Posted on 09/25/2020 1:52:35 PM PDT by nickcarraway
“It was the third of September / That day I’ll always remember,” begins “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” the classic song by the Temptations. Though it became one of their biggest hits, the group initially rejected the song - and that opening line proved problematic as well.
“Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” was penned by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, two of the most successful songwriters in Motown’s arsenal. Whitfield created the song’s haunting melody, while Strong handled the lyrics.
“Norman said he wanted lyrics that were fun, not serious, so listeners would have a good time with it,” Strong recalled during an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “But as I listened over and over after Norman left, I didn’t hear the music the way he did. There was something about the bass line that spoke to me. It was the sound of someone confused about something and was trying to make sense of it.”
As Strong listened to the a demo of the track, he was reminded of conversations he’d heard around his neighborhood. “‘Rolling stone’ was a phrase used all the time in my neighborhood going back to the ’50s,” the lyricist explained. “It meant a guy who couldn’t settle down, even if he had a wife and kids. It was from the old proverb, ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss.’”
Blending storytelling with his real-life observations, Strong created a narrative about a child’s conversation with his mother, asking questions about his deceased father.
“That’s the way it generally happens,” Strong explained, noting the gritty sincerity of the song. “A child asks his mother why his father is like that. Then the child has to live with what he’s told. In the song, the mother rationalizes the father’s behavior and blames it on his nature, even though they’re left with nothing. It’s about hopelessness and hope.”
The original version of “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” was recorded by Motown group the Undisputed Truth and released in May of ‘72. It peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard chart, but failed to generate the kind of response the songwriters had hoped for.
Whitfield went to label head and founder Berry Gordy and asked for another chance. He wanted to record a new version of “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and he wanted the Temptations to sing it.
Paul Riser Sr. would write the arrangement for the new rendition. The song’s feeling of suspense - specifically its bass line - made him view the piece like a film score. “The soundtrack to Shaft was a big influence. I had seen the film a year earlier when it came out and loved what my friend, arranger Johnny Allen, did with the orchestration. The bass on ‘Papa’ had a similar feel.”
Riser added strings to the track, doubling down on its sense of suspense.
When the Temptations were presented with the track, the group was less than impressed. “To be truthful, we almost didn’t record the song,” admitted Temptations founding member Otis Williams. The guys had grown weary of Whitfield and Strong’s “psychedelic soul” and wanted to return to the romantic songs that had been so successful for the group in the ‘60s.
Whitfield remained determined, insisting that the Temptations version would be a hit. The group eventually relented and agreed to give it a try.
According to Williams, frontman Dennis Edwards was annoyed by the song’s opening verse: “It was the third of September / That day I’ll always remember, yes I will / ‘Cause that was the day that my daddy died / I never got a chance to see him.”
“Dennis hadn’t heard the Undisputed Truth’s single and didn’t like ‘Papa’s’ opening line,” Williams explained. “His father had died the previous Sept. 3, and he thought Norman and Barrett were poking at him.” It’s important to note that Williams’ recollection was a little off. Edward’s father had died on Oct. 3, not Sept. 3. Nevertheless, Whitfield had to convince the Temptations frontman that any connections to his own life were purely coincidental.
Edwards also took exception to the muted delivery Whitfield requested. "I wanted to put more on it. I didn't want it to be so bland. But (Whitfield) actually wanted it bland,” the singer recalled in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. “Every time I would try to over-sing it, he would change it. He would make me mad."
"I did not (appreciate) it until I heard the record," Edwards continued. "And I said, 'Wow.' What he was doing, he was getting me into a certain mood."
Released in September of 1972, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” became one of the Temptations’ most popular tunes. The track won three Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Song, and hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart - the final chart-topper of the Temptations’ career.
“The song works because the lyrics reflect reality,” Strong later opined. “People have conversations like that every day. That’s why it rings true.”
Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (original) - The Undisputed Truth 1972
Why Earth, Wind and Fire Chose ‘The 21st Night of September’
Arguably the second most important soul song ever cut, after “This is a Man’s World.”
That intro to that song is just fabulous.
And big props to the Motown house band, The Funk Brothers, for laying down the sound behind the Temps.
Thanks for posting. WHAT A FABULOUS SONG. I saw them at MOTOWN review in Detroit in the late 60’s or early ‘70’s. Sheesh, I’m getting old. I cannot remember all of the details and all of the groups performing. MOTOWN. MMGA.
I love that song, along with almost everything that was on the radio when I was growing up. Really miss Dan Ingram and Cousin Bruce (Morrow).
I never noticed the similarities to Issac Hayes “Shaft” until now. He’s right. The bass line, pace and full orchestra do create a sense of drama and tension. He was right to insist that the lead singer not ‘over-sing’ the lyrics. That level of banal delivery served almost like a narration, now detached after the passage of time.
Cousin Brucie is still working. He has had a show for years on SiriusXM, but he may have just moved back to WABC, you’ll have to check.
The trumpet intro is by Maurice Davis.
The LONG intro is just amazing. Like a pot simmering. I love that song. I saw it live many years ago—one of those concerts where the hits just kept coming.
Those guys played almost every night in some combination. To say they were ‘tight’ is an understatement.
My favorite Temptations song
“and the path was deep and wide from footsteps leading to our cabin” What was the name of that song?
That was the other house of funk, Staxx in Memphis had Issac Hayes and Otis Redding and Booker T. The Tops and Temptations got alot “funkier” and less girl friend love songs style.
I grew up in the 60s, I was driving to get lunch in college when I heard Otis died. Hit me hard.
I had to look that one up...
I’m a little younger than you were. I remember the day Otis Redding died too. I was on a long stairway looking for Tooter, my pet turtle, who had once again crawled out of his terrarium upstairs, and bounced all the way downstairs near the kitchen. Why did he keep doing it, nobody knew. The radio was on in the kitchen, and I heard the news.
Tooter always survived the fall.
Arguably the second most important soul song ever cut, after “This is a Man’s World.”
I totally agree......I still play those songs.....;)
Wonderful artistry. 50X better than any of the narcissistic rap/hip hop garbage of today. The long intro was spellbinding. The lyrics provided something of a mystery, similar to “Ode To Billy Joe”.
As a teen (before the internet), I always wondered if the last line of the chorus was “all he left us was alone” or “all he left us was a loan” (presumably unpaid)? The play on words was brilliant.
No humor? The ripping of their father was classic:
“Hey Mama. I heard Papa had three outside children and another wife...and that ain’t right.”
“Folks say Papa never was much on thinkin’. Spent much of his time chasin’ women and drinkin’.”
The song made me think of all the inner-city men who had turned to crime and died young from one thing or another and how Mama had to explain to the children how Daddy made some bad decisions and now was gone and couldn’t provide for them. It was important, just as with “Ode To Billy Joe” that they didn’t tell us why it happened, sustaining the mystery that held you six minutes into the music.
As someone who has dabbled in lyricism, painting such a vivid pictured is such a difficult task. My hat’s off to Mr. Strong for sticking to his guns and believing in his words.
I have something like an eleven minute version of the song (temptations of course) with a very long opening. Fantastic. Don’t know where I downloaded it from. I have so much music from wax recordings to yesterday’s hits! Today’s music sucks for the most part==but I found a great track called “Everything is Bulls###” done by Willie Nelson’s son at last years Farm Aid. Lyrics are bland—but the melody is very Airplaneesque.
You guys too young for the Platters, "Only You"; Five Satins, "In the still of the Night"; Tommy Benton, "It's all in the game"...Ivory Joe hunter, "I need you so"...etc.
"In the still of the night" was my favorite because it was my most memorable night, and it can only happen one time:)
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