Masterpiece (The Temptations song)

"Masterpiece" is a 1973 soul single written by Norman Whitfield and performed by American vocal group The Temptations.

"Masterpiece"
Single by The Temptations
from the album Masterpiece
B-side"Masterpiece (instrumental)"
ReleasedFebruary 1973
GenreSoul
Length4:22 (single version)
13:49 (album version)
LabelMotown Records
Songwriter(s)Norman Whitfield
Producer(s)Norman Whitfield
The Temptations singles chronology
"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
(1972)		 "Masterpiece"
(1973)		 "Plastic Man"
(1973)

Background

Whitfield, who also produced the track, entitled it "Masterpiece" because he felt it was a perfect blending of strings, horns, rhythm players, voices, studio tricks, and sweetening elements.[1] However, the word 'masterpiece' does not appear in the song's lyrics, which do not point to anything obvious from which to draw a title. As with their Whitfield-produced hit from the previous year, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", the Temptations do not make their first appearance until after a long instrumental section. This added to already building tension between the group and Whitfield and led some music writers to start referring to the Temps as "the Norman Whitfield Choral Singers".[2]

Personnel

Chart History

Released from the album of the same title, the title track reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and spent two weeks at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart.[3] It was their last Top Ten pop hit with Motown Records, and perhaps the last such hit in their career, not counting their collaboration with Rod Stewart in 1991.

Chart positions
Charts Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 7
U.S. Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles 1

Covers

"Masterpiece" was covered the same year by Grover Washington, Jr. on his album Soul Box.

gollark: They could just have used Lua, or JS or something, but noooo...
gollark: VERY BADLY.
gollark: ZenScript is a horrible language.
gollark: Which would need something like four other size-24 reactors providing fuel.
gollark: 3.84MRF/t on deuterium/tritium.

References
  1. allmusic
  2. Temptations, The Biography
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 572.


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