New album features Smokey Robinson duet
The Grammy Award-winning Temptations have announced their much-anticipated new album, Temptations 60, for January 28th via UMe. The new album consists of nearly all-original songs that are both modern and classic in feel and sound. In addition to tracks produced by group members, the album brings the iconic group together again with some of its beloved producers, including the legendary and award-winning Smokey Robinson and Narada Michael Walden.
“Our new album carries with it, our legacy, our love of music and our hope that through our music we can uplift and bring people together,” shares original founding member and the album’s executive producer, Dr. Otis Williams. “Most of all, we want fans to enjoy it and share it with family and friends around the world. It’s a thank you gift from our hearts to all of our fans, past, present and future.”
As The Temptations have done throughout their career, their latest album balances love songs with topical tracks, showcasing their enduring strength across the generations. Williams co-produced, with Dennis Nelson and Thomas “TC” Campbell, five of the album’s 12 tracks, including the harmony-infused ballad, “Calling Out Your Name” and the uptempo tracks “You Don’t Know Your Woman” and “How Do You Spell Love.” Williams also co-produced an updated version of “Come On,” a song that had been the first recording by Otis Williams & the Distants, a precursor to the Temptations, in 1959, and features a special monologue about the group’s history.
The first single released from the album, “Is It Gonna Be Yes Or No,” is written and produced by and features Motown superstar Smokey Robinson. In all the years Robinson has delivered such timeless Temptations’ hits “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “My Girl,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” “Get Ready” and more, the duet marks the only time he and The Temptations have sung lead together, save for a recording of “The Christmas Song” in 1989.
The project also features two brand-new songs produced by Grammy-Winning Narada Michael Walden, who produced their last platinum-selling album, Phoenix Rising. He delivers the biographical beauty, “When We Were Kings,” available now, which sums up the Temptations legacy to this point, and “Breaking My Back,” a love song that evokes the classic Tempts’ catalog.
Longtime Temptation leading vocalist and songwriter Ron Tyson, and Thomas “TC” Campbell produced two tracks, including “Time For The People,” a powerful statement addressing modern issues – a “Ball of Confusion” for the 21st Century – and the island-flavored love song, “I Want It Right Now.” Dave Darling, who produced the group’s last album, All the Time, brought to the album a stunning cover of the Vintage Trouble song, “My Whole World Stopped Without You.”
Reflecting the rich musical influences of the third decade of the 21st Century, the album opens with a uniquely contemporary track “Let it Reign,” featuring Queens New York, Hip Hop artist K. Sparks. Much in the way “Cloud Nine” marked a bold update in the group’s sound back in the late 60’s, so too does this song, a modern-day shift from the group’s vintage roots, that weaves together the powerful fusion of hip-hop, smooth jazz and soulful flavors.
The Temptations are today one of the most iconic, bestselling brands in the entertainment world; Billboard magazine named them “The No. 1 R&B Artist of All Time.” With original member Dr. Otis Williams, the group’s track record of continuing to sell decades worth of history-making music is breathtaking.
Williams was a recent guest on The Music Podcast in which he spoke about the band’s 60th anniversary and his 80th birthday. The national anniversary campaign launched this summer and will run through 2022, in a celebration befitting one of the most revered and prolific musical institutions of all time. The year-long campaign includes Temptations 60, a national concert tour through fall of next year that includes a trip abroad, remastering of their music videos, a new content series and more.
CD
1. Let It Reign featuring K. Sparks
2. When We Were Kings
3. Is It Gonna Be Yes Or No featuring Smokey Robinson
4. Time For The People
5. Elevator Eyes
6. My Whole World Stopped Without You
7. You Don’t Know Your Woman (Like I Do)
8. How Do You Spell Love
9. Calling Out Your Name
10. I Want It Right Now
11. Breaking My Back
12. Come O
