"I Can't Get Next to You" is a 1969 No. 1 single recorded 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 ...

and written 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 ...

and

Barrett Strong Barrett Strong (born February 5, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best known for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfi ...

for the Gordy ( Motown) label. The song was a No. 1 single on the ''Billboard'' Top Pop Singles chart for two weeks in 1969, from October 18 to October 25, replacing "

Sugar, Sugar Sugar, Sugar is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was originally recorded by the Archies – a fictional band of studio musicians linked to the 1968–69 US Saturday morning TV cartoon ''The Archie Show'', inspired by the Archie C ...

" by

the Archies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and replaced by "

Suspicious Minds "Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was cut by Elvis Presley with producer Chips Moman, becoming a No. 1 song in 1969, and one of the most ...

" by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. The single was also a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Top R&B Singles for five weeks, from October 4 to November 1, replacing " Oh, What a Night" by

the Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

, and replaced by another Motown song, " Baby I'm For Real" by the Originals. The single was the second of the Temptations' four No. 1 hits on the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

pop charts, and was also one of the best-selling singles the group released. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1969. The applause that starts the song, which is cut short by

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 ...

' spoken "Hold it, hold it, listen" line, was sampled in another Temptations song "

Psychedelic Shack ''Psychedelic Shack'' is the twelfth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1970. Completely written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield, ''Psychedelic Shack'' almost completely aband ...

Overview

"I Can't Get Next to You" was the second single from the 1969 Temptations LP '' Puzzle People'', with "Running Away (Ain't Gonna Help You)", a ballad led by Paul Williams, as the b-side. The single was a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and the ''Billboard'' Top R&B Singles chart. The song has been frequently covered, with the most notable cover being a 1970 version by Al Green, a slower-paced version without multi-lead vocals. Green's cover, the title track of his 1971 LP '' Al Green Gets Next to You'', reached No. 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and No. 11 on the R&B chart.

Personnel

* Lead and background vocals by

(verses; choruses; outro),

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 Temptation ...

(verses; choruses), Paul Williams (verses),

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 ...

(verses), 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 ...

(last verse) * Written by

and

* Produced by Norman Whitfield * 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

The Temptations

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Al Green

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Can't Get Next To You 1969 singles 1970 singles Songs written by Barrett Strong Songs written by Norman Whitfield The Temptations songs The Osmonds songs Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Psychedelic soul songs 1969 songs Gordy Records singles Hi Records singles