Released August 20, 1964 Genre Soul, R&B, Pop | Format 7-inch single Length 2:16 | |
B-side "Baby, Baby I Need You" Recorded Hitsville USA; July 6, 1964 | ||
"Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" is a 1964 hit single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. It was the group's first A-side release to be produced by Norman Whitfield, who co-wrote the song with Edward Holland, Jr. of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. With Eddie Kendricks singing lead for the third single in a row, it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts in the top 30 at number 26.
Contents
As the narrator of the up-tempo song, Kendricks tells his girl "I love you, girl, with all my heart and soul/ I can't understand why you treat me cold", and now his "heart feels the pain" cause by her mistreatment of him. This single would be Kendricks' last as lead on an A-side until "Get Ready" in 1966, and the last for Whitfield as producer until "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"; this would be due to the fact that "Get Ready", composed and produced by Smokey Robinson, had missed the Pop Top 20 just like this single did.
The next Temptations single, "My Girl", would be the first to feature David Ruffin as lead and would be produced by Robinson. Ruffin, up to this point, had only sung lead on stage and on a few unreleased tracks, otherwise singing backgrounds behind Kendricks and then main lead singer Paul Williams. When "My Girl" hit number 1 on the R&B and Pop Charts in 1965, it signaled the continuing of Robinson as the group’s main producer, and the start of Ruffin's run as The Temptations' main lead singer.
Personnel
Cover versions
Phil Collins recorded a version of the song for his album of soul covers, Going Back. In the 1990s, Italian-Brazilian songstress Deborah Blando recorded a version of the song as the first cut out of her debut album, A Different Story. She retitled the song to "Boy (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)". The song and video were a theme for Pepsi adverstisements in the summer of 1991.