"The End of Our Road" is a single written by

Roger 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 ...

, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1967. Originally recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips and issued as a single in 1968, the Pips' version of the song, became another top forty hit for the family group as it peaked at number fifteen on the pop singles chart and number five on the R&B singles chart.

Background

As with the last two songs in Penzabene's trilogy 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 ...

, "

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 ...

", "The End of Our Road" talked about the demise of a couple's relationship. The sentiment behind the song's words, as lyricist Penzabene wrote his songs as personal statements to his wife, was about publicizing his pain of his own marriage falling apart. Unable to handle the extreme pain and hurt caused by this, he wrote the songs, drawing from his real-life heart break. After all three songs were completed and recorded, Penzabene committed suicide.

Gladys Knight & the Pips version

*Lead vocals by Gladys Knight *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 ...

, William Guest and

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 ...

*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 positions

The Marvin Gaye recording

Much like the minor controversy with " I Heard It Through the Grapevine", Whitfield produced a different version of the song with

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 ...

, who issued the song in early 1970. The song peaked at number forty on the pop charts. It was the first song counted down on the first show of the syndicated radio countdown program ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (previously abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacr ...

'' on the weekend of July 4, 1970. *Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by

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

Chart positions

References

1967 songs 1968 singles 1970 singles Gladys Knight & the Pips songs Marvin Gaye songs Motown singles Songs written by Barrett Strong Songs written by Norman Whitfield Songs written by Rodger Penzabene Tamla Records singles {{1960s-single-stub