/My Girl” mashup.
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I love Dolly P Damecia! I’ll have to check this out!
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From “The Temptations” Otis Williams, in his own words, as the group comes to this point:
[“ The year 1964 closed on a high note not only for us but for everyone at Motown. The Supremes racked up three number-one records in a row, then became the first Motown act to appear on national television when they debuted on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was exciting to see our friends on a program we watched every Sunday. When the Supremes made that historic appearance, they represented not just themselves but everyone at Motown. As they would in several other areas, the Supremes blazed a trail the rest of us would follow, and we were all very proud. There were plenty of great female singers around Hitsville, and some truly fine-looking ones, too. But, as the world discovered, Diane, Flo, and Mary were born to this; they had ‘it,’ or as we’d say, the Jim Johnson. They were stars. Meanwhile, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Brenda Holloway, Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, the Miracles, and the label’s latest signing, the Four Tops, kept spinning out the hits. After “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)” charted in the twenties, we were looking for the next tune.
Back home in Detroit, Smokey Robinson caught our act at the Twenty Grand one evening. One of our numbers featured each of us singing a part. The title of it escapes me, but I do remember that we brought the house down with it. After we came offstage that night, Smokey approached us and, pointing directly at David, said, “I’ve got a song for you.”
It turned out to be a tune Smokey and Ronnie White had written and planned to cut with the Miracles. It was midtempo ballad with a pretty, sweet melody. From the first line – “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day / When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May” – we knew we had something very special. That fall, during a run at the Apollo, Smokey came to New York to work with us in our dressing room between shows. He taught us to sing the parts as he heard them and perfect those intricate harmonies. On November 17 we recorded “My Girl” in Detroit. It was David’s first lead on a single.
We recorded our vocals over a basic track, so what we heard was basically bass, drums and guitar. Smokey worked up those lush string parts with Paul Riser, a classically trained musician who wrote most of the orchestral music on Motown records. We listened in the studio as Smokey added the “sweetening,” and by the time he was finished with the mix, it was the most gorgeous, magical love song I’d ever heard. There was no question in our minds that we had the big one here.” ]
“The Temptations,” Otis Williams with Patricia Romanowski, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1988
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10/10—yes Nixon, I wholheartedly agree for probably the only time-as for David L–My Girl is better than any Presley record save for the ones on that funny looking yellow label with musical notes and a chicken if it is on a 78 RPM!!
The only other records in the entire universe that I liked more than My Girl were—Be Bop A Lula, IN the Still of the Nite , and Bo Diddley
To me, My Girl is the epitome of all things Motown–the beat, the lyrics, the music , the harmonies–and the only other record besides Chuck Berry that they could;ve sent into outer space
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Yes If There Ever Is A 10/10 this is it!!!!as usual a “A” class review!!!!! This is the perfect temptations record!!!!
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We finally agree! A perfect 10/10. Despite being overplayed. It’s still my favourite Temptations’ song, and, at least tied for favourite Motown song, and favourite song of any kind.
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My friend Robb. A definite 10. I thank my fellow MJ’ers for allowing my somewhat stumbling perspective from above. In no way did I intend to slight this song in the least. I’m just wired funny when it come to music. I probably need at 2 or 3 types of Motown favorites lists for my obsessive-compulsive personality (& yes “My Girl” would be on one or more of those!) Hey! if it helps, I’ll ask my doc to adjust my meds. LOL!!!!
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Nixon, as perfect as this song is, your review matches it. Both are 10/10. Thank you
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Beautiful review & wonderful comments on a wonderful song! Thanks Nixon & everyone – especially Dave L for the Otis Williams piece – fascinating! I love this song, and I love the Temptations – if I were Nixon, they’d get a heavy share of my 10s. I can’t wait to hear what brother John has to say!
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Yes, dear Mary, I am also interested in what John has to say. He is the classical guy isn’t he? I am sure he will have some good perspective on this wonderful song. Hopefully more coherent than my stumbling statements from above! Have a wonderful day!
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Thanks, Landini, he is indeed the one, and is madly working on commissions before meeting up with the rest of us siblings next week – I can’t imagine anything else holding him up.
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The cruel hand of fate decided to trash my modem and exile me from the internet just as ‘My Girl’ appeared. And, oh, what a feast of eloquence it inspired, from Nixon, and from everyone here. The ‘classical guy’ recognizes a classic when he hears one! – While fully recognizing the greatness of a song like ‘Satisfaction’… well, I’m tempted to echo the great Marianne Moore here: ‘Satisfaction is a lowly thing/ how pure a thing is joy…’ (I don’t really think that ‘Satisfaction’ is lowly – but My Girl’s joy trumps anybody’s frustration, no matter how vigorously embodied.) Sheer benevolent floating affectionate artistry, and ageless like Mozart. I can certainly empathize Landini, coming to the Tempts at the time of ‘With a Lot O’ Soul’ – another very nearly perfect album – but this is a summit – at the Himalayan altitude where comparisons are pointless – it’s at the very top. And Nixon, your prose is beautiful music itself, once again rendering full and exuberant justice to this immortal song. – And I realize that I’VE NEVER HEARD THE FLIP SIDE!!
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My friend John, Your comments have made my day! Thank you so much. Like you, I never heard the b side until yesterday on YouTube. I will wait until Friend Nixon gets to it before commenting. Thank for your confirmation of WALOS album. What a great album! It is so funny, my sophomore year in college (back in 1977) I had a roomie who was a classical guy who listened to classical almost exclusively. We had a great time – he would patiently listen to my pop/soul/rock records & I would listen to his classical stuff & we would compare notes. Many times when I get burned out with music I tend to put a classical station on in my car or wherever. It is a great way to cleanse the pallete so to speak! Have a great weekend my friend!
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Beautiful commemtary John = )
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So this is the single everyone’s been holdimg they’re breathe for? I’m glad I didn’t know it would be next or I would’ve been just as anxious as everyone else lol.
10/10 there’s no argument here. My Girl is truly one of those timeless records that music critics & people who aren’t so certified to talk about music (you know the ones on those crappy 100 greatest songs countdown shows) speak of. My Girl is the type of song that makes me feel nostalgic for era I never known. Just as Steve D. mentioned above its impossible to pin point a favorite part of this song. Just when I think its the bass in the intro, then I think no it’s David, then I think no it is THOSE fingersnaps, then I think it is the rest of the Tempts in the background,
O
point a favorite part of this so. Just when I think it is the bass in the intro, then I think no David really makes this record, then I think no its the rest of the Temps, then no the string breakdown is really my favorite part.
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Hey Damecia, Give a listen to the Tempts’ 1998 “comeback” hit called “Stay” & see if you hear the “My Girl” vibe running through it. And yes, Smokey & Ronnie got a partial writing credit – very much deserved! I normally don’t go in for “sampling” but “Stay” is a splendid song which captures the “My Girl” spirit in a very un-cheesy way.
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I listened to “Stay” & they sampled “My Girl” well. How cool is that? A group.samplimg.their own music lol. Pretty dope if you ask me. Off subject but I love when Madonna makes reference to her hits in her new songs lol. It may be cocky, but move like this prove how strong a catalog The Tempts & Madonna have. Back to the song, I really like it…it real smooth = )
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James Brown was the undisputed champion of personal past hits referencing.
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Agreed, Damecia! I’ve been playing the song in my head since yesterday, and I keep saying it’s THAT part – no, wait it’s THIS one, arrggh, it’s that bit, and so on. I’ve brought the album into work today, but I don’t expect that I’ll be able to solve that particluar conuundrum – sure will enjoy the attempt, though!
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Hi Mary, this is from Landini…. Please tell your brother that we are waiting for his comments. Thanks! And thanks for your insights as well. Have a wonderful day & weekend!
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Oops Sorry Just read your comments above re. your bro…. Hope you all have a wonderful time together! Cheers!
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He’s posted in reply to ours above – and does not disappoint!
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Hi Miss Mary! It’s great to hear from you = )
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Hi Again Miss D, Have a busy day ahead but thought I’d add some more comments. Just re-read your comments & you might have hit upon something that I was incoherently rambling about up above re. “My Girl”. I agree that so many pompous rock critics love to heap praise on “My Girl” & other classics (& RIGHTFULLY SO) but you are right, many times they don’t really understand the music & they ignore other great music by those same artists. Here at MJ, we can heap praise on the classics like “My Girl” & “My Guy” etc but we can also appreciate songs like “Dream Come True” or “Run Run Run” or “You Lost the Sweetest Boy” and.. WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT! Funny too, back in the late 60s many of those same pompous critics were very reluctant to praise Motown music & nowadays they tend to go overboard in their praise at the expense of ignoring other great music. Anyway… I’ll shut up now…. Have a great day & Labor Day Weekend!
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That is funny! Lol. I cant stand those types of critics. Im so glad Steve D. allows us MJ’ers to disagree with him. Not only does hr respond with reasoning but he sometimes changes his mind a bit.
Like you i’m also glad that I can come on here.& talk with everyone. My friends only know a little about music and that’s only.current music. It really is a joy for me to come here & talk about what I know, state my IMHO’s & learn.from you cool people. Lol. = )
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Why not? Let’s feel a little sorry for ourselves too -with this record as our best excuse- that the hand of fate couldn’t keep this classic line-up of the group together at least a decade. As it was, we didn’t even get five full years.
When reading “The Temptations,” and when 1968 arrives, one sorely wishes there was a respected show business legend that could have coaxed Ruffin to listen to less of his ego, and put forth workable ideas that would provide added recognition without destroying the ‘one among equals’ sense that helps groups stay together. I would not have been bothered with a subscript line on the 45s that said “featuring David Ruffin” underneath “The Temptations,” even though we all knew by then if we were hearing him, Eddie or Paul.
And, again from the book, one gets the sense Berry didn’t inject himself very far into the turmoil and just let a majority opinion within the group make the call, but the other four members could hardly have been unemotional or objective about the tension. That’s completely different from how Berry was in the middle of every unhappy instance in the Supremes. Soon enough too, when they’re down to a trio, similar turmoil comes to The Marvelettes.
I’ll always wonder if things might have gone differently, if there’d been some interested, old-hand show business veteran and friend of Motown about to coax these young performers to more intently consider the long view.
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Well said my friend!
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Great observation about Berry. I recently made the same. I saw an interview with Eddie Kendricks before he died & he said he only talked to Berry 3 times! IMO Berry needed Diana Ross & The Supremes just as much as they needed him. No fool he is, so I guess it’s safe to.say he knew.what.group.mattered most.
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Sorry guys i’m typing on a phone and I have somewhat long nails, so please excuse any misspellings or run on sentences = )
I forgot to mention in my first comment the wonderful job Steve D. has done writing this review. A 10/10 should go to you too =)
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Of course a “10,” not even the slightest question there. I agree with everything that’s been said about this iconic record. But… each time I hear it, the line “I guess you’ll say” bugs me. “What can make me feel this way?” is a question, so it should be, “I guess you’ll ask” — but of course that doesn’t rhyme. I’m sure Smokey thought and thought about a way to get around this — and I’m not saying I know another word that would have worked (you’d have to fix the subsequent rhyme) — but it still stands out every time I hear this. I think, “Man, this would be absolutely perfect if that one line were fixed!!” I know most would say this is nitpicking a work of art, and maybe it’s the famous flaw every work of art needs to truly be memorable.
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Hi Nick!
Was English/Grammar your.favorite subject in school? Lol
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Ha! I don’t know if t was my favorite subject, but it was the only one at which I got good grades!
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Lol = )
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Hey Nick, I’M the stickler for grammar! I’m known as “the grammar policeman” on Soulful Detroit Forum. I’m appalled at the pitiful condition of the so-called English language written on The Internet (especially by Americans and Brits (but even by many Canadians)) these days. It bears almost no resemblance to the English we spoke and wrote in Canada and USA during the time I grew up (1940s and 1950s). And yet, even I, give Smokey, accomplished wordsmith that he is, poetic license to come up with words that rhyme and flow nicely off the tongue when sung, to make a song work.
Having tried my hand at songwriting (and especially lyric writing) I can appreciate the fact that proper grammar and word order must often be sacrificed to come up with a workable tune. Isn’t the license to change word order and “bend” grammar usage a bit one of the main tools of poetry (and, thus, songwriting)?
Yes, you ARE nitpicking in this instance. I think Smokey did a great job on choosing these lyrics, and matching them to the tempo and resultant phrasing timing requirements of this song, matching the words to the music.
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My opinion for what it’s worth is that you can SAY “What can make me feel this way?” as an alternative to merely THINKING it.
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Far be it from me to second-guess Smokey, Robb! Totally agree with you comments.
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Nick, if you can slightly change your interpretation of the lyric to “I guess you’ll say [that] what can make me feel this way [is] my girl”, then that might solve your problem.
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LOL! I suffer the curse of being an ex-English teacher. This one never struck me as strange (but it does now that you’ve brought it up). The one Motown grammar mangle that stands out for me is “Just like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my sadness hid.”
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Just imagine how “klunky” and off-tempo songs would sound if they ALL had to be written with proper grammatical usage and using the optimum current conventional word order (e.g. no artistic license allowed)! I’m a stickler for proper grammar, and yet, “Just Like Pagliacci did, I’ll keep my sadness hid” is among my favourite lyric half-stanzas of all time (and I’ve listened to over a million vocal songs in my 66 years).
I’m so old that my English is no longer conventional. If someone sang “I could care less” when he meant “couldn’t care less” I’d have a beef. Not allowing grammatical changes because the basic meaning is changed (as in “Could care less”) is reasonable. Not allowing artistic license when the meaning is discernible, is not!
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My favorite is within Eddie Holland’s “If Cleopatra Took A Chance” where we hear, “In the history books, you’ll find, kingdoms have been TOOK.” We have up to 3 composers to blame for that one, none of whom is Mr. Holland. Every time I hear that line, I feel sharp pain in my gut, followed, not by a grimace, but a chuckle because it sounds so crazy.
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I’ve been racking my brain since Wednesday to think of something pertinent to say about “My Girl”, but can’t think of a darn thing except for 10/10. Great review too.
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This is at once excruciating and laughable: how safe, sanitary, white(!), and out of touch the Grammy Awards were back in this time. Have a look, the winners for 1964 material:
http://littleurl.info/hnp
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Thanx for posting this! This is funny to see
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There were more black winners in the Classical category than in the Pop category! That was an era when Leontyne Price was an almost automatic winner (I think 4 or 5 years straight), and Marilyn Horn got an award that year, too. And look at Roger Miller almost sweeping the Country division with a song that few people remember today…and a black man, Charley Pride, would win an award in that category in 1972.
Motown’s Grammy debut would come a few years later with a highly unlikely record. Given NARAS’ tendency to reward million-sellers, it’s shocking that Motown didn’t get any props until 1968.
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Yes Nixon, an awesome review!! This is one of those iconic songs that helped make The Motown Sound a pop culture mainstay and for generations to come. Yes, 10/10 definately. A major home run for Smokey, Ronnie White, Paul Riser and all those talented people that worked at 2648 West Grand Blvd in Detroit Michigan..”Hitsville”
Yes, the song has been over played partly because I worked on air at various Oldies Stations in major markets here in the states..”My Girl” is still being played 48 years later because it is great! I have their Box Set, Emperors of Soul which contains the song “My Girl” with the Vocal Track in clear. You can still hear the music track in the background, coming from the engineers production glassed in studio which is just above from where the artists record their vocals..
I also read earlier on this thread reguarding The Tempations “With A’ lot O’ Soul” LP from 1967 which to me was another Motown masterpiece…”(I Know) I’m Losing You”
“All I Need” “Your My Everything” “Loneliness Made Me Realize(It’s You That I Need)” and various other cuts from that Album..Wow!!
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Ron, thank you for another confirmation for WALOS. Is it okay with everyone if I take that to my desert island with “My Girl” added on? LOL!
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If as most of us agree that the song is a ten, then the best that any song could hope for is 9.9999999999999999999………………..Listening to the many other versions that are out there, from the Beatles to Otis, to the co-writer of this song. It is the most gorgeous track from beginning to end ever!. While the string break that continues into the last verse rarely fails to make the hairs stand up on my aging arms, when you think there isn’t any more that can be added, how about the sax closing out the verse, subtle as thunderclap. At the time of release I lived in a Classical Music household, being 10 years old I did have friends fortunately, which is how I heard the song, though I was mostly attracted by the aforementioned string break. We have been blessed by the vocal only track on the Tempts 5 Disc compilation from the mid nineties, where hearing the backing vocals is truly mind blowing. When you consider that the Tempts were also executing some pretty nifty moves on the stage as well as singing these harmonies. Game Over!
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I have Emperors of Soul too 🙂 and wasn’t it a wonderful surprise? Nowhere on the packaging does it tell you it’s there; you just think disc 1 is done and -oh my God!- there it is. Acapella “My Girl.”
It’s early, Nixon, but someday, I bet we’d all like to hear what your favorites are among your own reviews. Motown 1965 essentially begins with “My Girl,” and I suspect there will more joy to express in those reviews than in any other one year.
I needed Motown to unwind to in those years. Sept. 1964 to June 1966 were my last two years in Catholic parish school in Philadelphia. We were taught by the St. Joseph order of nuns who still wore the penguin outfits. I was plenty intimidated by them then, but from the viewpoint of 58, I realize Sister Joseph Gertrude and Sister Maria Sancta had to be -as anyone would- rather formidable presences to control a room of 40 boys on the cusp of adolescence, day after day. Any soft side to them had doled out sparingly and carefully. A starched and pressed long-sleeve white shirt every day, and I knew how to put my own necktie on in 20 seconds.
But when I got home, there were the Supremes, Vandellas, Temptations, Four Tops and all the others who made sure childhood was something I’d always treasure. Bring it on, Motown 1965.
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Ironically Dave L. we were both among the residents of what was then the nations fourth largest city. And what a nice way to begin the school year in Sept. 1964 with our beloved baseball team, the Philadelphia Phillies historic train wreck at the end of the season. Lesson learned at age 9, it ain’t over till it’s over, with apologies to Lenny Kravitz
I agree, that 1965 was the best Motown year, though it is nearly impossible to get a copy of the Hipo Select Motown Singles Collection for 1966, copies of 1965 are pretty much readily available.
Also, Nixon, all of your reviews are outstanding, even for records I don’t particularly care for, but this was a review that was worthy of a 10!
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Just listened to all the assorted versions I have. Instrumental – no vocals by the Funk Brothers. Without lead vocals (but with back up). A cappella. In each of those separate slices, there are wonders. Listening to all “glued together”: perfection!
It’s also fun to discover the slight variations in all the versions (for example, lengths ranging from 2:40 to 3:10; live version recorded at the Fox Theater). And then checking out the covers (Marvin Gaye, Human Nature, The Royal Philharmonic, Mamas & Papas) to hear how dramatically they pale relative to the original)!
Your review is a 10 out of 10. Wonderful!
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Hi — Interesting to note that “My Girl” is not included in 2 of the group’s later Live albums “Copa” & “London’s Talk of the Town”. It is included in a medley in the “Live in Japan” set from 1973 which wasn’t officially released until recently. I saw the Temptations in 1970 in Washington,DC at the Carter Baron Ampitheater & have very little memory of the show (I was 12 at the time!). I am racking my brain to remember if they did “My Girl” as a full song or as part of a medley or at all! I remember a lot of show tunes/standards & of course, a few of their then current psychedelic soul hits. Was anyone at that show & if so, what are your memories of it?
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Surely the best Xmas present ever (this was released 12/26/64) and worthy of that “10”. But I always hold out for the NEXT Tempts A-side…
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There are very few things that can bring a smile to my face like hearing the opening notes to “My Girl” by The Temptations. I can never think about such greatness in terms of being “overplayed.”
Everything about that record strikes me as perfect and as joyous a celebration of love as any recording ever made. The first sounds of the bass guitar as the happy beating of a heart, followed by finger snapping, beautiful melody… and then, with delightful
urgency, David Ruffin’s startling voice cutting through everything with the great line,
“I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day…”.
The sweetness of the background vocals are the cherries on top of the sundae. The production is as epic as any record ever recorded. It is one of the seven wonders of my world.
I would add, however, that it is profoundly ironic that my least favorite of all the 20 versions of My Girl that I own, is Smokey and the Miracles’ version of the song. I think it is rare that I don’t care for a Smokey performance…but I was shocked when I bought the album Time Out for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles when it was first released in 1969 and heard Smokey’s rendition of his masterpiece! He butchered his own song! What say you, Nixon?
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Mr. Kinnard, I wonder if Mr Robinson (great as he was) was astute enough to realize that he could never beat the Temptations version and probably just threw together his arrangement to fill up the album. I am not sure if Motown/Smokey/Temptations quite realized what a classic they had on their hands until many years later. Just my thoughts.
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Yes…I guess you could be right. As far as straying away from the actual arrangement of the original, I actually found Michael Jackson’s rendition of My Girl to be quite delightful. I think Stevie Wonder’s version is my second favorite and I love the mellowness of Marvin’s version, which doesn’t even seem to have the Funk Brothers as the backing band….
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Yeah… all those versions are good. I was listening to an Eddie Floyd collection yesterday & he did a version of “My Girl”. Of course, nothing can touch the Temptations’ version, but Eddie’s version gives an interesting Southern Soul spin on the song. Of course, there is Otis Redding’s version which is in a class all by itself.
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10 out of 10, indeed…for the Tempts version!!!!!!
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There are records that are incapable of being overplayed, and this is one of them. There is so much going on here musically and emotionally that every time I hear this it’s like the first time. Smokey deserves every accolade that can be (has been) thrown at him. America’s greatest poet indeed.
A friend of mine says the string arrangement on this makes her cry. I know what she means. The little melody after they sing “My Girl” toward the end before the fade sounds just like how it feels to be with that one person who can turn your life into springtime. It’s the accumulation of those kind of little details that make this record the wonder that it is.
If I were forced at gunpoint to change something, I might vote for leaving out the “hey hey heys”. But it would have to be at gunpoint.
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Heh heh heh…nope! The “Hey, hey, heys” are such a part of the celebratory aspect of the song and the background’s support of the song’s central theme…it has to stay. Sorry…
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I agree. The “hey, hey, heys” must stay.
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…then it’s settled!
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No other song can make me feel 15 again in a heartbeat the way this one does. That’s 43 years off my age the moment it starts!
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Super duper ten out of ten! Though released at the end of the year it road out into the early spring of 1965 so my early memories of this song playing include toe-tapping patent leather shoes from guys with real high “conks” and cardigan sweaters and pants high enough to see nylon socks, long Cadillacs with whip antennas with the radio blasting “My Girl”, and the Temps suddenly making a lot of TV appearances. I studied them so close that as soon as this song comes on i can fall right into the choreography for “My Girl”!
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10/10 no doubt.
1. Now we get two thematic riffs in counterpoint!
2. A brilliant instrumental bridge with new material (forward-looking to God Only Knows) that leads to a whole step modulation – not as clever as the one in Baby I Need Your Lovin’ but still a legitimate non-cliché modulation. After shaking off the MOR lounge lizardiness of Tin Pan Alley ez listening vocals, pop has finally re-evolved to encompass, on its own terms, the massively horizon-expanding idea of changing key.
3. The brass fanfares almost inarguably influenced McCartney circa 1967.
4. Now this is what I call an “answer song” – other than the title it’s all new, all fabulous, all hooks.
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“The ever popular Temptations have a real smoothie and a winner here that flows effortlessly along with a really polished production and performance from the quintet. Fast rising in the US, with sufficient plugs it could happen here too. Faintly reminiscent of the Miracles in technique and presentation. 4/5
“Nobody But My Baby is more troubled with a moody piano weaving in and out of the melody. 3/5
“Two very good sides from a fine group.”
[Dave Godin, Hitsville U.S.A. 2, 1965]
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I have treasured this song that at one time was described as “the greatest song ever written”. Despite having heard it thousands of time I was always mesmerized by the David Ruffin voice and the Robert White lead guitar. There is a movie called Standing in the Shadows that covers the Funk Brothers and described their lives and their musicianship—a group oh geniuses. The main reason I am writing this is that I just discovered an aspect of the song I never heard before—the full extent of the background vocals. You need headphones but there are numerous accents that are shockingly great and creative that you have to try hard to notice them. A hidden gem that enhances an already perfect song. You won’t believe your ears.
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I have loved this song forever and I remember years ago when it was described as the best song ever written by anyone, not just Smokey Robinson. I just found a version on YouTube where you can hear the amazing and creative work done by the background singers. This is much more than a song featuring David Ruffin. The complex notes have to be heard to be believed and appreciated. Harmonies and high pitched hoots are enhancements I have never heard on any other record. My Girl is a complete masterpiece from every aspect.
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I just heard a version of this song that was significantly better than any other. In this version you can actually clearly hear the intricate background vocals. I could not believe my ears. The other guys has some very unusual and creative vocal constructions that were amazing. David Ruffin sings so beautifully on what some consider the greatest song ever recorded but the other guys make an equal contribution that sadly most people have never heard.
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