"My Baby" is a 1965 hit 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 ...

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 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 ...

members

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 ...

Bobby Rogers Robert Edward Rogers (February 19, 1940 – March 3, 2013) was an American musician and tenor singer, best known as a member of Motown vocal group the Miracles from 1956 until his death. He was inducted, in 2012, as a member of the Miracles to t ...

, and Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, the song was a top 20 pop hit in 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 territorie ...

, and a top 5 hit on the R&B charts. An extension of the theme from the group's #1 hit " My Girl", which had been released the previous December, "My Baby" features The Temptations, with

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 lead, bragging about the qualities of a special lady. Ruffin praises his woman's hairstyles ("hair soft like a baby lamb/and I love to run my fingers through it") and personality ("the gold in her personality/could set

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

to shame"), and hopes that "she digs me the way I am/but if I have to change/you know I'm gona do it for my baby". ''

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 online ...

'' described the single as an "easy-going, pop-r&b romantic shuffler about a love-sick fella who’ll do anything for his girlfriend." "My Baby" was a notable attempt to create an uptempo danceable number for the Temptations; all of their previous Top 20 hits to this point had been either ballads or mid-tempo numbers. The single immediately following "My Baby", " Get Ready", followed the same plan, and was produced with an even faster tempo and a brassier arrangement. Unusually for Temptations singles, "My Baby's"

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 ...

, the Paul Williams-led " Don’t Look Back", was a minor hit in its own right, becoming a top 20 R&B hit and serving for several years as the Temptations' live-show closing number. Both sides of the single would be remixed for its 2nd pressing, adding on the following statements: "Taken from the album #G 914 ''

The Temptin' Temptations ''The Temptin' Temptations'' is the third studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy ( Motown) label released in 1965. The album includes several of the group's hits from 1965, and also includes a handful of singles that were not included on ...

''."

Personnel

* Lead Vocals by

* Background Vocals by

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 ...

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 ...

, Paul Williams, 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 ...

* Written by

William "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 ...

Robert Rogers Robert Rogers may refer to: Politics * Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699 *Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician * Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...

, and Warren Moore *Produced by Smokey Robinson * 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

References

* Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. . * Williams, Otis and Weigner, Harry (2002). My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations (Compact disc liner notes). New York: Motown/Universal Records.

External links

See "The Temptations'' perform ''My Baby'' at this link
{{DEFAULTSORT:My Baby (The Temptations Song) 1965 singles The Temptations songs Songs written by Warren "Pete" Moore Songs written by Smokey Robinson Songs written by Bobby Rogers Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson Gordy Records singles 1965 songs