(I Know) I'm Losing You

Infobox Single
Name = (I Know) I'm Losing You
Artist = The Temptations
from Album = The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul
B-side = "I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To"
Released = November 2, 1966
Format = 7" single
Recorded = Hitsville USA (Studio A); September 12 & September 16, 1966
Genre = Soul
Length = 2:30
Label = Gordy
G 7057
Writer = Norman Whitfield
Edward Holland, Jr.
Cornelius Grant
Producer = Norman Whitfield
Last single = "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep"
(1966)
This single = "(I Know) I'm Losing You"
(1966)
Next single = "All I Need"
(1967)
Misc =Infobox Single
Name = (I Know) I'm Losing You
Artist = Rare Earth
from Album = Get Ready
Released = July 1970
Format = 7" single
Recorded = Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1970
Genre = Rock
Length = 3:36 (single edit)
10:56 (album version)
Label = Rare Earth
R 5021
Producer = Rare Earth
Last single = "Get Ready"
(1970)
This single = "(I Know) I'm Losing You"
(1970)
Next single = "Born to Wander"
(1970)Infobox Single
Name = (I Know) I'm Losing You


Artist = Rod Stewart
from Album = Every Picture Tells a Story
B-side =
Released = 1971
Format =
Recorded =
Genre = Rock
Length =
Label = Mercury
Writer =
Producer =
Certification =
Chart position =

#42 (US Pop)

Last single = Maggie May
(1971)
This single = (I Know) I'm Losing You
(1971)
Next single = Handbags & Gladrags
(1972)

"(I Know) I'm Losing You" is a 1966 hit single recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label and produced by Norman Whitfield.

History

This song was another step away from the group's softer records recorded with Smokey Robinson as producer, a change that Whitfield had begun with "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" earlier in the year. "I'm Losing You" features a much more dramatic arrangement than most contemporary Motown songs: a rock-styled guitar riff (devised by Temptations road manager/band director Cornelius Grant), sharp horn blasts, and the Temptations' doo-wop vocals paint the backdrop for one of David Ruffin's trademark raspy lead vocals.

As The Funk Brothers keep time with the song's James Brown-inspired beat, Ruffin pointedly accuses his lover of gradually slipping away from him. The closing vocal riff to the song's chorus had the other four Temptations call out an extended "losing you...!" shout in falsetto. The choreography for the line, with each member cupping their hands around their mouths as they shout the line out, became a Temptations standard.

"I'm Losing You" was a number-one hit on the "Billboard" R&B singles chart, and reached number eight on the "Billboard" Pop Singles chart. The single was included as the anchoring track for the summer 1967 album "The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul".

Among the most notable covers of "I'm Losing You" was a 1970 version by Motown rock band Rare Earth for their "Ecology" album. Rare Earth's ten-minute cover was edited for single release, and peaked one position higher than the Temptations' original on the U.S. pop charts, at number seven. The song was later covered by Rod Stewart on his 1971 album "Every Picture Tells A Story". During the 1980s, on a Dallas, Texas-based Oak Lawn Records label, the song was covered by the group Uptown and transformed into an upbeat dance tune. This version achieved popularity at Dallas' famed Starck nightclub due to early play by DJ Rick Squillante and became a standard in many U.S. nightclubs, reaching the No. 80 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1987.

Credits

Temptations version

* Lead vocals by David Ruffin
* Background vocals by Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams
*Guitar by Cornelius Grant
*Other instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Rare Earth version

*Lead vocals by Pete Rivera
*Background vocals by Gil Bridges and Rod Richards
*Instrumentation by Gil Bridges (saxophone), Pete Rivera (drums), John Parrish (bass guitar), Rod Richards (guitar), and Kenny James (keyboards)

Rod Stewart Version

*Lead Vocals by Rod Stewart
*Instrumentation by Ron Wood (Guitar), Ron Lane (Bass Guitar), Ian McLagan (keyboards) and Kenney Jones (drums & percussion) Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne added (mandolin)

Human Nature's Version

Human Nature's new album get ready featuring some of the original superstars features this song on their album.

References