"I Want a Love I Can See" is a 1963 single 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 ...

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. The single was the group's first

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 ...

to be written and produced by

Miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

lead singer

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

. Robinson had previously written 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 ...

"Slow Down Heart", but for over the past year

Berry Gordy, Jr. 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 l ...

had been The Temptations' main producer.

Overview

Lead singer Paul Williams, in the role of the song’s narrator, talks about what he thinks is true love. :''I want a love I can see'' :''That's the only kind that means a thing to me'' :''Don't want a love you have to tell me about'' :''That kind of loving I can sure do without'' This single not only marked Williams return as lead on the A-side, but would also be the only one with him as the sole lead (although there are a few B-sides with him only as lead). During the previous year, fellow group member

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 ...

was given the lead on the singles' A-sides with very little success. By early 1963, the Tempts was a regional R&B favorite with their most successful single being " Dream Come True", a Top 30 R&B hit, but they couldn’t make the '' ''Billboard'' Hot 100'' charts. Because of this, the group was given the nickname "The Hitless Temptations",Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. . while Motown continued to try to give them a top 20 hit on both the Pop and R&B charts. Robinson by this time had become one of Motown's top producers and songwriters, delivering hits such acts as

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...

and his own group

The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...

(and a few minor charters to sister group

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

), and when the Tempts were given this song they were sure this would be the hit they needed. According to some sources, including Otis Williams autobiography,

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singer Melvin Franklin did not record vocals on either side of this single, as he was visiting family in Alabama. However, this cannot be substantiated by official

studio records. Although "I Want a Love I Can See" did not chart nationally, the song was a smash regional hit in some parts of the country and would continue to be used as part of the Temptations' on-stage repertoire. In fact, the single ended up becoming more successful financially than the group's previous singles, as it outsold even the two charters. On the group's live performance of the song on the "''Motortown Revue Live Vol. 2''", Paul Williams and Elbridge "Al" Bryant exchange leads at the end of the song (one of the few times Bryant appears as lead on a song) - the part taken over by his replacement,

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 ...

on "'' The Temptations Live!''". The group's 2001 lineup made a studio remake (renamed "A Love I Can See") for The Temptations album ''Awesome''. Robinson would prove to have the best rapport with the group and eventually became the Tempts main producer. The song was covered by several different artists, including

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series '' Kids I ...

, Jackie Edwards, Creation Rebel, Dawn Penn, and Bitty McLean. John Holt also covered the song, which was retitled "(I Want) A Love I Can Feel". The melody and chord progression of this song appear to have been highly influential upon the structure of Rocky Burnette's 1980 hit single "Tired Of Toein' The Line". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' described it as an "inviting mashed potatoes-styled romancer" with a "strong musical backdrop" and said that it is "right up the teeners alley."

Personnel

* Lead vocals by Paul Williams and Al Bryant (live) * Background vocals by

, Melvin Franklin, Al Bryant, and Otis Williams * 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Want A Love I Can See 1963 singles The Temptations songs Songs written by Smokey Robinson Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson Gordy Records singles 1963 songs