"My Girl" is a song from the American band "The Temptations".
It was recorded in 1964 with David Ruffin in charge of the lead vocals.
After attending one of the band’s shows, Smokey Robinson was impressed with Ruffin’s voice whom he considered "a sleeping giant". He decided to write them a song, one that would be "sweet and melodic" and which David Ruffin could "belt out".
"My Girl" was initially supposed to be recorded by "The Miracles" because Robinson’s muse for this song was his wife, Claudette Rogers Robinson, who was a part of that band. Because of the band’s insistence, Robinson offered it to "The Temptations". They created an unique vocal background and the guitar that can be heard at the beginning of the song is played by Robert White, part of the band "Funk Brothers".
It depicts a perfect C Major pentatonic scale because of the six ascending guitar notes.
Also, another magnificent technical detail about the song is that because of the notes ascending from octave to octave we have a perfect F Major pentatonic scale. The recording of the track took place in Hitsville USA and it’s part of the Gordy label. It was produced by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White and also written by them.
"My Girl" has a relatively small length: two minutes and fifty-nine seconds but it sparks a wonderful mixture of the soul and R&B genres.
The single was released in December 21st, 1965 and became the band’s first song to peak the first position in the United States. It was also their first number one song charted on the Billboard R&B Singles which, at the time, had been off for more than two years.
"My girl" is The Temptation’s signature song and a major hit that helped them gain very much popularity and success.
Rolling Stones magazine ranked it at number 88 on the "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" list. The single allowed the band to release many other singles afterwards that became instant hits: "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", "It’s Growing", "I Wish It Would Rain", "Ain’t Too Proud To Beg" etc.
"My Girl" is part of the album "The Temptations Sing Smokey" and it got re-released in 1992. It was, one again, successful and it peaked number two in the UK Singles Chart.
The single was covered by many great artists such as: Stevie Wonder, in 1967, Otis Redding, in 1965, The Rolling Stones, in 1967, Al Green, in 1969, Michael Jackson, for his album "Ben", Phil Collins, on various occasions, Michael Bolton, in 1999, La Toya Jackson, in 1995 and many others. It has also featured in movies: "Hollywood Homicide", "My Girl", "Father Of The Bride".
In 2014, Alec Blac and Robinson performed the song at the "Dancing With The Stars Result Show".
"My Girl" has been a hit for decades and it has inspired many generations. To this day, the 1965 hit still receives a high demand from the public and receives mostly positive reviews from music critics.
My Girl's piano sheet is available below for free. Enjoy and stay tuned!
