September 28, 1972: The Temptations Release "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"

Left to right: Eddie Kendricks, Dennis Edwards,

Paul Williams, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin

September 28, 1972: The Temptations release "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." It was their 4th and last Number 1 hit on the U.S. pop charts.

Norman Whitfield, lyrics, and Barrett Strong, music, had written "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" for Motown Records group The Undisputed Truth in 1971. Their version was a minor hit. They reworked it for The Temptations, backed by the Motown house band, the Funk Brothers, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The Temptations' version was released on September 28, 1972. Despite its length -- 7 minutes for the single, 12 minutes for the album version -- It hit Number 1.

After the long opening -- 2 minutes out of the 7 on the single version, 4 minutes out of the 12 on the album cut -- the opening by lead singer Dennis Edwards is unforgettable:

It was the 3rd of September

The day I'll always remember

Yes, I will

'cause that was the day

that my Daddy died.

The various members of the group -- at this point, consisting of Edwards, founding members Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin, and newcomers Damon Harris and Richard Street -- took turns acting as the various children of the late father, asking their mother which of the things they've heard about him are true, perhaps hoping none of them are, but they need to know: "Mama, I'm depending on you to tell me the truth."

Legend has it that Edwards was furious with Whitfield, because his father actually did die on a September 3, and was not a "rolling stone," but a minister, with Dennis Jr. becoming his choir director, and eventually being ordained himself.

It wasn't true. The Rev. Dennis Edwards Sr. actually died on an October 3. The real reason why Dennis Jr. was angry with Whitfield wasn't his writing, it was his producing: He didn't like doing take after take on his vocals. He was lucky he wasn't acting in a Stanley Kubrick film.

My own father was anything but a rolling stone. What he thought of this song, or even if he ever heard it, I never asked him. Probably because I didn't want to remind him of his own father. Who was... It's complicated. At any rate, despite being at the early side of the right age group to be an original rock and roll fan, he preferred classical and folk music, but he probably would have appreciated the opening. And he did once express an appreciation for one Motown singing legend: Marvin Gaye.

Former co-lead singers David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks has already left the group, in 1968 and 1971, respectively. Ruffin died in 1991, at age 50, from a cocaine overdose. Kendricks died in 1992, at 52, from another drug: Cigarettes. Another member, Paul Williams, also left in 1971, and had fallen victim to alcoholism. He took his own life in 1973, at 34.

Bass singer Melvin Franklin died in 1995, at 52, from diabetes. Damon Harris and Richard Street, who replaced Kendricks and Williams, died within a few days of each other in 2013, at 62 and 70, respectively. Dennis Edwards died in 2018, at 74. As of the 50th Anniversary of the song, September 28, 2022, Otis Williams, no relation to Paul, the last surviving founding member, is 82. He is also no relation to the Otis Williams who led the Cincinnati-based vocal group The Charms, who had an early rock-and-roll hit in 1954 with "Hearts of Stone."

*

September 28, 1972 was a Thursday. This was also the day the hockey "Summit Series" ended in Moscow, with Paul Henderson's last-minute goal securing victory for Canada over the Soviet Union, 6-5. I have a separate entry for that event.

September was chosen for the Summit Series because it was before either country's major league began play for the new season. The NBA and the ABA hadn't yet started their 1972-73 seasons, either. And while it was during the football season, at the time, NFL and college games played on Thursdays other than Thanksgiving were rare. And only 4 Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Thurman Munson, Roy White and pitcher Lindy McDaniel all hit home runs off the Tigers' Mickey Lolich. Because of the designated hitter, McDaniel remains the last Yankee pitcher to have hit a home run. White's homer won the game in the 12th inning. Mel Stottlemyre started the game, and Sparky Lyle won it in relief of Stottlemyre and McDaniel.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-7 at the Oakland Coliseum.

May 16, 1983: Michael Jackson Overshadows the Motown 25 Special

May 16, 1983: NBC airs the special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever – a year ahead of Motown Records' actual 25th Anniversary. It was taped before a live audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California, on March 25.

It was thought that the highlight might be the "Battle of the Bands" between the Temptations and the Four Tops, which led to a highly successful joint tour between them. Or it might be Smokey Robinson reuniting with his former group, The Miracles. Or it might be Marvin Gaye continuing his comeback, with a speech about the history of black music and a performance of his song "What's Going On."

Or it might be Diana Ross singing with The Supremes for the 1st time since 1969. She reunited with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong, who had replaced Florence Ballard in 1967. But the reunion was acrimonious.

 

But when Michael Jackson decided to sing his current single, the Number 1 song in the country at the time, it became one of those "Where Were You?" moments. I was at home in East Brunswick, and I didn't watch it.

Jackson had been a star since he and his brothers, as The Jackson Five, had their 1st Number 1 hit, "I Want You Back," in 1969. He had become a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. He'd released Thriller, including "Billie Jean," the preceding November 29, making him bigger than ever. But this performance lifted him up to another level, the way appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show did for Elvis Presley in 1956 and The Beatles in 1964.

"Billie Jean" had hit Number 1 on March 5, and lasted 7 weeks on top, including the day of the special's taping. It had been succeeded for 1 week by "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners. That was succeeded, immediately the next week, by Jackson's next single, "Beat It," which had Eddie Van Halen on lead guitar, the 1st fusion of Motown and metal. "Beat It" was still Number 1 when the special aired.

When the Jackson Five were starting out, Michael said he wanted to wear a hat onstage, like his idol, the aforementioned Marvin Gaye. He was told no, because it was an "adult" thing to do. Apparently, women went crazy when Marvin took off his hat, and flung it offstage.

This time, as the opening notes to "Billie Jean" began, Michael put a hat on, and the girls screamed. He did some moves that no one had ever seen before, but became a standard part of his routine. Then he took the hat off, and flung it offstage. Then he started sliding backwards, which he called the "moonwalk."

He didn't invent it. Cab Calloway was seen using it on film in 1932. Suggesting it was already well-known back then, he said in 1985 that it was called "the buzz." Bill Bailey did it in the all-black 1943 film musical The Cabin in the Sky. In 1944, Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien did it in Meet Me in St. Louis. Around the same time, Marcel Marceau, the world's foremost mime, began doing something like it.

In 1958, Dick Van Dyke appeared on, of all things, The Pat Boone Show, and did a routine he called "Mailing a Letter on a Windy Corner," which included a move similar to the Moonwalk. And in 1969, just 4 months after Apollo 11 landed on the actual Moon, Judy the Frog taught a dance called "The Moonwalk" on the kids' show H.R. Pufnstuf.

During the special, Jackson wore a sequined glove on his left hand, but not on his right. In later appearances, he would wear one on his right, but not on his left. He later explained: "I felt that one glove was cool… Wearing two gloves seemed so ordinary."

A joke came out of this: "Did you hear the New York Mets signed Michael Jackson? Just what they need: Another guy who wears a glove on only one hand for no apparent reason." Actually, there had already been a Mike Jackson in the major leagues, pitching for 4 different teams from 1970 to 1973; and there would later be a Michael Jackson, pitching for 8 teams from 1986 to 2004, collecting 142 saves. But neither of them ever played for the Mets.

Before the special, Michael Jackson was as big as most stars ever get. After it, he was as big as the biggest stars ever got.

It would become a blessing... and, alternately, a curse.

In a 2012 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, Michael Jackson was played as a boy by Bentley Green, and as an adult by "Nice" Peter Shukoff, against "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist as Elvis Presley.

*

May 16, 1983 was a Monday. The NBA was in the middle of its Conference Finals, but no games were played. The Philadelphia 76ers would beat the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers would beat the San Antonio Spurs, and then the Sixers would beat an injury-stricken Laker team in 4 straight to win the title.

The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 3 and 4. The next night, the New York Islanders beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum in Hempstead, New York, to win their 4th straight Stanley Cup. One dynasty was not quite ready to give way to the next. The following season, it did: The Isles' "Drive For Five" was ended in the Finals by the Oilers of Wayne Gretzky.

And there were 5 games played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Ron Guidry pitched a 3-hit shutout, giving up only a double to Lou Whitaker, and singles to Lance Parrish and Chet Lemon. For the Yankees, Ken Griffey Sr. went 3-for-4 with a walk, and Dave Winfield went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Darryl Strawberry, on his way to being named National League Rookie of the Year, hit a home run.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. An error by catcher Ted Simmons, with former Yankee top prospect Mickey Klutts at the plate, allowed Barry Bonnell to score the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. Robin Yount went 1-for-5. Paul Molitor went 0-for-5, but did draw a walk.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The A's led 7-0 going into the bottom of the 9th, but the Twins nearly came all the way back: The inning began with back-to-back home runs by Dave Engle and Bobby Mitchell, followed by a walk, a strikeout, a groundout, a 2-run homer by Gary Gaetti, another walk, another 2-run homer by Mickey Hatcher, and a single, meaning the tying run was on base, before reliever Tom Burgmeier, replacing the melting-down Dave Beard, slammed the door. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.