Norman Whitfield remembered
The Great Motown Writer/Producer © 2016
The name Norman Whitfield may not roll off the tongue the way it did when he was very active writing and producing some of the best music ever recorded. But his musical genius is still being heard everyday.
Whitfield worked his magic at Motown during its glory years. Some people only know about the psychedelic sounds Whitfield produced for the Temptations. But his repertoire of hit songs was more extensive than that. He was a writer on Marvin Gaye’s very early hit, “Pride and Joy,” the Temptations’ “Girl Why You Wanna Make Me Blue,” “The Girl’s Alright With Me,” “Too Many Fish In The Sea,” by the Marvelettes, “He Was Really Saying Something,” by the Velvelettes, and many other early Motown hits.
Whitfield got his biggest break when “Get Ready,” a great song written by Smokey, did not chart as high as Motown expected. Once Whitfield and Eddie Holland wrote “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” for the Temptations, Smokey lost his grip on the Temptin’ Tempts.
“I Know I’m Losing You,” “You’re My Everything,” “I Wish It Would Rain” and “I Could Never Love Another” were other Whitfield produced hits.
After David Ruffin left the Temptations, Whitfield, now teamed with Barrett Strong as a co-writer, would go on to produce “Cloud Nine,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and countless other hits for the Tempts. Barrett Strong, who recorded Motown’s first hit, “Money,” can still hear the song played today in a casino commercial, featuring the song’s hook, “Money, that’s what, I need money….”
Whitfield produced countless songs for other artists including Glady’s Knight and the Pips, The Undisputed Truth, Rare Earth, Marvin Gaye, and Rose Royce. Here are just a few of his many hits:
• Ain’t Too Proud To Beg
• Car Wash
• Cloud Nine
• Girl (Why you wanna make me blue)
• He Was Really Saying Something
• I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Glady’s Knight and Marvin Gaye)
• I Wish It Would Rain
• (I Know) I’m Losing You
• Just My Imagination
• Ma- Get Ready, Losing You-Rare Earth
• Needle in a Haystack
• Papa Was A Rolling Stone-The Temptations and Undisputed Truth
• Pride and Joy
• Smiling Faces Sometimes-Temptations, Undisputed Truth and David Ruffin.
• The Girl’s Alright With Me
• Too Busy Thinking About My Baby-Marvin Gaye, Temptations
• Too May Fish in the Sea
• War-Temptations and Edwin Starr
• Wishing On A Star-Rose Royce
• You’re My Everything
• Sail Away
Whitfield’s psychedelic and rock sounds were often attributed to Sly Stone’s influence. In the book, “Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye,” Whitfield elaborated on the subject.
He said, “My thing was to out-Sly Sly Stone. Sly was definitely sly, and his sound was new, his grooves were incredible, he borrowed a lot from rock. He caught the psychedelic thing. He was bad. I could match him though, rhythm for rhythm, horn for horn.”
Though Whitfield had produced hit after hit for the Temptations, they took issue with some of his productions and how he pushed them in the studio. They eventually complained to Berry Gordy, Jr. In Gordy’s book, “To Be Loved,” this is how Whitfield responded to Otis Williams’ complaints:
“They’re ridiculous. I’m giving them hits, spending all my time writing the tunes and working on the tracks, getting ready for them to come off the road. What’s ridiculous about that?
“Look man, I fought too hard for too long to start lowering my standards now. I’ve got to push those cats to get the perfection I know you want and I want. And I ain’t changing my style for nobody.”
Whitfield later teamed up with the Temptations again to produce “Sail Away,” which had that sweet, pre-psychedelic sound. He also teamed with David Ruffin again to produce, “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” a very good version, by the way.
Whitfield died in September 2008 at the age of 68.
His music, however, didn’t die. It will live for the next 50 years or so.
The Great Motown Writer/Producer © 2016
The name Norman Whitfield may not roll off the tongue the way it did when he was very active writing and producing some of the best music ever recorded. But his musical genius is still being heard everyday.
Whitfield worked his magic at Motown during its glory years. Some people only know about the psychedelic sounds Whitfield produced for the Temptations. But his repertoire of hit songs was more extensive than that. He was a writer on Marvin Gaye’s very early hit, “Pride and Joy,” the Temptations’ “Girl Why You Wanna Make Me Blue,” “The Girl’s Alright With Me,” “Too Many Fish In The Sea,” by the Marvelettes, “He Was Really Saying Something,” by the Velvelettes, and many other early Motown hits.
Whitfield got his biggest break when “Get Ready,” a great song written by Smokey, did not chart as high as Motown expected. Once Whitfield and Eddie Holland wrote “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” for the Temptations, Smokey lost his grip on the Temptin’ Tempts.
“I Know I’m Losing You,” “You’re My Everything,” “I Wish It Would Rain” and “I Could Never Love Another” were other Whitfield produced hits.
After David Ruffin left the Temptations, Whitfield, now teamed with Barrett Strong as a co-writer, would go on to produce “Cloud Nine,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and countless other hits for the Tempts. Barrett Strong, who recorded Motown’s first hit, “Money,” can still hear the song played today in a casino commercial, featuring the song’s hook, “Money, that’s what, I need money….”
Whitfield produced countless songs for other artists including Glady’s Knight and the Pips, The Undisputed Truth, Rare Earth, Marvin Gaye, and Rose Royce. Here are just a few of his many hits:
• Ain’t Too Proud To Beg
• Car Wash
• Cloud Nine
• Girl (Why you wanna make me blue)
• He Was Really Saying Something
• I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Glady’s Knight and Marvin Gaye)
• I Wish It Would Rain
• (I Know) I’m Losing You
• Just My Imagination
• Ma- Get Ready, Losing You-Rare Earth
• Needle in a Haystack
• Papa Was A Rolling Stone-The Temptations and Undisputed Truth
• Pride and Joy
• Smiling Faces Sometimes-Temptations, Undisputed Truth and David Ruffin.
• The Girl’s Alright With Me
• Too Busy Thinking About My Baby-Marvin Gaye, Temptations
• Too May Fish in the Sea
• War-Temptations and Edwin Starr
• Wishing On A Star-Rose Royce
• You’re My Everything
• Sail Away
Whitfield’s psychedelic and rock sounds were often attributed to Sly Stone’s influence. In the book, “Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye,” Whitfield elaborated on the subject.
He said, “My thing was to out-Sly Sly Stone. Sly was definitely sly, and his sound was new, his grooves were incredible, he borrowed a lot from rock. He caught the psychedelic thing. He was bad. I could match him though, rhythm for rhythm, horn for horn.”
Though Whitfield had produced hit after hit for the Temptations, they took issue with some of his productions and how he pushed them in the studio. They eventually complained to Berry Gordy, Jr. In Gordy’s book, “To Be Loved,” this is how Whitfield responded to Otis Williams’ complaints:
“They’re ridiculous. I’m giving them hits, spending all my time writing the tunes and working on the tracks, getting ready for them to come off the road. What’s ridiculous about that?
“Look man, I fought too hard for too long to start lowering my standards now. I’ve got to push those cats to get the perfection I know you want and I want. And I ain’t changing my style for nobody.”
Whitfield later teamed up with the Temptations again to produce “Sail Away,” which had that sweet, pre-psychedelic sound. He also teamed with David Ruffin again to produce, “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” a very good version, by the way.
Whitfield died in September 2008 at the age of 68.
His music, however, didn’t die. It will live for the next 50 years or so.