"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a song originally performed by
Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
recording act
the Undisputed Truth in 1972, though it became much better known after a Grammy-award winning cover by
the Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...
was issued later the same year. This latter version of the song became a number-one hit on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" was written by
Norman Whitfield
Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter, composer, 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 ...
and
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong Jr. (February 5, 1941 – January 28, 2023) was an American singer and songwriter known for his recording of "Money (That's What I Want)", which was the first hit single for the Motown record label. He is also known for his songw ...
in 1971. Whitfield produced the original Undisputed Truth version, which was released as a single in May 1972. This version of the song peaked at number 63 on the
Pop Charts and number 24 on the
R&B Charts. The song was included on the Undisputed Truth's album
''Law of the Land'' (1973).
Later in 1972, Whitfield cut a different version of the song, turning it into a 12-minute track for the Temptations. This version was included on their 1972 album ''
All Directions''. The edited 7-inch single release of this Temptations track was issued in September 1972, and this version was a number-one hit on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and won three
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s in 1973. While the original Undisputed Truth version of the song has been largely forgotten, the Temptations' version of the song has been regarded as an enduring and influential soul classic. The full-length album version was ranked number 169 on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''s list of the
500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...
, one of the group's three songs on the list. In retrospect, the Temptations'
Otis Williams
Otis Williams (born Otis Miles Jr.; October 30, 1941) is an American second tenor/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. ...
considers the song to be the last real classic the group recorded (it would be the Temptations' last number one hit and would win them their second and final Grammy Award in a competitive category).
Overview
Beginning with an extended instrumental introduction (3:53 in length), each of the three verses in the Temptations's version is separated by extended musical passages, in which Whitfield brings various instrumental textures in and out of the mix. A solo plucked bass guitar part, backed by
hi-hat
A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock music, rock, popular music, pop, jazz, an ...
cymbals drumming, establishes the musical theme, a simple three-note figure; the bass is gradually joined by other instruments, including a blues guitar,
wah-wah guitar,
electric piano
An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...
, handclaps, strings and solo trumpet; all are tied together by the ever-present bass guitar line and repeating hi-hat rhythm.
The official album version of the song is 12:04 not 11:45 as stated on the record label. When ''All Directions'' was issued on CD, it was shorter at 11:45.
[The Temptations - Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (Vinyl) ''(full version)'' @YouTube.com](_blank)
Retrieved June 19, 2020. The full LP version is featured on the Temptations' ''Psychedelic Soul'' compilation.
Vocal duties are performed in a true ensemble style: Temptations singers
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 for Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang w ...
,
Melvin Franklin,
Richard Street (who was a frequent fill-in for
Paul Williams and his eventual replacement) and
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. Harris was the youngest member of The Temptations, joining the group at t ...
(who had replaced
Eddie Kendricks as the group's
falsetto
Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ...
singer the previous year) alternate vocal lines, taking the role of siblings questioning their mother about their now-dead father; their increasingly pointed questions, and the mother's repeated response ("Papa was a rollin' stone/wherever he laid his hat was his home/and when he died, all he left us was alone") paint a somber picture for the children who have never seen their father and have "never heard nothing but bad things about him."
Friction arose during the recording of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" for a number of reasons. The Temptations did not like the fact that Whitfield's instrumentation had been getting more emphasis than their vocals on their songs at the time, and that they had to press Whitfield to get him to produce ballads for the group. Whitfield forced Edwards to re-record his parts dozens of times until he finally got the angered, bitter grumble he desired out of the usually fiery-toned Edwards.
Whitfield's treatment of the group eventually led to his dismissal as their producer.
Legend has it that Edwards was angered by the song's first verse: "It was the third of September/That day I'll always remember/'cause that was the day/that my daddy died", as his father was said to have died on the third of September. Edwards's father actually died on the third of October.
[Ribowsky, Mark (2010). ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations''. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. . p. 232]
The solo trumpet part in the introduction was played by
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 ...
member Maurice Davis; guitar parts were played by fellow member
Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin and a young
Paul Warren.
The Temptations' version of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" followed in the extended-length "
cinematic soul" tradition of the work of
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...
and others, and future songs like
Donna Summer
Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...
's 14-minute "
Love to Love You Baby" and the instrumentals of
MFSB expanded upon the concept in the mid-1970s.
Release
A seven-minute edited version of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" was released as a single in September 1972. For this mix, congas were added to bolster the song's sparse percussion; this version appeared on the 1973 ''
Anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...
'' triple LP. The Temptations' box set ''
Emperors of Soul'' has the edited version in stereo, but without the congas. The
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
was the instrumental backing 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 ...
without the Temptations' vocals (though Damon Harris' final chorus is included after a single "Unngh!" at the end of the second verse), this version appears on the Funk Brothers' 2003 compilation ''20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection''.
Reception
"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" rose to number one on the U.S. pop charts and number five on the U.S. R&B charts, becoming the Temptations' final pop number-one hit. The song, the anchor of the 1972 Temptations album ''All Directions'', won three 1973 Grammys: its A-side won for
Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group; its B-side won for
Best R&B Instrumental (awarded to Whitfield and arranger/conductor Paul Riser); and Whitfield and Barrett Strong won for
Best R&B Song as the song's composers. In 1999, the song was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame
The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
.
Kelefa Sanneh described the song as "nearly seven glorious minutes long (the album version was twelve) sustained by little more than a perfect bassline and a few artfully placed hand claps."
''
Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
'' called it "a monolith. A towering monument out of tense hi-hats and pulsating bass and shivering strings and hard-strutting chicken-scratch guitars and panicked trumpet-blasts. And the merciless four-four stomp-clap beat predicted not just disco but house music, as well."
Covers and remixes
* Bill "Wolf" Wolfer created an
electronic cover of the song for his 1983 debut album ''Wolf''. The single peaked at number 55 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
in January 1983, as well as number 47 on the
R&B Charts.
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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
provided backing vocals.
* The group
Was (Not Was) covered the song on their 1990 album ''
Are You Okay?''. Their version reached number 12 in the UK.
*
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...
performed "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" live at the
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...
in March 1991 and released it in a remixed version together with the
Adamski song "
Killer" on the 1993 EP ''
Five Live''. It was released as a single and charted at number 69 on the
US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
* American
pop metal band
Ugly Kid Joe released their cover of the song, featuring Australian singer-musician
Dallas Frasca, which appears on the band's fourth album ''
Uglier Than They Used ta Be'', released in 2015.
* On May 17, 2024, British-American musician
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash th ...
released a cover of the song as part of his second solo studio album ''
Orgy of the Damned'' (2024); the track featured American singer
Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...
.
Personnel
Undisputed Truth version
* Lead and background vocals by Joe Harris, Billie Rae Calvin, and Brenda Joyce
Temptations version
* Lead vocals 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 for Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang w ...
,
Melvin Franklin,
Richard Street, and
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. Harris was the youngest member of The Temptations, joining the group at t ...
* Background vocals by Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street, Damon Harris, and
Otis Williams
Otis Williams (born Otis Miles Jr.; October 30, 1941) is an American second tenor/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. ...
* Arranged and conducted by
Paul Riser
Paul Riser (born September 11, 1943) is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the " Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of ...
*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 ...
(specific musicians listed below) and the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...
**Guitars by
Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin and
Paul Warren
**
Fender Rhodes
The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...
electric piano by
Earl Van Dyke
**Organ by
Johnny Griffith
**Trumpet by Maurice Davis
**Bass by
Bob Babbitt, Leroy Taylor, or
James Jamerson
James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...
**Drums by
Aaron Smith"01/09/17 Aaron "A-Train" Smith, Drummer with The Temptations", ''Jackie's Groove'' (Apple Podcast), 09 January 2017.
Retrieved December 12, 2021.
Charts
The Temptations version
Remix version
Was (Not Was) version
Certifications
See also
* A rolling stone gathers no moss
References
External links
*
List of cover versions of ”Papa Was a Rollin' Stone”
at SecondHandSongs.com
{{Authority control
1971 songs
1972 singles
1987 singles
Songs written by Barrett Strong
Songs written by Norman Whitfield
The Temptations songs
Was (Not Was) songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
American funk songs
Motown singles
Gordy Records singles
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Psychedelic soul songs
Songs about loneliness
Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield
Songs about fathers
1972 quotations
Quotations from music