"Don't You Miss Me a Little Bit Baby" is a 1967

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

song originally recorded by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

singer

Jimmy Ruffin Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...

and released on the company's Soul subsidiary label.

Details

The track was written by

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s.allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motow ...

and

Barrett Strong Barrett Strong (born February 5, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best known for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfi ...

, Motown's hit songwriting duo responsible for many of the company's late '60s and early '70s classics. The song was also co-written by lyricist

Rodger Penzabene Rodger Penzabene (1945 – December 31, 1967) was an American songwriter for the Motown label. Among his most notable compositions as a lyricist are "Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me" by Gladys Knight & the Pips; "The End of Our Road" by Gla ...

, who drew inspiration from his real-life heart break over learning that his wife had been unfaithful. Penzabene was also responsible for several similarly-themed hit songs for

The Temptations 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. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

, including "

I Wish It Would Rain "I Wish It Would Rain" is a 1967 song recorded by the Temptations for the Motown label (under the "Gordy" imprint) and produced by Norman Whitfield. Release Issued with the Melvin Franklin-led "I Truly, Truly Believe" as its B-side, "I Wish ...

" and "

I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You) "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)" is a single recorded by the Temptations and released on Motown Records' Gordy label during the spring of 1968. The song is the last with lyrics by Rodger Penzabene, and as the final Temptations singl ...

", but, unable to handle the extreme pain and unable to leave his wife, committed suicide on New Year's Eve 1967. Jimmy Ruffin recorded the song in May 1967, and it was released as a single in June the same year. It became a minor hit on the US Pop Charts, reaching No. 68, and made the Top 30 on the

R&B Charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

, peaking at No. 27. It was also released as a single in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, by Tamla Motown, but failed to chart. Ruffin would, however, find considerably more success on the UK Charts, and would amass a total of 6 UK Top Ten hits over his career. His signature tune, "

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" is a hit single recorded by Jimmy Ruffin and released on Motown Records' Soul label in the summer of 1966. It is a ballad, with lead singer Jimmy Ruffin recalling the pain that befalls the broken-hearted who h ...

", made No. 8 in 1966, and performed even better upon its rerelease in 1974, reaching No. 4. "Don't You Miss Me a Little Bit Baby" was released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "Brokenhearted" when it was reissued in 1974.

Covers

Fellow Motown singer

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

recorded the song in September 1969. Gaye's version, more uptempo and in a funky psychedelic soul style, was included on his '' That's The Way Love Is'' album, released in January 1970. Marvin Gaye also recorded a version of Jimmy Ruffin's " Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got" for the same album, and it was a modest hit of its own, making No. 67 and No. 26 on the US Pop and R&B Charts respectively.

Gladys Knight & The Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

also recorded "Don't You Miss Me a Little Bit Baby", in early 1968. Their version was more in keeping with the original by Jimmy Ruffin and was released as a track on their ''Feelin' Bluesy'' album from the same year. Jamaican star

Delroy Wilson Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995) Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...

also covered the song, under the title "Who Cares."

Personnel

Jimmy Ruffin version

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by The Originals and

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Mar ...

*Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

Marvin Gaye version

*Lead vocals by

*Instrumentation by

Gladys Knight and The Pips version

* Lead vocals by

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...

* Background vocals by

Merald "Bubba" Knight Merald Woodlow "Bubba" Knight, Jr. (born September 4, 1942) is an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. The older brother of lead singer Gladys Knight, Bubba Knight served as the unofficial leader of the ...

Edward Patten Edward Roy "Eddie" Patten (August 27, 1939 – February 25, 2005) was an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. He was a cousin of Gladys Knight. Patten was a member of the group from 1959 until its disband ...

, and William Guest * Instrumentation by

Delroy Wilson version

* Lead vocals by Delroy Wilson

References

{{authority control 1967 songs 1967 singles 1968 songs 1969 songs Marvin Gaye songs Jimmy Ruffin songs Gladys Knight & the Pips songs Soul songs Motown singles Songs written by Barrett Strong Songs written by Norman Whitfield Songs written by Rodger Penzabene Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield