"Isn't She Pretty" is a

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

song recorded by The Temptations, and written by group members Eddie Kendricks and Otis Williams, as well as

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 ...

's founder Berry Gordy. It was Gordy's first production with the group, and intended for released on the Miracle label, but it was shelved due to the label closing, as well as the fact that the Motown execs thought the song sounded a little too dated. It was finally 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 ...

for the group's

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

single " Dream Come True", their first on the Gordy label imprint.

Overview

Recording

This is the first of the small handful of pre-psychedelic era songs the group recorded (and the second one released) that had more than two members singing lead at one point. A lot of the song's lead is performed as an ensemble piece, but each member get a chance to also be heard outfront throughout the song.The Temptations - 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1961-1971

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New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records On the song's first verse the entire group sings the lead vocal in unison harmony. Afterwards Elbridge "Al" Bryant and

Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul O. Williams (1935–2009), American science-fiction author and poet * Paul L. Williams (author) (born 1944), FBI consultant, journalist * Paul Williams (journalist) (1948–2013), American founder of mu ...

swap leads on the first half of the 2nd and 3rd verses; Eddie Kendricks and Melvin Franklin swap leads on the bridge; Otis Williams gets a line near the end ("She's a doll, now hey…"). It mainly showcases the lead vocals of tenor Bryant, as his ad-libs on the choruses made him the most prominent out front, but technically (group

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

) Paul Williams could also be considered the main lead as he portrays the narrator, who's telling his friends about a beautiful unrequited love: However…. On the bridge, Franklin, the group's

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, is in the role of another potential beau that decides to ask the woman if he could be her man. Kendricks (as either the girl or as another friend) shoots him down: "''No, you don't rate" ("Why")/"You ain't got just what it takes at all''." Kendricks's soaring falsetto voice is also prominently heard, and not just in the background, as he delivers several ad-libs of his own throughout the recording.

Reception

Both sides of the single received a lot of airplay on local Detroit stations, but this b-side never charted nationally (although it was a regional hit). Because of this, and due to the A-side (led by Kendricks) becoming an R&B hit, Paul would be regulated to B-sides until 1963, and it prevented Al from getting any more main leads on the Temptations singles. None of Paul's leads on the A-side would make the ''

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'' and ''

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'' charts, and by 1965 he would be replaced as the group's main lead by, Bryant's successor, David Ruffin. However Paul Williams would finally get a hit on both the

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and

Hot R&B 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 ...

charts with 1965's " Don't Look Back".

Personnel

* Lead & Background vocals by Al Bryant (verses; choruses; ad-libs),

(verses; choruses), Eddie Kendricks (verses; choruses; bridge; ad-libs), Melvin Franklin (verses; choruses; bridge), and Otis Williams (verses; choruses) * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Notes

{{authority control 1961 songs 1962 singles The Temptations songs Songs written by Berry Gordy Songs written by Eddie Kendricks Songs written by Otis Williams Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy Gordy Records singles