''House Party'' is a 1975 album released by the American R&B vocal group,

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 ...

, on Motown Records' Gordy label.

Overview

This album is made up of vaulted songs recorded both prior to and following the sessions for '' A Song for You''. ''House Party'' contains the final sessions recorded by falsetto

Damon Harris Otis Robert "Damon" Harris Jr. (July 17, 1950 – February 18, 2013) was an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1975. Twenty years old when he joined the group, Harris was the youngest member ...

as a member of the group, as well as the first for his replacement,

Glenn Leonard Glenn Carl Leonard (born June 11, 1947 in Washington, D.C.) is an American R&B and soul singer best remembered for serving as the first tenor/secondary lead singer of the Motown quintet The Temptations from 1975 to 1983, and for the last 15 y ...

. The sessions featured a slew of producers and composers from both within and outside of the Motown stable. The completed project was overseen by

Jeffrey Bowen Jeffrey Bowen is an American songwriter and record producer, notable for his work at both Motown Records and Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus and Hot Wax labels. He is best known for his work with the Detroit male vocal groups Chairmen of the ...

, who produced ''A Song for You'' and the subsequent album, ''

Wings of Love ''Wings of Love'' is a 1976 album by The Temptations for the Gordy ( Motown) label. Background Producer Jeffrey Bowen preferred Dennis Edwards to the rest of the group, and wanted to produce an Edwards solo album instead of a group album. As a ...

''. The Temptations were not given creative input on the final release, to which

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 ...

referred in his autobiography ''Temptations'' as a "mismatched collection of, pardon my French, shit." Despite Williams' reservations regarding the circumstances surrounding the compilation and release of these tracks, as well as the album's perceived lack of commercial appeal, fans of the group have given ''House Party'' favorable reviews in the years since its release. Brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, collectively two-thirds of the

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. Du ...

hit-making stable, worked on the first track and only single, "Keep Holdin' On", while

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

stalwart Steve Cropper contributed to three songs as producer and/or writer. Vocal highlights include a rare lead performance by Otis Williams on his own composition, "Darling, Stand by Me (Song for My Woman)", the

Richard Street Richard Allen Street (October 5, 1942 – February 27, 2013) was an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of Motown vocal group The Temptations from 1971 to 1993. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Street was the first memb ...

-led ballad, "If I Don't Love You This Way" (a cover of a song by

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

originally featured on their ''

Dancing Machine "Dancing Machine" is a song recorded by American R&B outfit the Jackson 5, and was the title track of their ninth studio album. The song was originally recorded for the group's 1973 album '' G.I.T.: Get It Together'' and was released as a remix ...

'' album and named by the family group's lead singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

as one of his favourite songs); Glenn Leonard's debut in the ensemble vocal of "What You Need Most (I Do Best of All)"; and fan-favorite bass singer

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 ...

's lead vocals on "Ways of a Grown-Up Man."

Track listing

Personnel

;Performers *

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations, on Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang ...

– vocals ( baritone/

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

) *

– vocals ( bass) *

– vocals (tenor/ falsetto) *

– vocals (falsetto) *

– vocals (tenor) *

– vocals (baritone) ;Producers * James Anthony Carmichael and

Suzee Ikeda Suzee Ikeda is an American singer who was the first Asian-American solo artist at Motown. However, she is best known for her work "behind the scenes" at Motown with such acts as Michael Jackson and The Temptations. Biography Born Susan Wendy ...

– "What You Need Most (I Do Best of All)", "Darling, Stand by Me" and "If I Don't Love You This Way" * Steve Cropper – "World of You, Love, and Music", "Ways of a Grown-up Man" and "Johnny Porter" *

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous h ...

– "Keep Holdin' On" * Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford – "It's Just a Matter of Time" and "You Can't Stop a Man in Love" * The Temptations – "What You Need Most (I Do Best of All)" and "Darling, Stand by Me"

Charts

Singles

References

External links

''House Party''
at

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''House Party''
at

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{{Authority control 1975 albums The Temptations albums Gordy Records albums Albums produced by Jeffrey Bowen Albums produced by Brian Holland