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MOTOWN: THE TEMPTATIONS - PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE

The Temptations would take this song to #1 and win three Grammys in 1973 with it, but it was originally recorded by another Motown group: The Undisputed Truth in 1971. Their  original version only went to #63, and pretty much forgotten these days as the Temps made it theirs so well. 
Anyways, this is a real weird single track as even the single mix almost 7 minutes long, and the album one over 12 minutes! It also has four different lead vocalists and the instruments keep changing and variating. 
It would also be The Temptations fourth #1 and also the last. In UK this went to #14. 
 
Countless cover versions have been recorded and performed throughout the decades, including Bill "Wolf" Wolfer with backing vocals by Michael Jackson, Issac Hayes with Soul II Soul's Charlotte Kelly,  Seal, Was (Not Was), George Michael, Craig David and many others.
Run-D.M-C sampled it to their Papa Crazy as did Montenegrin Eurovision star Knez in Automatic. 

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