CoronaVinyl Day 185 (T): Greatest Hits by The Temptations

 For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "T," and we're going to continue the Motown train and go with The Temptations' first Greatest Hits album, released in 1966.

Like The Miracles, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, and The Supremes, all of whom have been featured during CoronaVinyl, The Temptations' music is part of the fabric of both the '60s and modern pop music.  Unlike many of the foregoing groups, The Temptations didn't have one specific lead singer.  For instance, of the twelve songs on this album, Eddie Kendricks is the lead singer on five (one with Melvin Franklin on co-lead vocals), David Ruffin is the lead singer on six, and Paul Williams on one.

This Greatest Hits album features some of the biggest and most well-known hits from their period where they were certainly more pop-focused, before pioneering psychedelic soul and tackling more serious subject matter a couple years later.  Eleven of the twelve songs were previously released on Temptations' albums, and "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" was released as a single a couple months before the album was released.

And the liner notes on the back of the album are written by Bill Cosby!  My favorite line in Cosby's comments is the following:  "In my estimation there are three things that improve with time, #1 . . a good tobacco, #2 . . a woman, #3 . . and the Temptations' performance."

The album went to #5 on the Billboard album chart and #1 on the Billboard R&B album chart.  Spotify didn't have the album, and I couldn't find a playlist on YouTube, so here is a list of the songs (as well as their peak positions on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B singles chart):

Side 1
1.  "The Way You Do The Things You Do" (#11; #1)
2.  "My Girl" (#1; #1)
3.  "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (#13; #1)
4.  "Don't Look Back" (#83; #15)
5.  "Get Ready" (#29; #1)
6.  "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" (#3; #1)

Side 2
1.  " Since I Lost My Baby" (#17; #4)
2.  "The Girl's Alright With Me" (N/A; #39)
3.  "My Baby" (#13; #4)
4.  "It's Growing" (#18; #3)
5.  "I'll Be In Trouble" (#33; #22)
6.  "Girl (Why You Wanna' Make Me Blue)" (#26; #11)

All in all, the group had 37 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four #1s.  On the Billboard R&B singles chart, they have a record 70 Top 40 hits, fourteen of which went to #1.

So that you're not left without anything to listen to today, I'm just posting a playlist that someone made on Spotify that has a bunch of the songs.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Get Ready"

On a top-heavy Side 1, I decided on "Get Ready."  It's is a great '60s soul/R&B song with a driving beat, penned by the great Smokey Robinson.  Kendricks handles lead vocals in his signature falsetto, and the rest of the group's backing vocals and harmonies fill everything in nicely.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Since I Lost My Baby"
Another one written by Robinson (and Warren Moore), this one is soulful and sentimental, with Ruffin's baritone taking lead vocals.