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Legendary Motown producer Norman Whitfield died Tuesday at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was 65 years old.
Whitfield was born in Harlem, New York and earned his living as a pool shark before joining Motown Records' first recording studio, Hitsville. He wrote for The Velvelettes and the Marvelettes before taking creative control of The Temptations with the hit "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." After a shakeup at the label, he joined forces with Barret Strong to pen "Cloud Nine," the song that revolutionized the Motown sound.
Whitfield and Strong would remain close-knit collaborators for the rest of their careers, pioneering hit after hit with artists like Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight, and ensuring Motown's position in the musical canon of the '60s and '70s. They won a Grammy in 1972 for 'Best R&B Song' for The Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone."
Whitfield retired from music in the early '80s, and his later years were marked by his struggles with diabetes and IRS woes, as well as his mistrust of the media. Whatever his personal troubles, his legacy as one of soul's iconic producers lives on: last week the Whitfield-Strong produced Marvin Gaye hit "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" was ranked at number 65 on Billboard magazine's compilation of top singles for the past 50 years.
Related links:
Norman Whitfield on IMDb
NY Daily News: Radio remembers Norman Whitfield
YouTube: "I Wish It Would Rain"
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What wonderful music Norman Whitfield leaves behind. His name isn't the household name of Holland-Dozier-Holland, or certainly like Marvin Gaye and all the artists with whom he worked. But listen, primarily to his three master works with the Temptations:
"All Directions", "Masterpiece", and "1990". They are marvelous experiences of an artist at the peak of his game. And for more fun, give a listen to the great girl group sounds of the Velvelettes singing "He Was Really Saying Something" or the Marvelettes in "Too Many Fish in the Sea". He was wonderful, and he will be missed.