As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Barrett Strong

https://variety.com/2023/music/obituaries-people-news/barrett-strong-dead-motown-temptations-1235505928/

 

Barrett Strong will mostly be remembered as a prolific songwriter, mostly working with Norman Whitfield on songs for the Temptations and other Motown acts. He didn’t have nearly as much success as a singer, but he did have the honor of recording “Money (That’s What I Want)”, which was the Motown empire’s first hit record.

 

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press in 2019, Strong characterized his career as follows: “I feel good about it. I did something. I did my part, what I was put on this earth to do. I made people smile. I made people have babies. I made people do a lot of things. So I contributed something to my being here.”

 

And as was the case with the late Lamont Dozier, “Levi Stubbs’ Tears” also includes a tribute to Barrett Strong, even though he and Whitfield contributed very little to the Four Tops Roster of Hits:

 

Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

Are here to make everything right that's wrong

 

Favorite songs co-written by Barrett Strong:

Stay In My Corner – The Dells

Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) – The Temptations

I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye, CCR, …

Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) – Marvin Gaye (B-side), Paul Young

Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone – The Temptations

War – Edwin Starr, Bruce Springsteen

Smiling Faces Sometimes – The Undisputed Truth

 

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4 comments:

  1. Linda Waters GowenFebruary 9, 2023 at 10:45 AM

    Of course Bruce!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike RhoadsFebruary 9, 2023 at 10:52 AM

    I thought that would get your attention!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2023 at 3:42 PM

    I'll start on this next one:
    1. Promises, Promises
    2. Walk on By
    3. Liberty Valance
    4. Anyone Who Has a Heart
    5. Twenty-four Hours From Tulsa
    6. Baby, It's You
    7. Always Something There to Remind Me
    8. Say a Little Prayer
    9. Alfie
    10. Make It Easy on Yourself

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike RhoadsFebruary 9, 2023 at 5:07 PM

      You can see mine tomorrow. There will certainly be some overlap. ;-)

      Delete

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