- Don't Look Back (The Temptations song)
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"Don't Look Back" Single by The Temptations from the album The Temptin' Temptations A-side "My Baby" Released September 30, 1965
(1st pressing)
October 30, 1965
(2nd pressing)Format 7" single Recorded Hitsville USA (Studio A); May 5, May 10 and May 12, 1965 Genre Soul, R&B, Pop Length 2:50 Label Gordy
G 7047Writer(s) Smokey Robinson
Ronald WhiteProducer Smokey Robinson The Temptations singles chronology "Since I Lost My Baby"
(1965)"My Baby" / "Don't Look Back"
(1965)"Get Ready"
(1966)"Don't Look Back" is a 1965 song recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. The flip side to their Top 20 hit "My Baby", "Don't Look Back" broke out and became a hit among the R&B audience on its own, reaching #14 on the R&B charts. Considered one of original lead singer Paul Williams' showcases, "Don't Look Back" was regularly employed as the closing number for Temptations live performances. Although the original flip side, "My Baby", was initially more popular with pop audiences at the time, over the decades, "Don't Look Back " has proven to be the far more popular and enduring tune, having inspired cover versions by Al Green, Bobby Womack, Peter Tosh & Mick Jagger, The Persuasions, and Teena Marie. It was also performed by the group on The Ed Sullivan Show . There are no known cover versions of "My Baby".
Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, the authors of the #1 Temptations hit "My Girl", "Don't Look Back" is a reassurance to the tentative that finding true love is worth the heartbreak and failed relationships it takes to reach it. As the song's narrator, Paul Williams promises his lover, in his trademark gritty tone:
- If you just put your hand in mine
- We're gonna leave all your troubles behind
- keep on walkin' and don't look back.
Smokey Robinson, the song's producer, specifically assigned Paul Williams to sing lead on the song. Although Williams had been the group's original lead singer during its formative years, his role had by 1965 been eclipsed by David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, who had both sung lead on Temptations hit singles. As such, Williams was often overlooked for leads, even on album tracks and b-sides, prompting him to complain, "shit, y'know, I can sing too!"
In fact "Don't Look Back" was originally this single's A-side but was passed over by the nation's DJ's in favor of the Ruffin led "My Baby", which indeed had a much bigger pop success than this song, and placed on the B-side. The song nevertheless was promoted as if it were an A-side, and would the only b-side to chart in the Hot 100 for the group (but would miss the Top 40 as it peaked at #83).
Interestingly, although the song's relatively modest initial chart success prevented Paul from getting any more leads on Temptations singles releases, the fact is that "Don't Look Back" actually became a huge belated hit, because his dynamic performance of the song on the Temptations Live! lp received huge airplay by R&B DeeJays nationwide, and propelled sales of the album into the Top 10 of the Billboard Pop album chart. Both sides of the single would receive a 2nd pressing and the tracks remixed, with the following statements added on: "Taken from the album #G 914 The Temptin' Temptations." With the 2nd printing, the sides were reversed , making "My Baby" the A-side, while 'Don't Look Back, the original "A"-side , was relegated to "B" side status.*
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- (Reference,"Ain't Too Proud To Beg : The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of The Temptations"- by Mark Ribowsky (2010) Pgs. 144-145).
"Don't Look Back" was more often performed at Temptations live shows than My Baby. In fact, on the 1967 Temptations Live! album, the women in the audience can be heard demanding that the group perform the song, which they proceeded to do. Paul Williams, who developed many of The Temptations's dance steps, developed a routine for the live shows that had him following the song's advice to "keep on walkin'" and performing a strut across the stage, to the delight of the audience.
As Paul Williams' specialty number, "Don't Look Back" was retired from The Temptations' repertoire after Williams, suffering from complications of sickle-cell disease and alcoholism, was forced to leave the group in 1971. The group did perform the song at their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a tribute to Williams, along with Darryl Hall and John Oates who announced the induction.
Peter Tosh scored a minor hit in 1978 with a reggae version of the song, sharing vocals Mick Jagger on the song. This version bore the modified title "(You Gotta Walk And) Don't Look Back".[1] Tosh had previously recorded the song with The Wailers in ska style in 1966.
Phil Collins recorded a cover during the sessions of his 2010 album Going Back
Contents
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Paul Williams
- Background vocals by Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, and Otis Williams
- Written by William "Smokey" Robinson and Ronald White
- Produced by Smokey Robinson
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers.
Chart history
Chart (1965) Peak
positionU.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart 83 U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 14 References
- ^ Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2000), 658.
- Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. ISBN 0-8154-1218-5.
- 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
The Temptations Joe Herndon · Ron Tyson · Terry Weeks · Otis Williams · Bruce Williamson
Elbridge Bryant · G. C. Cameron · Ray Davis · Dennis Edwards · Melvin Franklin · Damon Harris · Barrington "Bo" Henderson · Eddie Kendricks · Glenn Leonard · Harry McGilberry · Ricky Owens · Theo Peoples · Louis Price · David Ruffin · Richard Street · Paul Williams · Ali-Ollie Woodson
Pre-Temptations: Kel Osbourne · Wiley Waller · James "Pee-Wee" Crawford · Vernon Plain · Arthur Walton · Albert "Mooch" HarrellProduction Studio albums Meet the Temptations · The Temptations Sing Smokey · The Temptin' Temptations · Gettin' Ready · The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul · The Temptations Wish It Would Rain · Cloud Nine · Puzzle People · Psychedelic Shack · Sky's the Limit · Solid Rock · All Directions · Masterpiece · 1990 · A Song for You · House Party · Wings of Love · The Temptations Do the Temptations · Bare Back · Hear to Tempt You · Power · The Temptations · Reunion · Surface Thrills · Back to Basics · Truly for You · Touch Me · To Be Continued... · Together Again · Special · Milestone · Phoenix Rising · Ear-Resistible · Awesome · Legacy · Still HereCover albums Live albums Other albums Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations · TCB · The Temptations Show · Together · On Broadway · The Temptations Christmas Card · Give Love at Christmas · Lost and Found: You've Got to Earn It (1962–1968)Compilations Greatest Hits · Greatest Hits II · Anthology · Emperors of Soul · The Ultimate Collection · My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations · Psychedelic SoulSingles
(US/UK Top 10)"My Girl" · "Get Ready" · "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" · "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" · "(I Know) I'm Losing You" · "All I Need" · "You're My Everything" · "I Wish It Would Rain" · "When You're Young and in Love" · "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)" · "Cloud Nine" · "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" · "Run Away Child, Running Wild" · "I Can't Get Next to You" · "Psychedelic Shack" · "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" · "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" · "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" · "Masterpiece" · "Let Your Hair Down" · "Happy People" · "Shakey Ground" · "The Motown Song" · "My Girl" (reissue)Filmography Videography The Temptations: Live in Concert · 20th Century Masters: The Best of the Temptations · Get Ready: The Definitive Live Performances - 1965-1972 · The Temptations: Live in LondonDiscography Albums · SongsRelated persons See also Book:The Temptations · Category:The Temptations · Portal:R&B and Soul Music 1960s "Oh Mother of Mine" (1961) · "Check Yourself" (1961) · "(You're My) Dream Come True" (1962) · "Mind Over Matter (I'm Gonna Make You Mine)" (1962) · "Paradise" (1962) · "I Want a Love I Can See" (1963) · "Farewell My Love" (1963) · "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (1964) · "I'll Be in Trouble" (1964) / "The Girl's Alright with Me" (1964) · "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" (1964) · "My Girl" (1964) · "It's Growing" (1965) · "Since I Lost My Baby" (1965) / "You've Got to Earn It" (1965) · "My Baby" (1965) / "Don't Look Back" (1965) · "Get Ready" (1966) · "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (1966) · "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" (1966) · "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (1966) · "All I Need" (1967) · "You're My Everything" (1967) / "I've Been Good To You" (1967) · "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need" (1967) · "I Wish It Would Rain" (1968) / "I Truly, Truly Believe" (1968) · "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)" (1968) · "Please Return Your Love to Me" (1968) · "Cloud Nine" (1968) · "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1968) / "Silent Night" (1968) · "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" (1969) · "Runaway Child, Running Wild" (1969) · "I'll Try Something New" (1969) · "Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down" (1969) · "I Second That Emotion" (1969) · "I Can't Get Next to You" (1969) · "The Weight" (1969)1970s "Psychedelic Shack" (1970) · "Why (Must We Fall in Love)" (1970) · "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (1970) · "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)" (1970) / "Hum Along and Dance" (1970) · "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" (1971) · "It's Summer" (1971) · "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)" (1971) · "Take a Look Around" (1972) · "Mother Nature" (1972) / "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On" (1972) · "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (1972) · "Masterpiece" (1973) · "Plastic Man" (1973) · "Hey Girl (I Like Your Style)" (1973) · "Law of the Land" (1973) · "Let Your Hair Down" (1973) · "Heavenly" (1974) · "You've Got My Soul on Fire" (1974) · "Happy People" (1974) · "Shakey Ground" (1975) · "Glasshouse" (1975) · "Keep Holdin' On" (1976) · "Up the Creek (Without a Paddle)" (1976) · "Who are You (and What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life)" (1976) · "In a Lifetime" (1977) · "Think for Yourself" (1977) · "Bare Back" (1978) · "Ever Ready Love" (1978)1980s "Power" (1980) · "Struck by Lightning Twice" (1980) · "Aiming at Your Heart" (1981) · "Oh What a Night" (1981) · "Standing on the Top - Pt. 1" (1982) · "More on the Inside" (1982) · "Love on My Mind Tonight" (1983) · "Miss Busy Body (Get Your Body Busy)" (1983) · "Sail Away" (1983) · "Treat Her Like a Lady" (1984) · "My Love is True (Truly for You)" (1985) · "How Can You Say That It's Over" (1985) · "Do You Really Love Your Baby" (1985) · "Touch Me" (1986) · "A Fine Mess" (1986) · "My Girl" (re-issue) (1986) · "I'm Fascinated" (1986) · "Lady Soul" (1986) · "To be Continued..." (1986) · "Someone" (1987) · "I Wonder Who She's Seeing Now" (1987) · "Papa was a Rollin' Stone" (re-issue) (1987) · "Look What You Started" (1987) · "Do You Wanna Go with Me" (1988) · "All I Want from You" (1989) · "Special" (1989)1990s "Soul to Soul" (1990) · "The Motown Song" (1991) · "The Jones" (1991) · "My Girl" (re-issue) (1992) · "Hoops of Fire" (1992) · "Error of Our Ways" (1994) · "Silent Night" (1995) · "Stay" (1998) · "This is My Promise" (1998) · "How Could He Hurt You" (1999)2000s "I'm Here" (2000)Categories:- 1965 singles
- The Temptations songs
- Motown singles
- Songs written by Smokey Robinson
- Songs written by Ronald White
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