Barrett Strong (born February 5, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best known for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfield. Among his most famous work at Motown, Strong wrote the lyrics for many of the songs recorded by the Temptations. He was born in

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, Mississippi.

Career

Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry Gordy's fledgling label, Tamla Records, and was the performer on the company's first hit, " Money (That's What I Want)", which reached No. 2 US R&B in 1960. The single was originally released on Tamla, Motown's first label, but was then leased to the Anna label as it was getting airplay, and it was on the Anna label that it was a hit. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. "Money" was later recorded by a number of acts, including

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

, the Kingsmen, Richard Wylie and His Band, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Searchers, the Flying Lizards, the Sonics and Buddy Guy. Strong claims that he co-wrote "Money" with Gordy and Janie Bradford; his name appears on the song's original copyright registration with the United States Copyright Office. Gordy disputed these claims, stating that Strong's name was only included because of a clerical error. In the mid-1960s, Strong became a Motown writer lyricist, teaming with producer Norman Whitfield. Together, they wrote some of the most successful and critically acclaimed soul songs ever to be released by Motown, including " I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips; " War" by Edwin Starr; " Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" by Paul Young; " Smiling Faces Sometimes" by the Undisputed Truth; and the long line of " psychedelic soul" records by the Temptations, including "

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", "

I Can't Get Next to You "I Can't Get Next to You" is a 1969 No. 1 single recorded by the Temptations and written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Gordy (Motown) label. The song was a No. 1 single on the ''Billboard'' Top Pop Singles chart for two wee ...

", " Psychedelic Shack", " Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", and " Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", amongst others. Strong received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

for "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". Strong and Whitfield also co-wrote the ballad " Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", a 1971 Billboard No. 1 that also marked the last Temptations single to feature original members Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. After Motown moved its operations base from Detroit, Michigan, to Los Angeles, California, Strong left the label and resumed his singing career. He signed with

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

in 1972. Strong left the label for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, where he recorded two albums in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Strong recorded "Rock It Easy" on an independent label, and wrote "You Can Depend on Me", which appeared on their ''The Second Time'' album (1988). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004. Strong has re-released his latest album, ''Stronghold II,'' which he wrote and composed in collaboration with

Eliza Neals Elizabeth Thomasian Neals (born February 8, 1974), known professionally as Eliza Neals is an American blues rock singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and arranger. She has released ten albums since 1997. Neals counts Barrett Strong and J ...

in 2008, in digital format only. In 2010, Strong appeared in "Misery", his first music video in his fifty years of recording music, co-produced by Eliza Neals and Martin "Tino" Gross with Strong at the helm.

Discography

Albums

* 1975: ''Stronghold'' (No. 47 – '' Billboard''

Black Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated Jan ...

chart) * 1976: ''Live & Love'' * 1987: ''Love Is You'' * 2008: ''Stronghold II''

Singles

* 1959: "Let's Rock" / "Do the Very Best You Can" – Tamla 54022 * 1959: " Money (That's What I Want)" / "Oh I Apologize" (No. 23 Pop / No. 2 R&B) – Tamla 54027 (re-released as Anna 1111) * 1960: "Yes, No, Maybe So" / "You Knows What to Do" – Tamla 54029 (re-released as Anna 1116) * 1960: "Whirlwind" (with The Rayber Voices)" / "I'm Gonna Cry (If You Quit Me)" – Tamla 54033 * 1961: "Money and Me" / "You Got What It Takes" - Tamla 54035 * 1961: "Misery" / "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right" - Tamla 54043 * 1962: "Seven Sins" / "What Went Wrong" – ATCO 6225 * 1964: "Make Up Your Mind" / "I Better Run" – Tollie 9023 * 1967: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye, co-written with Norman Whitfield * 1971: "Just My Imagination" - The Temptations, co-written with Norman Whitfield * 1972: "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" – The Temptations, (US #1, UK #8) originally recorded by the Undisputed Truth * 1973: "Stand Up and Cheer for the Preacher" / (instrumental version) –

5-11011 * 1975: "Surrender" / "There's Something About You" – Capitol 4120 * 1975: "Is It True" / "Anywhere" – Capitol 4052 * 1976: "Man Up in the Sky" / "Gonna Make It Right" - Capitol 4223 * 1980: "Love Is You" / "You Make Me Feel the Way You Do" - Coup CP-2007 * 1981: "Rock It Easy" / "Love Will Make It Alright" - Phase II WS8 02048

References

External links