"Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" is a 1964 hit single by

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 ...

for the Gordy (

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 ...

) label. It was the group's first

A-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 company ...

release to be produced 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 Mo ...

, who co-wrote the song with

Edward Holland, Jr. Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...

of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. With

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptatio ...

singing lead for the third single in a row, it peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Pop charts in the top 30 at number 26.Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). ''Temptations''. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. . As the narrator of the up-tempo song, Kendricks tells his girl "I love you, girl, with all my heart and soul/ I can't understand why you treat me cold", and now his "heart feels the pain" cause by her mistreatment of him. This single would be Kendricks' last as lead on an A-side until " Get Ready" in 1966, and the last for Whitfield as producer until "

Ain't Too Proud to Beg "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" is a 1966 song and hit single by The Temptations for Motown Records' Gordy label, produced by Norman Whitfield and written by Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Chart, a ...

"; this would be due to the fact that "Get Ready", composed and produced by Smokey Robinson, had missed the Pop Top 20 just like this single did. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the single as "a bright,

shuffle Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome. __TOC__ Techniques Over ...

-rock handclapping thumper" with a "very commercial 'Detroit' sound." The next Temptations single, " My Girl", would be the first to feature

David Ruffin David Eli Ruffin (born Davis Eli Ruffin;Ribowsky, p. 88 January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Clas ...

as lead and would be produced by Robinson. Ruffin, up to this point, had only sung lead on stage and on a few unreleased tracks, otherwise singing backgrounds behind Kendricks and then main lead singer Paul Williams. When "My Girl" hit number 1 on the R&B and Pop Charts in 1965, it signaled the continuing of Robinson as the group's main producer, and the start of Ruffin's run as The Temptations' main lead singer.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

* Background vocals by

Melvin Franklin David Melvin English (October 12, 1942 – February 23, 1995) better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin, or his nickname "Blue", was an American bass singer. Franklin was best known for his role as a founding member of Motown singing ...

, Paul Williams,

, and

Otis Williams Otis Williams (born Otis Miles Jr.; October 30, 1941) is an American baritone singer.Ribowsky, Mark (2010). ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Endearing Soul of the Temptations''. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 7–9 He is o ...

* 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 ...

Chart history

Cover versions

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

recorded a version of the song for his album of soul covers, '' Going Back''. In the 1990s, Italian-Brazilian songstress

Deborah Blando Deborah Salvatrice Blando (born March 3, 1969) is an Italian-born Brazilian and Italian singer and composer. She has sold about six million copies sold worldwide, with six albums released between 1991 and 2002. She has seven number 1 single and t ...

recorded a version of the song as the first cut out of her debut album, '' A Different Story''. She retitled the song to "Boy (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)". The song and video were a theme for Pepsi advertisements in the summer of 1991.

Notes

1964 singles The Temptations songs Songs written by Norman Whitfield Songs written by Eddie Holland Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield Gordy Records singles 1964 songs {{1960s-R&B-song-stub