With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

On This Day The Temptations Were On Cloud Nine! March 12, 2025

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 9:12 pm
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On March 11th 1969 the Temptations became the first Motown act to win a Grammy Award for “Cloud Nine” for the Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance. The single reached Number 2 on the US R&B chart, number 6 on the US Billboard chart, number 9 in Canada and number 15 in the UK. All in 1968. The song was the first of their singles to feature Dennis Edwards instead of David Ruffin in the lineup, and was the first of producer Norman Whitfield’s glorious psychedelic soul tracks. The track was written by Whitfield and Barrett Strong.

In 1968, Sly and the Family Stone had a hit with their single “Dance to the Music”, and Temptations member Otis Williams introduced Norman Whitfield to the band’s music. At first, Whitfield did not want to produce anything with such a radically different sound. “I don’t want to get into all that crazy shit,” he said. “That ain’t nothing but a little passing fancy.” Within a few weeks, however, he had created the backing tracks for “Cloud Nine”.

The song featured a vocal part from all five Temptations; Paul Williams, Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks,
Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria played conga drums on the song alongside the iconic Motown house band the Funk Brothers. The song has some excellent bass from James Jamerson.

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“In old Temptations’ rain, I’m duckin’” December 11, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 7:10 am
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Hasn’t time flown? We’re already at 11th December and we’ve arrived at the letter K in my ABC of Motown Advent Calendar for 2011. We need to truck on for just a little while before Christmas so to help with that journey how about the marvellous “Keep On Truckin’” from the magnificent Mr Eddie Kendricks. The song was an US number one and a UK number 18 in 1973.

Eddie spent a several years with the Temptations and finally left in part because he was allegedly unhappy with the late 60s psychedelic direction the group was taking. The last Temptations hit single that he appeared on was the sublime “Just My Imagination”. It is also alleged that another 1971 hit for the Temptations “Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)” was directed at Kendricks and another former Temptation; David Ruffin.

“Keep On Truckin'” was written by Leonard Caston, Jr, Anita Poree and Frank Wilson. (You may recall that Frank was featured in this Advent Calendar on December 4th. Had he lived he would have been 72 in six days. But sadly he succumbed to lung cancer aged just 52 in 1992.