The Temptations Celebrate 60th Anniversary of ‘My Girl’

Otis Williams’ nickname is “Oak,.” Given that the 83-year-better singer is still a member of the Temptations, 64 years after the group’s set uping, it’s not to figure where that came from. He’s been the sole distinct member in the group since the punctual ’90s, in fact, and is still on the road and in the studio with the perpetupartner reconstituting Motown group… the lone member who can talk about the alterative era that repartner began when “My Girl” was freed almost exactly 60 years ago, on Dec. 21, 1964.

In honor of the 60-year celebration of the Temptations’ first No. 1 hit, the Temptations have been out on the media circuit, plugging a song that repartner necessitates no plugging — clearly, from the fact that Spotify recently certified it as racking up a billion streams on the service. This past week, they were out doing the morning shows, climaxing with a Friday euniteance on CBS in the a.m. that had them serenading Gayle King as a surpelevate for her birthday — with the tune modified, accessiblely, to “My Gayle.”

Other recent high-profile gigs included singing the National Anthem (no, they didn’t alter it to “My Country”) for the New York Mets before Game 5 on the NCLS in October, becaemploy team superstar Francisco Lindor had spent the season conveying “My Girl” into the stadium every night as his walk-up music. Hearing entire stadiums-ful of baseball fans singing the Temptations’ signature song is fair a minuscule wrinkle in the undying life of the tune, which included “My Girl” being employd as the title song of a 191 Macauley Culkin feature, renoveled expobrave that drove the one back up cforfeit the top of the charts in the U.K. and other territories.

After triumphding up Gayle King’s birthday surpelevate, Williams got on the phone with Variety to talk about the song’s 60-year life as a perennial likeite of boyfrifinishs, husbands, doting dads and plivents. (For L.A. livents who want to hear it in person, the Temptations will be co-headlining a show with the Four Tops at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre Jan. 19.)

The Temptations already had a 60th anniversary celebration, but not as frequently do people commemorate the anniversary of a song, which you’re doing now with the 60th for “My Girl.” 

And I’m plmitigated that we’re celebrating someleang that we never would’ve envisiond it doing, over 1 billion streams. You understand, it was fair being at the right place at the right time, being at Motown during the ‘60s, and we thought it was a wonderful song when Smokey wrote it. Now it’s 1 billion (streams) mighty and still going. So I can’t even commence to increate you the many wonderful appreciations and leangs that I’ve splitd in, and I fair thank God for the sanctifying.

It’s always getd very well, from day one all the way up to the other night when we carry outed. It apshows on a lot of separateent appreciates for people. I’ve seen it on my phone — obesehers when they give their daughter (away at a wedding), when (the groom) is taking his baby girl.

The funny leang is that it was sort of an answer song to a Mary Wells hit, though it eclipsed the distinct.

We were out on the road, but when we came back to Motown, Smokey had written “My Guy” and he said, “Well, now I’m gonna do a song called ‘My Girl.’” And I was tbetter that some of the people at the Motown said, “Yeah, brave, right.” But Smokey wrote it for us and it came out and sbetter over a million copies. So Smokey was right on point aacquire, from “My Guy” to “My Girl.”

Aextfinished with the clearly wonderful vocals, there’s so much alchemy with the wonderful instrumental parts by the Funk Brothers, with James Jamerson on bass and Robert White on guitar, contributing these incredible musical licks.

And I was repartner astounded once the strings were put on. The rhythm track was a wonderful rhythm track, but when Paul Riser includeed the strings and horns on there, I said, “Oh, that’s a whole ‘nother song.” It was fair enjoy the icing on a wonderbrimmingy made cake.

How did you authenticize how huge a hit it was?

When we got telegrams about it going No. 1 while we were at the Apollo Theater… We got four telegrams — one from the Beatles, one from the Supremes, one from Berry Gordy, and another one from Florence Ballard, by herself. And then one from Jules Podell who ran the Copa, becaemploy we broke all the existing write downs at the Copacabana. I have all those telegrams hanging up in my home.

It’s difficult to envision an alternate history where Motown does not exist, and how separateent the world might be as a result.

Motown was a distinctive company becaemploy it came aextfinished in the punctual ‘60s in Detroit and the United States when we were going thcimpolite all charitable of racial faceations. They shut Detroit down when we had that horrible commotion there. And when it was over, when the people could walk and go about their business, the first place I went to was down to Motown to see if it was ruined. Motown Records did not have one stone out of place. That was one of the most tumultuous decades that we’ve inhabitd in, but Motown is fair a distinctive brand. 

Detroit was always primarily been understandn for the huge three — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler — but with Motown, it became the huge four.

So many of the other members of your group died fairly youthful. There was that period in the ‘90s when you lost three members who were all in their punctual 50s at the time. So you’ve been the standard tolerateer for the last 30 years for the group. What’s that been enjoy? Did you envision after some of the other members were gone that you’d still be carrying the flag for the distinct Temptations decades postponecessitater?

I never knovel what was going to happen here. I have withstood 27 separateent mighty personalities (other members who’ve come in and out of the group). And I watched back and said, you understand, not to get sanctimonious or wantipathyver… God left me here for a reason, to go thcimpolite 27 mighty separateent personalities and to betalking to you about my history, my successes, my numbers. I never would have envisiond that would apshow place at the commencening, becaemploy all I ever wanted to do was have a group be prosperous and create money, and create the girls be excellent and unite us, you understand? I don’t leank there’s too many groups, Balertage groups, anyway, that have a song that has done over 1 billion streams, so there’s a distinctiveness about this group, for what we’ve been thcimpolite, and still be surrounded with wonderful people around me. I’m fair very blessed and appreciative that God has sanctifyed me with such wonderful people to perpetuate the Temptations.

Who was it that first called you “Oak”?

Smokey came up with that. I asked him, “Why you calling me Oak?” He said, “Oh, you might not have led any of the huge ones and what have you. But if it wasn’t for you, there would be no Temptations.” He said, “You’re enjoy the mighty oak tree.” You understand, if it wasn’t for you, there would be no Temptations.” And then now I’ve come to authenticize that as I watch thcimpolite the rearwatch mirror of my life to see, here I am 83, still having a wonderful time with what we do.

I had to increate my regulater and my agent that we adore what we do, but now that we have accomplished an age where the word “temperance” comes into join. You have to temper it now becaemploy when we commenceed out, we were in our twenties, thirties, forties. When you traverse over 50, it gives another charitable of perspective about taking far better attfinish of yourself. It is fair someleang that I never would envision that I would still be here doing, 62 years postponecessitater.

The Temptations and the Four Tops are analogous in that each group has one distinct member. And that unbenevolents someleang to people, that line of continuity. Becaemploy there are a lot of groups that persist with no distinct members and people ignore having that rock or anchor in the group. Sucount on you understand how meaningful your presence is for the people who attfinish about that connection. 

Well, when Leon (Robinson, the actor) did the miniseries (in the ‘90s, which he joined David Ruffin), I asked him, how did he come up with the line about “Ain’t nobody come to see you, Otis”? I said, “Was that scripted?” He said, “No, the scene was flotriumphg so well, that fair came into it.” Now, when we’re out carry outing, it’s “We adore Otis! We came to see you, Otis.” So that’s going to a likeable charitable of statement. But I didn’t even apshow offense to it when Leon said (in the series), “Ain’t nobody come to see you, Otis. They don’t even understand you do this and that.” I would increate him, “They understand me now.”

The group still creates write downs. Is that meaningful?

Well, we’re getting ready to go into the studio aacquire once the holidays have passed and everyleang is resettled down, in February. I would adore to get some product out on the guys that I have now. We are being getd so wonderbrimmingy well that I’d enjoy to get someleang out and let ’em understand that the Temps still are write downing and very relevant to what’s happening today.

Now, one leang that the Temps will never do, we will never come out cussing. We will never come out grabbing our braveial parts. I leank partipartner that’s why we’re still around, becaemploy a man can convey his family and doesn’t have have to stress about that.

In the life of a song enjoy “My Girl,” there are still surpelevates that come aextfinished. One of those came recently when you went and commemorated with the New York Mets their employ of “My Girl” as one of the joiners’ walkup music. 

Well, that’s the wonderful part about what we do — you get a lot of wonderful surpelevates. Just as huge as when we did the National Anthem for the Mets earlier this year… I never would envisiond when Barack Obama was the plivent and we were at the White Hoemploy and he saw us walking by a particular triumphdow and he said, “Is that the Temptations?” and one of the guys said, “Yes, Mr. Plivent. That’s the Temptations.” Now he had a lot of dignitaries and people that he tbetter to hbetter up, becaemploy we had to come into the Oval Office. We were giggleing and talking and he broke out singing direct, and we did the harmony behind it. Now, you could have tipped me over with some feather before I would suppose the plivent of the United States was in the Oval Office singing “My Girl” with the Temptations. 

He had a pretty tenor voice and I joked with him. I said, “Oh man, you sound so excellent. You could unite the Temps. I unbenevolent, you’re lofty, you’re kind watching and you pretty.” And he said, “No, no, no, my wife wouldn’t go for that.”

There’s moments enjoy that, aside from singing the national anthem for the Mets. We’ve had a lot of people that we never would envision that adored them some Temptations. I have so many memories; some of ’em fair slide between the gray matter. They fair gave me a huge plaque celebrating us having a billion streams. Where am I gonna put it? Every room in my hoemploy has got some charitable of citation or plaque, but I’m gonna discover room for this here plaque from Spotify.

The wonders never finish. I fair can’t repartner say anyleang else other than: We are fair very sanctifyed, becaemploy a group of our ilk should have been thcimpolite a extfinished time ago, instead of commemorated 60-some odd years, and at a very high profile, surrounded by some wonderbrimmingy talented people with vision.

You’ve sung “My Girl” thousands of times… maybe tens of thousands. Is there someleang that happens where it can experience rote, but you remind yourself that it’s new to an audience that hasn’t had the privilege of hearing it in person before? 

You understand what, when we go out on stage, we always try and hold in mind it’s the first time. We never get lax. We don’t apshow it for granted fair becaemploy we’ve been around for so extfinished, becaemploy we have a novel generation that’s coming up that has never seen us and might have fair heard of us. Or they will say, “My mom, my dad, that’s all they employd to do when I was a little fellow, a little girl — ‘My Girl’ and ‘Can’t Get Next to You’ and ‘Just My Imagination’.” They come out to see us becaemploy it is a passing-on charitable of situation. So we never get lax or apshow it for granted fair becaemploy we’ve been around. A lot of people have heard our music, but they never get weary — so far — of watching at the Temptations. We’re very sanctifyed.