Rodger Penzabene (1945 – December 31, 1967) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

for the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

label. Among his most notable compositions as a

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income de ...

are " Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me" by

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

; " The End of Our Road" by Gladys Knight & the Pips and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...

; and a trilogy of hits for

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

: " You're My Everything", "

I Wish It Would Rain "I Wish It Would Rain" is a 1967 song recorded by the Temptations for the Motown label (under the "Gordy" imprint) and produced by Norman Whitfield. Release Issued with the Melvin Franklin-led "I Truly, Truly Believe" as its B-side, "I Wi ...

", and " I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)". Penzabene was of Sicilian and Irish descent. He attended

Mumford High School Samuel C. Mumford High School is a public high school located on the near-northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. It was operated by the Detroit Public Schools, and had been operated by the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan (EAA). DPS r ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was a childhood friend and neighbor of Cornelius Grant, with whom he wrote "You're My Everything". After Grant became musical director for the Temptations, Penzabene continued to contribute songs for the group, and for other Motown acts. The mournful songs "I Wish It Would Rain" and "I Could Never Love Another" reportedly drew from Penzabene's real-life pain and suffering.

Otis Williams Otis Williams (born Otis Miles Jr.; October 30, 1941) is an American baritone singer.Ribowsky, Mark (2010). ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Endearing Soul of the Temptations''. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 7–9 He is ...

wrote that: "We liked Roger a lot. He was young, nice-looking, but kind of quiet and reserved, and very humble. The inspiration for these great songs was his unhappy personal life." On New Year's Eve 1967, a week after the release of "I Wish It Would Rain", Penzabene committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

by gunshot at the age of 22.

References

1945 births 1967 suicides Songwriters from Michigan Motown artists American people of Italian descent American people of Irish descent Suicides by firearm in Michigan 20th-century American composers Mumford High School alumni {{US-songwriter-stub