Rare Earth's "Get Ready" was the band's first recording for Motown, and was based upon a version they performed as part of the closing numbers to their live performances. For their set, the group had included a medley of soul standards, one of which, the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk", was a solo spot for Ruffin. In the live show, each member of the band performed a solo, resulting in a twenty-one-minute rendition of the song. (The Temptations' version eventually reached No. This part can be heard without vocals on the 2004 deluxe edition of the soundtrack from the 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. The Rare Earth version of the song also peaked at number twenty on the R&B chart. Song history Temptations version. It can't be beat for $12, or seriously, 12 cents a song! Pop charts (and R&B charts) Top 20. This article presents the discography of Motown group The Temptations.It is a complete listing of all their singles and albums. Click here for more information. 1 R&B hit) made it to thirteen on the pop charts, Motown chief Berry Gordy assigned him to be the Temptations' new main producer. If you are looking for a ready-made library of Motown/R&B hits to build a playlist and you don't know the genre (like me) or care about the B-sides (like me), this set is ideal. "[4] The opening bass notes are recognized around the world. Their 45 RPM single sold in excess of a million U.S. copies, earning a gold certification from the RIAA. "Magic Key" has a fast tempo, and uses a mixolydian chord progression with a key change on the chorus. The group's previous singles since "My Girl" had all landed in the U.S. 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. Until the group recorded "Please Return Your Love to Me" in 1968, this was their last song to feature lead vocals solely by Kendricks, as David Ruffin (who was with the group at the time), and later, Dennis Edwards, would be placed in that role in later songs. "My Girl" is a soul music song recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) record label. 10 in the UK in 1969). [He sings the famous line created by bassist James Jamerson:] 'Bah bum-bum, bah bum-bum, bah bum-bum. Robinson's inspiration for writing "My Girl" was his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. Meanwhile, the group continued to perform and record. "Get Ready" is a Motown song written by Smokey Robinson, which resulted in two hit records for the label: a U.S. No. In 1998, the Temptations returned with Phoenix Rising.Their history was also the subject of a televised mini-series, The Temptations, based on Williams' autobiography. The band wanted to release "Get Ready" as a single, but Motown declined at first, issuing the unsuccessful "Generation, Light Up the Sky" as the band's first single. "My Girl" was later sampled for "Stay", a single from the Temptations' 1998 album Phoenix Rising. [10] Today, "Get Ready" is among the most familiar of both the Temptations' and Rare Earth's recordings. "I Can't Get Next to You" is a 1969 number-one single recorded by The Temptations and written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Gordy label. This is disk is an outstanding value. Although it was well-received and nominated for several Emmy Awards, numerous parties, including David Ruffin's family, filed lawsuits. '"[5] The signature guitar riff heard during the introduction and under the verses was played by Robert White of the Funk Brothers. It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer. "My Girl" climbed to the top of the U.S. pop charts after its Christmas time 1964 release, making it the Temptations' first number 1 hit. Complete National Recording Registry Listing. When he recorded "Never Gonna Give You Up" with Stock, Aitken and Waterman in October 1986, it was clear that anything they issued was headed for the charts. 29 version by The Temptations in 1966, and a U.S. No. [2] The composition was to be something that Ruffin could "belt out" yet something that was also "melodic and sweet".[2]. 1 on the U.S. R&B singles chart, while peaking at No. 1 on the R&B charts (their first since "My Girl"), "Get Ready" was only a Top 30 hit (missing the Top 20 by nine positions), while "Fading Away" missed all U.S. national charts. In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant". 1, We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Get_Ready_(The_Temptations_song)&oldid=1018781556, Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson, Articles needing additional references from September 2016, All articles needing additional references, Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming figures, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming footnote, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Additionally, the Temptations also re-recorded the song as part of a series of promos for American television network, "Mind Over Matter (I'm Gonna Make You Mine)" (1962), "Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down" (1969), "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)" (1970) / ", "Who are You (and What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life)" (1976), "Miss Busy Body (Get Your Body Busy)" (1983), This page was last edited on 19 April 2021, at 20:44. It took up the entire second side of their platinum-selling Motown album, also titled Get Ready. This article is about the Temptations song. "[8], In 2004, "My Girl" was ranked number 88 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[9]. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. In the Name of Love” involved one hand on the hip and the other outstretched in a “stop” gesture. Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada", "British single certifications – Temptations – Get Ready", "Australian Top 50 ARIA Singles Chart – Week Ending 9th August, 1987", "Walmart TV Commercial, 'Back to School List' Song by The Temptations". [3] Consequently, the Temptations came up with boosts like "hey hey hey" and a series of "my girls" that echo David's vocal. When the song was finally released in July 1987, it seemed inevitable that it would hit, and Astley was ready for it. The song was included on the Temptations 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey. In 1970, Motown's rock band Rare Earth released a cover version of the song as a single. The original Temptations version of "Get Ready", produced by Smokey Robinson, was designed as an answer to the latest dance craze, "The Duck". As Smokey Robinson says, "I can be in a foreign country where people don't speak English and the audience will start cheering before I even start singing "My Girl." After some persuasion from Ruffin's bandmates, Robinson had the Temptations record "My Girl" instead of the Miracles, who were originally going to record the song, and recruited Ruffin to sing the lead vocals. "My Girl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Sort recordings by title, artist, year of release, year inducted into the Registry, and genre by using the up and down arrows at the top of each column. The B-side to "Get Ready" was the ballad "Fading Away", which was also led by Kendricks. [2] Robinson thought that if he could write just the perfect song for Ruffin's voice, then he could have a smash hit. Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970. 4 version by Rare Earth in 1970. "Get Ready" hit No. According to Robinson, he allowed the group to create their own background vocals "because they were so great at background 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 Bryant. [7], Over time, "My Girl", with its signature introduction and unrestrained expression of male joy, would become one of Motown's best-known and most successful singles. It has been noted that the audience sounds throughout the song are repetitive and canned. [1], The recorded version of "My Girl" was the first Temptations single to feature David Ruffin on lead vocals. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Thirty-seven of their singles reached the Billboard Top 40 in the US, with four of them reaching #1. 29 on the pop charts.[1]. Robinson saw Ruffin as a "sleeping giant" in the group with a unique voice that was "mellow" yet "gruff". The song made it to No. On the R&B singles chart, the group scored a record seventy-one Top 40 singles, with fourteen of those reaching #1. 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. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. The recorded version of "My Girl" was the first Temptations single to feature David Ruffin on lead vocals. As was promised, the next single released would have Norman Whitfield's song on it. This had been done before with the Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie" released on an album with party crowd noise dubbed in. All original artists/hits, all mastered perfectly. The original Temptations version of "Get Ready", produced by Smokey Robinson, was designed as an answer to the latest dance craze, "The Duck".The Temptations' falsetto Eddie Kendricks sings lead on the song, which Robinson produced as an up-tempo dance number with a prominent rhythm provided by Motown drummer Benny Benjamin. 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 and 1970s. Finally deferring to the band's wishes in February 1970, Motown released a three-minute edit of the song as a single, which became a hit. Recording and release. For the Chilliwack song, see, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop by Marc Myers, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of number-one R&B singles of 1965 (U.S.), "National Recording Registry Reaches 500", "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", "The Temptations Chart History (Hot 100)", "The Temptations Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)", "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 27, 1965", Dutchcharts.nl – The Temptations – My Girl", Offiziellecharts.de – The Temptations – My Girl", The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Temptations", "The Temptations Chart History (Adult Contemporary)", "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1965", "British single certifications – Temptations – My Girl", "American single certifications – The Temptations – My Girl", Recording Industry Association of America, (Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need, I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You), Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today), Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me), Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are), Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=My_Girl_(The_Temptations_song)&oldid=1006467645, Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson, United States National Recording Registry recordings, Cite certification used for United Kingdom without ID, Articles needing additional references from February 2018, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, Singlechart usages for Billboardrandbhiphop, Singlechart usages for Canadaadultcontemporary, Singlechart usages for Billboardadultcontemporary, Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming figures, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming footnote, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Mind Over Matter (I'm Gonna Make You Mine)" (1962), "Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down" (1969), "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)" (1970) / ", "Who are You (and What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life)" (1976), "Miss Busy Body (Get Your Body Busy)" (1983), This page was last edited on 13 February 2021, at 01:38. 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