Tag Archives: My Girl

Let’s Take A Moment Day 542

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

blog Sept 2021

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

We have yet another rock & roll birthday to celebrate today. Ironically as was the case with the last two artists featured here, this man also died in a plane crash, eight years after Buddy Holly & four years after Patsy Cline. Like her he left behind a young family and like Holly, this year also marks a milestone birth anniversary year. The King of Soul, Otis Redding, was born 80 years ago today on September 9, 1941 in Dawson, GA. His voice is one of the ones I love most in the universe.

The first album I bought by him was Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul which was originally released Sept 15, 1965. But unlike all the other LP’s I ever bought, I could not listen to this one all the way through in one sitting. In fact, It took me days to get through all 11 songs. I just had to hear each track at least a dozen times before I felt I could move on to the next one. And then the same thing would happen all over again.

I had never heard anyone sing with such raw aching unabashed emotion before in my life. He sang of such heartache and pain that every note was like live or die for this beautiful man. I could not help but hurt right along with him while also praying I would someday know what that type of all consuming love felt like.

The album included Redding’s original version of “Respect” along with covers of The Temptations’ “My Girl”, The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” & three Sam Cooke songs. But today’s track was written by William Bell who was another singer on the Stax Label with Redding. It showcases his signature angst ridden soul & leaves you wondering how he will ever get through such immense pain. Redding sang like he had lived 100 lifetimes when in reality he barely lived one. But how he spent his 26 years on this earth is what keeps him alive over five decades later.

“I sit here and wonder
How in the world this could be, my oh my
I never thought, oh, I never thought
You’d ever leave me“.

Otis

Redding family

Top: Otis Redding circa 1967. Bottom: Redding’s family circa 2017 (L-R): Daughter Karla Redding-Andrews, wife Zelma (who never remarried), sons Dexter and Otis III. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Otis Redding: “You Don’t Miss Your Water” (1965, written by William Bell).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Advertisement

Let’s Take A Moment Day 394

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

May 2021 blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Time for another mid-week Motown break. There are a handful of songs that define The Motor City sound from the very first note. Today’s track is one of them.

“I don’t need no money
Fortune or fame
I’ve got all the riches baby
One man can claim”.

Temptations 1965

The Temptations circa 1964 (L-R): Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks (center), David Ruffin and Otis Williams. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Temptations: “My Girl” (1964, written by William “Smokey” Robinson and Ronald White).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 163

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Bruce quote

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Time for another mid-week Motown break.  When two of The Miracles, Ronald White and Smokey Robinson, co-wrote “My Girl”, the latter did it with another Miracles group member in mind, Claudette Rogers.  She joined the group in 1957 after her brother & group founding member, Emerson “Sonny” Rogers, was drafted.  The song was originally meant for The Miracles to record in 1964, but The Temptations wanted to have their newest member, David Ruffin, sing it instead.  Robinson gave in, and the song not only became The Temps first #1 hit but their signature tune as well.  However, Robinson got the girl, at least for a while.  He & Claudette were married in 1959 and divorced in 1986.  The have two children together, a son and a daughter.

In 1987, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame made one of the most bizarre and controversial decisions ever (or at least until 2010 when they let Abba in) by inducting only Smokey Robinson into the HOF without any of The Miracles.  However that situation was corrected in 2012 when The Miracles, including Claudette, were inducted by Robinson himself.

“I don’t like you, but I love you
Seems that I’m always thinking of you
Oh, oh, oh, you treat me badly
I love you madly, you really got a hold on me“.

The Miracles

The Miracles in 1962, clockwise from top left: Bobby Rogers, Marv Tarplin, Ronald White, Claudette Robinson, and Smokey Robinson.  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Miracles:  “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” (1962, written by William “Smokey” Robinson Jr.).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 44

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

music heart

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Time for a mid-week Motown break.  Today’s song is by arguably the greatest group of singers (and dancers) to come out of the Motor City .  The Temptations, during the “Classic Five” era with original members Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and David Ruffin, were enormously successful from January 1964 until June 1968.  At that time, Ruffin was fired from the group due to what was reported to be drug use, unprofessional behavior and ego clashes.  The latter included wanting the group’s name changed to David Ruffin & The Temptations after most of the songs he sang lead on were hits (“My Girl”, “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”, “(I Know) I’m Losing You”, to name a few) and because Motown had just renamed Diana Ross & The Supremes for the same reason.

Ultimately it was Ruffin’s drug use that cut short his singing career despite several chances at reviving it with a solo career in the 1970’s, collaborations with Hall & Oates (including 1985’s “Live At The Apollo”) and The Temptations induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.  But two years later at the age of 50, Ruffin died of an overdose.  He had one of the greatest voices to ever grace a record with a range, intensity and power of someone who had lived a thousand lifetimes.  He and his four other group members made history together, going from “The Hitless Temptations” to the top of the charts, creating some of the best loved records of all time.  There were several other lead singers for the group over the last 50 years, but none could compare to Ruffin.

the temptations
The Temptations circa 1964:  David Ruffin, Otis Williams, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin & Eddie Kendricks
(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Temptations:  “I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)” (1968, written by Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong and Rodger Penzabene).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.