"Just Let Me Know" is a song recorded in late

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

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, written, and produced by

president

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

, and is 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 the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

hit single "

The Way You Do the Things You Do "The Way You Do the Things You Do" is a 1964 hit single by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers, the single was the Temptations' first charting single on the ''Billboard'' Ho ...

".Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). ''Temptations''. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. . Both songs competed with each other and with the H-D-H production, " A Tear From A Woman's Eyes", for the

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 ...

; the latter song was shelved for several years after losing the spot. It was recorded just days before the firing of the original member Elbridge "Al" Bryant. In the song, the narrator tells his former love how much he misses her and that if she wants him back to tell him and he will come to her "as fast as he can". Two versions of the song were released, both of which were led by group's

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 ...

singer and front man Paul Williams. The first pressing used a more soulful take with only Williams as lead; this version also appears on mono copies of their first album, ''

Meet the Temptations ''Meet the Temptations'' is the debut studio album by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1964. It includes most of the group's early singles, excluding only the first, "Oh Mother of Mine", and its b-side, "Romance Without F ...

'', as well as the box set ''The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 4: 1964''. The second pressing has a much smoother take, and has Bryant with a few lead parts on the choruses, singing the line "straight to you" the first two times on the song, while the group sings it the remaining times. This version was also released on the stereo LP and

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

editions of ''Meet the Temptations''. Around the time the song was recorded, Bryant had become restless, unco-operative and sometimes volatile. He would miss concerts and recording sessions, preferred his day job as a

milkman Milk delivery is a delivery service dedicated to supplying milk. This service typically delivers milk in bottles or cartons directly to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a cow ...

to performing, and had been arguing and fighting with his fellow group members. By the time this single came out, Bryant had been fired and replaced by

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 ...

. Despite being a B-side, "Just Let Me Know" was given just as big a promotion as its A-side, the

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 ...

-led "The Way You Do the Things You Do", which was a Top 20 pop hit. Although the song did not chart nationally, it was a strong regional hit in many areas of the US. Due to the success of the A-side, Williams was prevented from having any more leads on the group's remaining A-sides, with the exception of group/multi-leads during the late 1960s.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by Paul Williams and Al Bryant (second version only) * 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 g ...

, Al Bryant 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 ...

Notes

{{authority control 1963 songs 1964 singles The Temptations songs Songs written by Berry Gordy Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson Gordy Records singles