My Girl (song)

Encyclopedia : M : MY : MYG : My Girl (song)

This article is about the 1965 Temptations song. For the 1991 film, see My Girl. "My Girl" is also the name of unrelated songs by Madness and Musiq Soulchild.

"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

1 History

1.1 Recording and success
1.2 Covers and other uses

2 Credits
3 Sample

History

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.

Covers and other uses

"My Girl"
Album track by Otis Redding
From the album
Recorded	Memphis, Tennessee
Genre	Soul
Length	3:03
Label	Atco
Producer	Steve Cropper

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 . 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.

Now considered a classic Motown tune, "My Girl" has been frequently covered since the 1960s. 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 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 costar, Macaulay Culkin. Even Marvin Gaye recorded a rare cover version of My Girl.

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

Sample

["My Girl"] ([file info])
*
* Problems listening to the file? See [Media helpmedia help].

|- style="text-align: center;"

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.