My Baby (The Temptations song)

"My Baby" is a 1965 hit single recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers, and Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, the song was a top 20 pop hit in the United States, and a top 5 hit on the R&B charts.[1]

"My Baby"
Single by The Temptations
from the album The Temptin' Temptations
B-side"Don't Look Back"
ReleasedSeptember 30, 1965
(1st pressing)
October 30, 1965
(2nd pressing)
RecordedHitsville USA (Studio A);
August 4 and August 11, 1965
GenreSoul, R&B, Pop
Length3:05
LabelGordy
G 7047
Songwriter(s)Smokey Robinson
Robert Rogers
Warren Moore
Producer(s)Smokey Robinson
The Temptations singles chronology
"Since I Lost My Baby"
(1965)		 "My Baby" / "Don't Look Back"
(1965)		 "Get Ready"
(1966)

An extension of the theme from the group's #1 hit "My Girl", which had been released the previous December, "My Baby" features The Temptations, with David Ruffin on lead, bragging about the qualities of a special lady. Ruffin praises his woman's hairstyles ("hair soft like a baby lamb/and I love to run my fingers through it") and personality ("the gold in her personality/could set Fort Knox to shame"), and hopes that "she digs me the way I am/but if I have to change/you know I'm gona do it for my baby".

"My Baby" was a notable attempt to create an uptempo danceable number for the Temptations; all of their previous Top 20 hits to this point had been either ballads or mid-tempo numbers. The single immediately following "My Baby", "Get Ready", followed the same plan, and was produced with an even faster tempo and a brassier arrangement.

Unusually for Temptations singles, "My Baby's" B-side, the Paul Williams-led "Don’t Look Back", was a minor hit in its own right, becoming a top 20 R&B hit and serving for several years as the Temptations' live-show closing number. Both sides of the single would be remixed for its 2nd pressing, adding on the following statements: "Taken from the album #G 914 The Temptin' Temptations."

Personnel

Chart history
Chart (1965) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart 13
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 4

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 571.
  • Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. ISBN 0-8154-1218-5.
  • Williams, Otis and Weigner, Harry (2002). My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations (Compact disc liner notes). New York: Motown/Universal Records.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.