{"id":974139,"date":"2019-12-20T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=928501"},"modified":"2019-12-20T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-20T13:00:00","slug":"my-girl-see-cast-of-broadways-aint-too-proud-sing-the-temptations-hit-on-nyc-subways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/music-news\/my-girl-see-cast-of-broadways-aint-too-proud-sing-the-temptations-hit-on-nyc-subways\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018My Girl\u2019: See Cast of Broadway\u2019s \u2018Ain\u2019t Too Proud\u2019 Sing the Temptations\u2019 Hit on NYC Subways"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A few weeks ago, New Yorkers were treated to an unusual sight: The cast of Ain\u2019t Too Proud<\/em><\/a>, the Broadway<\/a> musical about the life of the Temptations<\/a>, riding the subway with a camera crew. The idea was pure promotion \u2014 to maintain buzz for the Tony-winning show, which is now up for a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. Ephraim Sykes, who plays the volatile and tragic David Ruffin, admits he had a few trepidations about the idea. \u201cAt first, none of us were like, \u2018Yeah, let\u2019s go sing on the subway!’\u201d he says with a laugh. \u201cIt could have been embarrassing. Some people were doing their best to ignore us, and sometimes I do that myself. Performers will get on, and I\u2019ll turn up my headphones because I\u2019m not in the mood.\u201d<\/p>\n

But once the quintet began singing \u2014 always the Temptations standard \u201cMy Girl\u201d over the course of several hours and several different downtown and uptown trains \u2014 the mood usually brightened. \u201cOnce we got into it, we had fun with it, and it was cool to watch people\u2019s reactions,\u201d says Sykes, who takes the lead on that Ruffin-led song in the show. \u201cWe were performing it, and these three young high-school-looking dudes started singing along with me. Those dudes probably listen to everything but <\/em>the Temptations, but they reacted to that song. It\u2019s interesting to see how much reach that song has.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That legacy will turn 55 years old on Saturday: Motown Records<\/a> released the original single of \u201cMy Girl\u201d on December 21, 1964. The song entered the pop chart the following month and made its way to Number One in March of 1965. \u201cMy Girl\u201d has since become one the most enduring and beloved songs of the post-war pop era, ranking 88 on RS<\/em>\u2019 list of \u201cThe 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.<\/a>\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s a well-written and produced song and universally loved,\u201d says Otis Williams, the lone surviving Temptation, who continues to tour with a new version of the group. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing it over 55 years, and people love it and appreciate it and sing along as if it was released today.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Popular on Rolling Stone <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Smokey Robinson<\/a>, who penned the song, shares that viewpoint. \u201cAs a songwriter, \u2018My Girl\u2019 has become my international anthem,\u201d he told RS <\/em>in 2014. \u201cWe\u2019re in countries where the basic language\u2019s not even English and as soon as they hear [sings the opening guitar lick] \u2018Bum-bum, bum, bum, bum<\/em>, bum,\u2019 they\u2019re cheering! They don\u2019t speak English, but they know the words to \u2018My Girl.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite long-standing stories that Robinson intended the song for his own group, the Miracles<\/a>, Robinson insists he always wrote \u201cMy Girl\u201d with Ruffin in mind. \u201cI wanted to write something sweet for David Ruffin to sing,\u201d he said. \u201cDavid had a very rough baritone tenor voice that I felt was a demanding voice: He demanded <\/em>the girls love him. Many people have asked me: Do I wish I had kept \u2018My Girl\u2019 for myself? And no, I didn\u2019t, because I loved being a part of my brothers\u2019 and sisters\u2019 careers \u2014 and especially if I could do something to better their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams himself recalls Robinson visiting the group backstage when the Temptations were performing at the 20 Grand club in Detroit in 1964. \u201cHe was marveling at our show and he looked at David and said, \u2018I have a song for you,\u2019\u201d Williams says. \u201cUs being young and cocky, we were like, \u2018Bring it on\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

With typical Motown efficiency, \u201cMy Girl\u201d came together fast. Featuring a lineup of Motown stalwarts like guitarist Robert White and bassist James Jamerson, the basic track was cut at Motown\u2019s headquarters in Detroit \u2014 in the legendary basement studio dubbed the \u201cSnakepit\u201d \u2014 on September 25, 1964. The Temptations weren\u2019t around for that session, but a week later, on October 2nd, both they and Robinson and the Miracles co-headlined a week of shows at the Apollo in New York City. In a dressing room between sets, Robinson taught the song to the Temptations, and around November 10th, they flew to Detroit and added their vocals to the completed track.<\/p>\n

Williams says he was happy with the song and performance. \u201cIt didn\u2019t take us long to knock that out,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was easy-peezy.\u201d But when Paul Riser, Motown\u2019s vital in-house arranger, added strings and horns to the recording, Williams comprehended what the group and Motown had on their hands. \u201cI came out of the studio and Smokey was in the control room,\u201d he says, \u201cand I said, \u2018Man, I don\u2019t know how big a record this is gonna become, but there\u2019s some magic in this song.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

For Motown, \u201cMy Girl\u201d was important on several fronts. It was the first Number One song for a male group on the label, and it was also the first number one for Gordy Records, the label\u2019s subsidiary.<\/p>\n

But Williams says he only fully realized its allure \u2013 with the group and its audience\u2014when the Temptations briefly removed it from its set one night later in the Sixties. \u201c[Late Temptations singer] Paul Williams said, \u2018OK, it did what it\u2019s going to do and I think we should take it out and move on to something else,\u2019\u201d Williams recalls. \u201cI forget where it was, but when we didn\u2019t do it, the audience let us know. They had very perplexed looks on their face like, \u2018What?! Wait a second.\u2019 They damn near called us every name. They let us know: We don\u2019t care what you do \u2014 do not mess with \u2018My Girl.\u2019 Our manager said, \u2018Don\u2019t you ever <\/em>do that again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams, who turned 78 in October, takes that lesson to heart to this day when he\u2019s touring with the current Temptations. \u201cThe guys today, I don\u2019t care what mood they\u2019re in \u2014 \u2018My Girl\u2019 will never, ever<\/em> come out of the show,\u201d he says. \u201cIt will always be a mainstay.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, New Yorkers were treated to an unusual sight: The cast of Ain\u2019t Too Proud, the Broadway musical about the life of the Temptations, riding the subway with a camera crew. The idea was pure promotion \u2014 to maintain buzz for the Tony-winning show, which is now up for a Grammy for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-974139","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 01:20:04","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KFMU Solar Powered Radio","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=974139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=974139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=974139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=974139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}