Whitfield was a keen observer of the human psyche and he used it to his advantage as early as the age of 18 when he started working at Detroit's Thelma Records with future Temptation Richard Street and his group the Distants.
He also was full of tenacity and became an admirer of emerging record company owner Barry Gordy and his Motown Records. Gordy, at first, found Whitfield to be a bother but eventually grew to admire his thirst for knowledge and put him in charge of the company's quality control. Whitfield took the opportunity to get his hands on as many of the activities of the company as he could and he eventually ended up as part of the early songwriting group at the label.
Gordy, though, saw more in the young man's talents and eventually made him a producer, putting him initially in charge of the Temptations. From 1966 onward, Whitfield and Frank Wilson produced virtually every one of the group's hits.
Whitfield also showed immense creative flair with the ability to take one song and mold it in many different directions. The best example of this talent was with his own composition I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Whitfield produced the song as an uptempo, gritty R&B record for Gladys Knight and the Pips and then turned around and gave it a smooth, darker treatment with Marvin Gaye. Both turned into huge hits for the label.
Whitfield was also instrumental in taking the Motown labels into the 70's by crafting their sound in a more psychedelic vein, most notably with the Temptations on songs like Ball of Confusion and Cloud Nine. During this time, he also was actively involved with the careers of Edwin Starr (War) and the Undisputed Truth (Smiling Faces Sometimes), who had been Starr's backup singers.
When Motown's fortunes started to wain in the mid-70's, Whitfield left and started his own label which only had major success with Rose Royce (Car Wash). From the 80's on, he remained semi-retired other than occasional projects such as the soundtrack for the movie The Last Dragon.
Major songs composed by Norman Whitfield with various writing partners:
(I Know) I'm Losing You (Temptations, Rare Earth, Rod Stewart)
Ain't Too Proud to Beg (Temptations)
Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) (Temptations)
Beauty is Only Skin Deep (Temptations)
Car Wash (Rose Royce)
Cloud Nine (Temptations)
Everybody Needs Love (Gladys Knight & the Pips)
Freindship Train (Gladys Knight & the Pips)
I Can't Get Next to You (Temptations)
I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Gladys Knight & the Pips, Marvin Gaye, Creedence Clearwater Revival)
I Wanna Get Next to You (Rose Royce)
I Wish It Would Rain (Temptations)
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) (Temptations, Rolling Stones)
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (Temptations)
Pride and Joy (Marvin Gaye)
Psychedelic Shack (Temptations)
Runaway Child, Running Wild (Temptations)
Smiling Faces Sometimes (Undisputed Truth)
That's the Way Love Is (Marvin Gaye)
Too Busy Thinking About My Baby (Marvin Gaye)
Too Many Fish in the Sea (Marvelettes, Rascals)
War (Edwin Starr)
Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) (Marvin Gaye, Paul Young)
You're My Everything (Temptations)
Grammy Awards:
1972 - Best R&B Song (Papa Was a Rolling Stone)
1976 - Best Instrumental Composition Written Specifically For a Motion Picture or Television (Car Wash)
No comments:
Post a Comment