My Girl (The Temptations song)
| "My Girl" | ||||
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| Single by The Temptations | ||||
| from the album The Temptations Sing Smokey | ||||
| B-side | "(Talking 'Bout) Nobody But My Baby" | |||
| Released | December 21, 1964 | |||
| Format | 7-inch single | |||
| Recorded | September 25, November 10 and November 17, 1964 | |||
| Studio | Hitsville USA (Studio A), Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | Gordy (G 7038) | |||
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| Producer(s) |
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| The Temptations singles chronology | ||||
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| "My Girl" | |
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"My Girl" cover
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| Song by Otis Redding from the album Otis Blue | |
| Released | 1965 |
| Format | 7-inch single |
| Recorded | 1965 |
| Studio | Stax, Memphis, Tennessee |
| Genre | Soul |
| Length | 2:52 |
| Label | |
| Producer(s) | Steve Cropper |
"My Girl" is a 1964 standard recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label which became a number one hit in 1965. Written and produced by The Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, the song became the Temptations' first U.S. number-one single, and is today their signature song. Robinson's inspiration for writing this song was his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. The song was featured on the Temptations album The Temptations Sing Smokey.
Musically, the song is notable because the six ascending guitar notes in the opening riff over the C chord are a perfect example of a C major pentatonic scale, played exactly from octave to octave. Similarly, the analogous riff in the song that is played over the F chord is a perfect example of an F major pentatonic scale, also with notes ascending from octave to octave.
The recorded version of "My Girl" was the first Temptations single to feature David Ruffin on lead vocals. Previously, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams had performed most of the group's lead vocals, and Ruffin had joined the group as a replacement for former Temptation Elbridge Bryant. While on tour as part of the Motortown Revue, a collective tour for most of the Motown roster, Smokey Robinson caught the Temptations' part of the show. The group had included a medley of soul standards in the show, one of which, The Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk", was a solo spot for Ruffin. Impressed, Robinson decided to produce a single with Ruffin singing lead. Robinson saw Ruffin as a "sleeping giant" in the group with a unique voice that was "mellow" yet "gruff". Robinson thought that if he could write just the perfect song for Ruffin's voice, then he could have a smash hit. The song was to be something that Ruffin could "belt out" yet something that was also "melodic and sweet".
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