Norman Whitfield
 |
Norman Whitfield |
Norman Jesse Whitfield (born in
Harlem, New York in
1943) is an American
songwriter and
producer, best known for his work with
Berry Gordy's
Motown label during the
1960s. He is credited as being one of the creators of the
Motown Sound, as well as one of the major instrumental figues in the late-60s sub-genre of
psychedelic soul.
A native of
Harlem, New York, Whitfield spent most of his teen years in local
pool halls. In his late teens, he and his family became stranded in
Detroit, Michigan while his father was driving from
California to New York. To survive, Whitfield hustled pool and performed with local Detroit bands.
At 19, Whitfield began hanging around at Motown's
Hitsville U.S.A. offices, trying to get a chance at working for the growing label. Gordy recognized Whitfield's persistence and hired him in the quality control department that determined which songs would or would not be released by the label. Whitfield eventually joined Motown's in-house songwriting staff. Whitfield had a few minor successes, but he found his place at Motown when he began producing the recordings of his songs. His big break came when he took over
Smokey Robinson's role as the main producer for
The Temptations in
1966, after his "
Ain't Too Proud to Beg" performed better than Robinson's "
Get Ready" on the pop charts.
From 1966 until 1974, Whitfield produced virtually all of the material for The Temptations, experimenting with
sound effects and other production techniques on the earliest of his records for them. He found a songwriting collaborator in lyricist
Barrett Strong, the performer on Motown's first hit record, "
Money (That's What I Want)", and wrote material for the Tempts and for other Motown artists such as
Marvin Gaye and
Gladys Knight & the Pips, both of whom recorded Whitfield-produced hit versions of the Whitfield/Strong composition "
I Heard It Through The Grapevine." The Gladys Knight & the Pips version was the best-selling Motown single ever to that point, but it was replaced a year later by Marvin Gaye's version.
After Temptations lead singer
David Ruffin was replaced with
Dennis Edwards in
1968, Whitfield moved the group into a harder, darker sound that featured a blend of
psychedelic rock and
funk heavily inspired by the work of
Sly & the Family Stone. The first Temptations single to feature this new "
psychedelic soul" style was "
Cloud Nine" in late 1968, which earned Motown its first
Grammy award (for
Best Rhythm & Blues Performance by a Duo or Group). A second Best R&B Group Performance Grammy for Whitfield and the Tempts came in 1973 with "
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." The instrumental B-side to "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" earned Whitfield a Grammy with arranger Paul Riser for
Best R&B Instrumental Performance, and Whitfield and Barrett Strong shared the songwriters' award for
Best R&B Song.
The psychedelic soul records Whitfield produced for the Temptations and other artists such as
Edwin Starr and
The Undisputed Truth experimented with and updated the Motown sound for the late-
1960s. Longer song durations, distorted guitars, multitracked drums, and unusual vocal arrangements became trademarks of Whitfield's productions, and later of records produced by Motown staffers he coached, including
Frank Wilson.
In
1973, Whitfield left Motown to form his own record label,
Whitfield Records. In the beginning, his only act was The Undisputed Truth, which he had convinced to leave Motown. They never really had much more chart success, but W Records had a smash hit in
1976 with
Rose Royce's "
Car Wash". Rose Royce went on to produce 3 more popular albums, but never could top the success of "Car Wash," which served as the theme song to the
1976 motion picture Car Wash. The instrumental version of "Car Wash" won Whitfield another Grammy award.
In the early
1980s, Whitfield began working producing for Motown again, helming The Temptations'
1983 hit single "Sail Away" and the soundtrack to
The Last Dragon.
On
January 18 2005, Whitfield pleaded guilty for failing to report royalty income he earned from
1995 to
1999 to the
Internal Revenue Service. Facing charges of
tax evasion on over
$2 million worth of income, and was sentenced to six months of house arrest and a $25,000 fine. The producer was not imprisoned because of health problems such as
diabetes [
1].
* 1963: "
Pride & Joy" -
Marvin Gaye* 1964: "Too Many Fish in the Sea" -
The Marvelettes* 1964: "Needle in a Haystack" -
The Velvelettes* 1964: "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" - The Velvelettes
* 1964: "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" -
The Temptations* 1966: "
Ain't Too Proud to Beg" - The Temptations
* 1966: "
Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" - The Temptations
* 1966: "
(I Know) I'm Losing You" - The Temptations
* 1967: "
I Heard It Through The Grapevine" -
Gladys Knight & the Pips, also recorded by Marvin Gaye
* 1967: "You're My Everything" - The Temptations
* 1967: "
I Wish It Would Rain" - The Temptations
* 1968: "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You) - The Temptations
* 1968: "The End Of Our Road" -
Gladys Knight & The Pips* 1968: "How Can I Forget" - The Temptations, later covered by Marvin Gaye
* 1968: "
Cloud Nine" - The Temptations
* 1969: "Friendship Train" - Gladys Knight & the Pips
* 1969: "
Runaway Child, Running Wild" - The Temptations
* 1969: "
Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" - Marvin Gaye
* 1969: "
I Can't Get Next to You" - The Temptations
* 1970: "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)" -
Gladys Knight & The Pips* 1970: "
Psychedelic Shack" - The Temptations
* 1970: "
Hum Along and Dance" - The Temptations (later covered by
Rare Earth and
The Jackson 5)
* 1970: "
Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)" - The Temptations
* 1970: "
War" -
Edwin Starr* 1971: "
Smiling Faces Sometimes" -
The Undisputed Truth* 1971: "
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" - The Temptations
* 1972: "
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" - The Temptations
* 1973: "Masterpiece" - The Temptations
* 1973: "Let Your Hair Down" - The Temptations
* 1976: "
Car Wash" -
Rose Royce * 1976: "I'm Going Down" - Rose Royce
* 1977: "Ooh Boy" - Rose Royce
* 1977: "Wishing on a Star" - Rose Royce
* 1976: "I Wanna Get Next to You" - Rose Royce
* 1976: "
Love Don't Live Here Anymore" - Rose Royce
