A Song for You (The Temptations album)

A Song for You
Studio album by the Temptations
Released	January 16, 1975
Recorded	1974
Studio	Motown Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA)
Genre	Soul, funk
Length	35:53
Label	Gordy G6 969 S1
Producer	Berry Gordy, Jeffrey Bowen, James Anthony Carmichael, Suzee Wendy Ikeda, Clayton Ivey, Terry Woodford
The Temptations chronology
1990 (1973) A Song for You (1975) House Party (1975)
Singles from A Song for You
"Happy People" Released: November 21, 1974 "Shakey Ground" Released: February 17, 1975 "Glasshouse" Released: June 18, 1975

A Song for You is a 1975 album by the Temptations. It features two R&B #1 hits: "Happy People" (originally intended for recording by its authors, the Commodores), and "Shakey Ground", one of the group's final R&B #1 songs.

Music and lyrics

The title track features lead singer Dennis Edwards on a song written by Leon Russell. Richard Street and Melvin Franklin sing lead on the track "Firefly".

A Song for You features a familiar device of the time used to exhibit the versatility of 1970s soul groups: one side features up-tempo cuts and the other side focuses on ballads. Several songs on side one such as "Glass House" and "Shakey Ground" featured P-Funk-backed dance grooves and even a writing credit for former Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel, while side two had tracks such as "I'm a Bachelor" and "Memories", which showcased a more subdued style of soul.

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	C[2]

This album, while it was initially panned by the Rolling Stone Record Guide, proved its worth, going gold (selling over 500,000 copies) and winning the 1976 American Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album. This was also the final album by Eddie Kendricks's replacement Damon Harris, who was let go after this album. He would rejoin his Young Tempts (aka "the Young Vandals") bandmates as Impact.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Happy People"	Lionel Richie, Jeffrey Bowen, Donald Baldwin	3:38
2.	"Glasshouse"	Charlemagne, Dennis Edwards, Damon Harris, Richard Street, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin	3:54
3.	"Shakey Ground"	Dennis Edwards, Eddie Hazel, Alphonso Boyd, Jeffrey Bowen	4:03
4.	"The Prophet"	Melvin Franklin, Jeffrey Bowen, Kathy Wakefield, Larry Duncan	4:28
5.	"Happy People" (Instrumental)	Lionel Richie, Jeffrey Bowen, Donald Baldwin	2:27

Side two

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"A Song for You"	Dennis Edwards, Leon Russell	4:40
2.	"Memories"	Dennis Edwards, Donald Baldwin, Kathy Wakefield, Jeffrey Bowen	6:01
3.	"I'm a Bachelor"	Dennis Edwards, Otis Williams, Damon Harris, Richard Street, Melvin Franklin	4:21
4.	"Firefly"	Richard Street, Melvin Franklin, Jesse Boyce	4:02

Personnel

• Dennis Edwards - tenor/baritone vocals
• Damon Harris - first tenor/falsetto vocals
• Richard Street - tenor/baritone vocals
• Melvin Franklin - bass vocals
• Otis Williams - second tenor/baritone vocals
• Berry Gordy - producer
• Jeffrey Bowen - producer
• Donald Charles Baldwin - co-songwriter: ("Happy People", "Memories"), piano, clavinet, Moog, soprano saxophone solo on "Shakey Ground"
• The Commodores - tape loop on "Happy People"
• Lionel Richie - co-songwriter: ("Happy People")
• Eddie Hazel - co-songwriter: ("Shakey Ground"), guitar
• Melvin "Wah-Wah" Ragin - guitar
• Ollie Brown, James Gadson, Zachary Frazier - drums
• William "Billy Bass" Nelson - bass guitar

Charts

Chart (1975)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[3]	77
Canadian Albums (RPM)[4]	14
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[5]	9
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6]	62
US Billboard 200[7]	13

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1975 (U.S.)

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, NSW. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
4. "RPM: The Temptations (albums)". RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-04-15. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
5. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
6. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
7. "The Temptations US Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2017.