Last Member of Legendary Group Sets Record Straight On This 11 Minute #1 Hit | Professor Of Rock

Coming up the story of an all time 70s #1 hit that has as much drama and intrigue as any song every recorded an an example of everyone trying to force a song to be something it wasn’t. In the end the song won the battle. I’m talking about Papa Was A Rolling Stone by the Temptations...First of all it was 12 minutes long with the first four minutes recored as an extended instrumental section that had the legendary group furious that their vocals were being increasingly pushed to the background by an off the wall producer. Then the producer had the Dennis Edwards the singer record dozens of takes to the point of exhaustion. He also didn’t want to sing it. it got so bad that after the song was finished he was fired and it would be the last massive hit So many urban legends have been thrown around about the song and we’ll get the real story from the last remaining member of the this hall of fame group. the interview with Otis Williams set the record straight. Get Sammy Hagar Professor of Rock Live TIX here: https: https://www.showpass.com/sammy-hagar/ Thank you to this Episodes Sponsor, Zenni Optical Incredible Prices on New Glasses - https://bit.ly/ZenniOpticalShop --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out my Hand Picked Selection Below Professor's Store The 80s Collection https://amzn.to/3mAekOq 100 Best Selling Albums https://amzn.to/3h3qZX9 Ultimate History of 80s Teen Movie https://amzn.to/3ifjdKQ 80s to 90s VHS Video Cover Art https://amzn.to/2QXzmIX Totally Awesome 80s A Lexicon https://amzn.to/3h4ilrk Best In Ear Headphones (I Use These Every Day) https://amzn.to/2ZcTlIl ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Producer: Brandon Fugal Honorary Producers Tammy Poitras, Jeffrey Thorn, Yvon Fus, Keith Novak, Thomas Halterman, Bruce, 22 Unchained, Duff Gordon, Byrdman, Jim Hong, Bill Soucy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check Out The Professor of Rock Merch Store - http://bit.ly/ProfessorMerch Access To Backstage Content Become a Patron - http://bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan Help out the Channel by purchasing your albums through our links! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you, thank you for your support. Click here for Premium Content: https://bit.ly/SignUpForPremiumContent https://bit.ly/Facebook_Professor_of_... https://bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of... #1970s #rock #vinylstory Hey music junkies Professor of Rock always her to celebrate the greatest artists and songs of all time if you believe that a song is the closest thing we have to time machine in this world. you’ll enjoy this channel.. make sure to subscribe right now so you don’t miss an episode. . hit the red button and check the bell so you are always in the know about our latest videos and interviews. also give us a look on patreon where we have even more content and become an honorary producer on our episode I’m really excited to bring you another episode from our series Revelations- where featured artists reveal rare stories about their biggest songs, along with fascinating insight about their careers. In 1972 a song hit #1 that was just under 7 mins long… and that twas even edited down since the album version was over 12 minutes long. The song was a masterpiece that we’re still talking about today from a Hall of Fame group called the Temptations. It was a subject that hadn’t really been covered by popular music before. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1971. Legend has it that Whitfield had a groove that new knew was something special so he called Barret Strong who actually had the first hit for Berry Gordy’s motown in 1960 and co-wrote I Heard it Through the Grapevine. Norman who had taken the Temptations down a psychedelic path for the last few years wanted Strong to write some great lyrics for this song he thought should be funned up tempo said Barrett: “Norman said he wanted lyrics that were fun, not serious, so listeners would have a good time with it. But as I listened over and over after Norman left, I didn’t hear the music the way he did. There was something about the bass line that spoke to me. It was the sound of someone confused about something and was trying to make sense of it.” Strong would key in on the phrase Papa was a rolling stone saying “‘Rolling stone’ was a phrase used all the time in my neighborhood going back to the ’50s. It meant a guy who couldn’t settle down, even if he had a wife and kids. It was from the old proverb, ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss.’”