Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (original) - The Undisputed Truth 1972.wmv
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong as a single for Motown act The Undisputed Truth in 1971. This version of "Papa" was released as a single in early 1972, and peaked at number sixty-three on the pop charts and number twenty-four on the R&B charts. Later in 1972, Whitfield, who also produced the song, took "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and remade it as a twelve-minute record for The Temptations, which was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammy Awards in 1973. While the original Undisputed Truth version of the song has been largely forgotten... (info from wiki).
Thanks Gerard VM (audio) and Dick R (artwork).
I never knew until today that there is an "original version" of that great song. And to my own surprise also this version sounds totally perfect 🙂
Completely agree with you.
Hard to say one was the original just because it was performed earlier. Like a lot of other motown songs, it was written by Strong and Whitfield and performed by more than one band.
The cool thing about this song is I can put it in my soul playlists and it's different enough from the Temptations version I can enjoy the lyrics twice over.
Both this and The Temptations' version are great in their own ways. Love them both.
Don't do that. One is CLEARLY better than the other. I'll say what you're scared to say..... This is TRASH!
@@mikecooley7514 Wonderful! Proud to say, I still enjoy them both.
Exactly, and pay attention to this song and you see the females' parts simply guided Damon and others to place their voices upon the Temps version.
Rare Earth does a very nice cover.
@@mikecooley7514 one thing:
The Temptations edition would not exist without this original one!!!
This group deserves to be better known. And that's The Undisputed Truth.
Today is the 3rd of September. Papa is in lockdown at home.
Sounds like the ghetto by Donny Hathaway in the beginning.
Goddamn. I never knew that the Temptations version wasn't the original. This one is funky as hell, wow!
I didn't know either but it was a Motown song and Motown just gave to their other group the Temptations. Of course it became hit.
Motown also took I heard it through the grapevine which was originally sung by Gladys Knight and the Pips and rewrote it for Marvin Gaye.
This is actually very good too! First time hearing. I like the full beat and sound and i got to give it respect for being the original. But the Temptations get the edge for that unmatched suspense and emotion. It felt like Mama had to build the courage to tell her kids the Truth....
It has the same beat as Smiling Faces Will Lie
@@earvetta I hear Donny Hathaway’s The Ghetto at the top
Please don't blaspheme God's name.....
0:00-0:16...THE GHETTO DONNY HATHAWAY 1971
Thank Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Thought I was gonna hear Donny Hathaway for a second!
Eddie hazel from funkadelic plays the guitar on here
Did not know that! Thanks for the info. Eddie was amazing.
So surprised how much I like this original version, good stuff.
what's amusing is i prefer the temptations version of this undisputed original,
but i prefer the undisputed version of the temptations original 'smiling faces sometimes' more.
Yeah, The Tempts version sounds more vulnerable with Eddie singing it, and the arrangement matches that vocal tone of Eddie. But I love the Jackson 5's "Hum Along and Dance" over the Tempts version! lol.
DiscoHank I thought Eddie had left by then 71 I believe that’s Damon Harris with the falsetto...
Judy Gaines oh ok my bad thanks 😊
I am late to the party but I agree with you on the versions, I almost forgot that the Temps did smiling faces
First time I've heard this version and I really enjoyed it.
Beautifully presented by Undisputed Truth and the strong voice of Joe Harris! This is the real deal Soul Blue Wise! Now onto Smiling Faces, Sometimes.
Papa was the Son o' Hickory Holler's Tramp.
ruclips.net/video/5FvkJAS4rI8/видео.html
Opening bass line sounds exactly the same as Donny Hathaway's The Ghetto.
Yep
Interesting version. Motown had several remakes of songs in their inventory; most people loved or hated respective versions just by their own values. Everyone knows the Jackson 5's I Want You Back, an international R&B and Pop Classic; David Ruffin also covered that song which was noise in my mind. The most famous was I Heard it Through the Grapvine. It was written in 1966; the Miracles recorded it in early 1967, in fall 67 Gladys Knight recorded it and it grew to be a number two song. Marvin Gaye's version wiped out all other competition: it was recorded in 1967 as well; and once released, became the "..acclaimed soul classic, leading up to becoming one of the Rolling Stone Magazine's top 500 songs of Rock and Roll. Ironically, Berry Gordon refused to release the song as a single when it was completed in 1967 and finally released it in fall 1968.
...spent most of his time chasing women and drinking...
Marvin Gaye's version of I Heard It Through the Grapevine was originally recorded BEFORE Gladys Knight and the Pips, but was shelved, because the group made up primarily of Berry Gordy, Smokey, and selected others, didn't think Marvin's version was going to sell. It was more than a year, almost two years, when Marvin's version was released and eclipsed Gladys and company's. They are both top-notch, number one in my book.
Gladys Knight’s version of Grapevine is clearly the best one. And she still sounds good doing it at 80 years young.
This is a great record with real power, but The Temps version has so much space and atmosphere it’s unbeatable.
In that Black and white photo that starts at 0:31 - in the lower left hand corner, bottom row - that's Herschell Happiness who would go on to be a key member of Larry Grahams Graham Central Station.
Narratively, this might make more sense given the picture painted of the father in the song, but I always thought the lyric was, "And when he died, all he left us was a A LOAN" not ALONE; which I think is more tragic, because the shady louse of a Papa left them in debt. But every site I've seen the lyrics on prints it as "alone."
Anything with Whitefield attached to it is gonna be worth your time
Surprisingly good. Gets the somberness. Whitfield's revisioning is even more impressive after hearing this original arrangement.
LYRICS / TESTO:
It was the third of September
That day I'll always remember, yes I will
'Cause that was the day that my daddy died
I never got a chance to see him
Never heard nothin' but bad things about him
Momma I'm depending on you to tell me the truth
Momma just hung her head and said, son
Papa was a rolling stone
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
Papa was a rolling stone (my son, yeah)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
Hey Momma!
Is it true what they say that Papa never worked a day in his life
And Momma, some bad talk goin' round town sayin' that
Papa had three outside children
And another wife, and that ain't right
Heard some talk Papa doing some storefront preachin'
Talking about saving souls and all the time leechin'
Dealing in dirt, and stealing in the name of the Lord
Momma just hung her head and said
Papa was a rolling stone (my son)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
Hey Papa was a rolling stone (dad gumma it)
Where ever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
Hey Momma
I heard Papa called himself a jack-of-all-trades
Tell me is that what sent Papa to an early grave
Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, steal
To pay his bills
Hey Momma
Folks say Papa never was much on thinking
Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking
Momma I'm depending on you to tell me the truth
Momma looked up with a tear in her eye and said, son
Papa was a rolling stone (well, well, well, well)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone (lone, lone, lone, alone)
Papa was a rolling stone
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
My daddy was
Papa was a rolling stone (yes he was, yeah)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home)
VI XIX MMXXII
present
and counting...
Add me to the "today years old" crowd. Had no idea of this version...dopeness!
Half-time cha-cha funk beat...Temps version was strangely austere and spare. This is all over the place...sounds good but not in love with it.
Did anyone catch the bass intro is the same as Donny Hathaway's The Ghetto?
yep that's the first thing I noticed
"And all he left was alone"..... or a loan ? ;-)
Thank you! Always good to know the original version. Definitely more earthy and soulful. Temptations' version is excellent in a different way: it has wider appeal and is also more unique (even today, I can't think of a song that sounds like it).
That arrangement is one of the most dramatic that I know of in so called popular music.
ruclips.net/video/Tawsdz2fDLs/видео.html
this version is in serbian and it is quite amazing
I know so much about music and I cant believe I didnt know this awesome song
To tell you the honest God truth. The temptation version is way better than this version. I give temptations a hundred percent over this song
@83bubble
Well If you prefer The Temptations version, then I recommend you check out rarely heard full length 11:51 album version, if you haven't by chance heard it before. Most people are familiar with the 6:57 single version, but the full length nearly 12 minute original is even better.
Which brings me to this: is there by chance, a longer album cut of THIS version by UT? I have only heard the 3 and a half minute single version, posted here but I think it might cut down from a longer LP cut
Also worth a listen is the Tom Moulton 17m59s mix of the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," available on _The Tom Moulton Unreleased Mixes, Volume 2_. There's a notable gaffe at 6m00s, when Dennis Edwards, Jr.'s voice jumps out of the mix and is quickly pulled down.
Eddie hazel, billy nelson and tiki fulwood plays on here original funkadelic all over this Norman Whitfield livd funkadelic and he had the funk brothers and other musicians copy demo tracks that they made billy Nelson plays on car wash whole soundtrack no credit
I only heard the Temptations cover of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", from the same year, 1972.
This version was done just a few months before the Temptations released theirs...
Beginning similar to The Ghetto by Donny Hathaway
I was referred here after listening to the Temptations version and I admit I like this version. I was skeptical though!
The Undisputed Truth. 'Nuff said....nice. Thanks fro the upload. Blessings
I actually find this version a little better than the tempts version
This song just has the classic Undisputed Truth sound to it
First time hearing this !never knew they cut this!
missed this one in the 70's, musically beautiful ! I like it as much as the Temps !
Beautifull. The Temps' version rose higher in the charts; nonetheless, The Undusputed Truth rocked it out!
Check out Rare Earth's versioon also. Much credit to Norman Whitfiled and Barrett Strong, writers/producers, and to Berry Gordy for finally "lettng them loose to run free."
There is a much longer cut, an album cut, that I can't find anywhere.
Original composer is Norman Whitfield. The dude composes "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" in 1971, produces the original version in 1972 for Undisputed Truth, peaks number 63 and number 24 on charts. Later in 72, cuts a longer version For the Temptations and hits number 1.
He meanwhile writes "" and records "smiling faces sometimes" for the Temptations in 1971. and re-records it for the Undisputed Truth the same year, obtains a number-three Hot 100 position for the group.
To tell the truth, what we like the most on this version, the psychodelic aspect of the sound and the instrumentation are qualities dictated by Whitfieldand the Temptations were frustrated by his emphasis on instruments and not vocals as much as they wanted.
An interesting working of the song, but I still much prefer the much stronger later Temptations version myself. I do find it fascinating however, that as different as the musical arrangements are, the vocal arrangement is almost replicated to a T by the Temptations, even down to the change of singers at certain points. Certainly a fascinating insight into the way writer/producer Norman Whitfield developed this into the classic we know today.
Listening to this after the Temptations version is a bit like that feeling when you get when you transition from one series of The Wire on to the next, and the theme tune is a bit different, but still has it's own thing going on.
Wow bro hit it on the nail!
At first the group did not like this song! But Norman Whitfield knew he had something when they recorded it.
The world needs more dancing
This is so them (their style) . I like it
Damn. That's all I can say. Damn. Never knew this existed.
Wow waltervdbus thx for putting an ad i cant skip on this song you didn't write unless you're Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Norman Whitfield loved remaking his songs over and over again
He's a great candidate for a "Songbook" type album or mixtape, you could mess peoples heads up with the non hit versions of his hits
DiscoHank exactly, he's one of the people that shows you not every hit you hear was recorded originally by the artist who made it big.
@@BlackHippy313 Like Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson.
That was Motown period.
Maybe he had himself no ideas.
i like this very much! glad i found it....the Tempatations version was good too...i love them both.
So It Turns out The Undisputed Truth (The Original Ones Who Came with this song and many others FIRST) was a rival to the Temptations both signed by Berry Gordy. Plus one of the lead singers was A Woman. They had a more funky rock soul vibe vs the Temptations r&b smooth vibe. Actually to me (The Undisputed Truth) out-performed them on some the same songs but the Temptations were mainstream to all genres at the time and were more popular. That's why I think The Temptations went so hard on this song. That was a really dirty move that he (Berry Gordy) did. On top of all of this...it turns out that Barrett Strong who sung this song as well as Money wrote this song specifically for The Undisputed Truth. So that means that they (The Temptations)
made millions and millions of dollars off this group's songs. Unbelievable! Smh
Huh? The Undisputed Truth got to release the song first, but it didn't chart nearly as well as the Temptations' recording. Why blame the Temptations or Berry Gordy for that?
@@makeadifference4all
I don't see no one blaming anyone,
she just states a fact...
the female voice should be that of
Brenda Joyce Evans,
great grand-daughter of the one and only
Elizabeth Cotten...
Wow! I haven't heard this version thank you! I really like it. The singer sounds a bit like the Cornelius Bros and Sister Rose ;) the female singer is very talented.
This song itself reminds me of Rare Earth's 'Ma' and Cloud 9. Cool stuff
Came here from Jamel aka Jamal. This song needed to be a 12 inch record, so cool..
First time hearing this original version! The music arrangement for the Temptations is much better, carried by a cooler bass & drum groove that digs much deeper. There's more space in the Temps' version to showcase the brass and strings, not to mention the laser sharp vocals. This one is nice, but generic. It needed Whitfield's inspired shift in dynamics and the Funk Brothers to turn a good song into an all-time classic. Vocally, the Undisputed Truth do a fine job, but the Temptations' masculine, angrier sound were perfect for these lyrics. "And when he died, all he left us was alone" is one of the most bitter and brilliant lines ever written.
For you 59, *FriggiN LovE YoU* , always`"*':,.°~'"*`💥🔥🔥🔥❤️🔥🔥🔥
🔥🔥🔥🖤🔥🔥🔥
The twelve-minute Temptations versions wasn't a number-one hit (unlike said in description). The number one single was only (about) seven minutes. Twelve minutes = LP version.
Wow! Every bit as fantastic as the Temps.Main difference, vocals way out front on this one.
Great version!!! Actually, both versions are excellent!! Hitsville, would expect them to be.
Now wait a minute, I'm all about originality,but come on now,just two licks from the bass line you know what powerfull train is coming the Temptation Train. And it's running everybody over.
Nice to see where it came from!!! I like the Temptation's version better. But not because of The Undisputed Truth. They are kicking it!!
*** ‘Where ever he laid his hat was his home’ ***
On this day in 1972 {October 8th} "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" by the Temptations entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #83; and on November 26th, 1972 it peaked at #1 {for 1 week} and spent 16 weeks on the Top 100...
And kind of surprisingly, it only reached #5 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart; but their next four releases all peaked at #1 {"Masterpiece", "Let Your Hair Down", “Happy People", and "Shakey Ground"}...
Earlier in 1972 the original version of the song by the Undisputed Truth entered the Top 100 on June 4th at position #76; it stayed on the chart for five weeks and on June 25th, 1972 it peaked at #63 {for 1 week}...
The creator seldom gets the credit . The undisputed truth . Thanks
My favorite band. Geniuses.
Ok to me this version is COMPLETELY WAY OFF. The temptations version is way better. Not sorry
This was payback for The Temps. They did the original Smiling Faces Sometimes but The Undisputed Truth cover was the hit.
Payback? Both songs were written and produced by Norman Whitfield. Sometimes when songs don't chart or make waves that are passed through out the label.
@@BigBoyTraks You are correct. Almost every song written at Motown was recorded by more than the original artist it was intended for. I can name many of the songs and artists who recorded them, but the list is too vast and voluminous.
Yvette Stevens aka Chaka Khan, sister, Yvonne Stevens aka Taka Boom and Taka Khan was a member of this group, The Undisputed Truth.
@@BigBoyTraks Oh, BTW, don't forget Norman Whitfield's collaborator, Barrett Strong. Barrett Strong, a piano player, singer, songwriter, lyricist was like the Curtis Mayfield of Motown.
Lol yeap, u can tell it was pay back.....
the female voice should be that of Brenda Joyce Evans, great grand-daughter of the one and only Elizabeth Cotten...
Jammie .....
Interesting. This the first time I knew/heard this version. I like it. It got better everytime they remade it,
I would like to know the story behind the re-recording of the masterpiece.
The Temptations are a great group but the version is better then there version
Papa was just like us trying to right his wrongs he did like to preach he had a relationship with the lord only Jesus can was away our sins
λατρεία ρε μάγκα μου! thanks for sharing!
One year gone. RIP Bob Babbitt.
RIP Barrett Strong
Temptations version was the remix of this song and they made bank.
I think Elizabeth Cotten's granddaughter is in this band at this time.
No wonder no one remembers this version.
But their Smiling Faces version is a soul classic
Lol!
Bass sounds like the ghetto from donny hathaway
Their version has women singing the high notes, unlike the Temptations version.
Norman gave the temptations a better track I think that's why their version is better
I like and prefer this version they and Rare Earth sang a few Temptations songs
Tempts version is definitely better
Tremendously better than the Temptations version.
First time hearing this one, I love it!! Funkier vibe.
Didn't know this version excisted
L'originale!
........great song.................................
I AM DELIGHTED THAT THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH, ARE AT LONG lONG LAST GETTING THE PLAUDITS THEIR MUSIC ,HAS BEEN CRYING OUT FOR.
Mannn this group was bad ass i cant believe this is the original version and how good it sounds they will never get the credit which is sad
September 3rd, 2024.
Love the Original ❤️ The DRAMA !!!! 🎭🔥
@SpaceRocker75
I actually like this version better, though The Temptations did a pretty good job with their famous cover version.
They also sang Ball of Confusion.
I never knew this was the first. This one sounds dark, where as the temps version more hyper, and joyful.
Really? I'd say the exact opposite.
Also, the bassline of the Temptations version is similar to "Crazy Train". Not really, but it's more similar than "Good Times" and "Another One Bites the Dust".
LOVEEEEEEE THIS VERSION =) thank you !
It's from the same family in my opinion: Tamla Motown was hot hot hot at the beginning of the seventies. But this is a real good song!
Except this wasn't on Tamla.
The Temptations and The Undisputed Truth were both on Gordy, another Motown label.
First time i heard of this, i thought the Temptations was the original. I personally think the best version is by The Pioneers.
This is so F****N good.....thanks Norman and Barry.
Love this song at least you can sing to it
Solid gold right there boy.