Papa Was a Rollin' Stone

"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone [Vocal]"
Single by The Temptations from the album All Directions
Released	September 28, 1972
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville USA (Studio A); May 15, June 14, June 22, & June 28, 1972
Genre	Soul
Length	6:54 (single edit) 11:47 (album mix)
Label	Gordy G 7121
Producer	Norman Whitfield
The Temptations singles chronology
"Mother Nature" (1972) "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (1972) "Masterpiece" (1973)

"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
Single by George Michael from the album Five Live
A-side	"Killer"
Released	1993
Format	CD
Genre	Pop
Length	5:24
Label	Hollywood Records (U.S.) Parlophone Records (Rest of world)
Writer	Norman Whitfield Barett Strong
Producer	George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
"Somebody to Love" (1993) "Killer" / "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (1993) "Jesus to a Child" (1996)

"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a soul song, written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong as a single for Motown act The Undisputed Truth in 1971. This version of "Papa" was released as a single in early 1972, and peaked at number sixty-three on the pop charts and number twenty-four on the R&B charts. Later in 1972, Whitfield, who also produced the song, took "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and remade it as a twelve-minute record for The Temptations, which was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammy Awards in 1973. While the original Undisputed Truth version of the song has been largely forgotten, The Temptations' version of the song has been an enduring and influential soul classic. It was ranked #168 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, one of the group's three songs on the list. In retrospect, Otis Williams considers "Papa" to be the last real classic and hit for the group.

Overview

Beginning with an extended instrumental introduction, each of the song's three verses 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, establishes the musical theme, a simple three-note figure; the bass is gradually joined by other instruments, including a blues guitar, wah-wah guitar, Wurlitzer Electric Piano notes, handclaps, horns, and strings; all are tied together by the ever-present bass guitar line and repeating hi-hat rhythm. A very unusual thing about this song is that it uses only one chord throughout the entire song -- B-flat minor. Vocal duties are performed in a true ensemble style: Temptations singers Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street, and Damon Harris alternate vocal lines, taking the role of siblings questioning their mother about their now-deceased 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 "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 didn't 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. In addition, Dennis Edwards was angered by the song's first verse: "It was the 3rd of September/That day I'll always remember/'cause that was the day/that my daddy died". Edwards' real-life father had died on the same day as the fictional father in the song, and although the song wasn't originally written for the Temptations, Edwards was convinced that Whitfield assigning him the line was intentional. Although Whitfield denied the accusation, he used it to his advantage: he made Edwards record the disputed line over and over again until Whitfield finally got the angered, bitter grumble he desired out of the usually fiery-toned Edwards (it was, however, one of the reasons Whitfield was eventually fired as the group's producer). The Temptations' version of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" set a precedent for extra-length "cinematic soul" song mixes, and future songs like Donna Summer's fourteen-minute "Love to Love You Baby" and the instrumentals of MFSB expanded upon the concept in the mid-1970s.

Release and awards

A seven-minute edited version of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" was released as a single in September 1972; its b-side was Whitfield's instrumental without the Temptations' vocals. "Papa" 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, and its b-side won for Best R&B Instrumental (awarded to Whitfield and arranger/conductor Paul Riser), and Whitfield and Barret Strong won for Best R&B Song as the song's composers. A few notable covers of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" have been recorded, including a 1993 version by George Michael, released on the EP Five Live which was fused with The Adamski and Seal song "Killer". Also "Papa Was a Rollin Stone" has been mixed with Coldplay's "Clocks" to make "Papa was a Clock".

Credits

• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Undisputed Truth version

• Lead and background vocals by Joe Harris, Billie Rae Calvin, and Brenda Joyce

Temptations version

• Lead vocals by Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street, and Damon Harris
• Background vocals by Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street, Damon Harris, and Otis Williams
• Arranged and conducted by Paul Riser

Remix

• Part of the Motown Remixed compilation album, the song was remixed and was entitled Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (DJ Jazzy Jeff & Pete Kuzma Solefull Mix)
• British electronic group Coburn produced a remix of The Temptation's version in 2007.

Sample