"Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" is a Motown song written by Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, and Janie Bradford. The song was first recorded by The Temptations as a track on their 1966 album Gettin' Ready. Eddie Kendricks sings lead on the recording, which was produced by Whitfield. Jimmy Ruffin also recorded a version with The Temptations providing background vocals in 1966. It remained unreleased until 1997.
| "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Marvin Gaye | ||||
| from the album M.P.G. | ||||
| B-side | "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" | |||
| Released | April 2, 1969 | |||
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1969 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:55 | |||
| Label | Tamla T 54181 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Norman Whitfield | |||
| Marvin Gaye singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio video | ||||
| "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" on YouTube | ||||
Three years later, Motown artist Marvin Gaye recorded a cover version of "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" as a follow-up single to his 1968 hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", another Whitfield/Strong composition, which was a trans-atlantic top five hit. Whitfield produced Gaye's version as well, which featured background vocals by The Andantes. The song's lyrics feature the male narrator discussing how he has "no time to discuss weather" or "think about what money can buy", because when he thinks about his woman, "I ain't got time for nothing else".
In terms of chart success, "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" was Gaye's second biggest hit of the 1960s, after "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" peaked at No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and remained at the No.1 position on Billboard's Black Singles Chart for six consecutive weeks, from the weeks of, June 7 until July 12, 1969,[3] with sales close to two million records. The single was the top-selling R&B single of the year,[4] and also reached No.14 on Billboard’s year-end charts. The tune was the first release from Gaye's 1969 studio album M.P.G.. The single also reached No.5 in the UK Singles Chart.
Cash Box described it as a "medium paced rock effort" with a "solid vocal" and "a phenomenal production using tom-tom effectiveness to stoke up dance fan fires."[1]
Personnel
editTemptations version
edit- Lead vocals by Eddie Kendricks
- Background vocals by David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Jimmy Ruffin version
edit- Lead vocals by Jimmy Ruffin
- Background vocals by David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Marvin Gaye version
edit- Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye
- Background vocals by The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Chart history
editOther cover versions
edit- Al Kooper recorded the song (as "Too Busy Thinkin' 'bout My Baby") on his 1969 Columbia album You Never Know Who Your Friends Are.
- The Young Vandals cut the track for The Isley Brothers' T-Neck label. It peaked at No.46 on the R&B charts in 1970. On lead vocals was Damon Harris, who would replace Eddie Kendricks in the Temptations the next year.
- "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" was also covered by the New York-based rock group Mardi Gras in the early 1970s, and released as a single on Map City Records. It climbed high up the charts across Europe in 1971–72.
- Elkie Brooks included it on her 1981 hit album Pearls.
- Mark Everett put it on his 1985 debut Bad Dude in Love
- In 1995, the Manhattan Transfer recorded the song for their album Tonin' with Phil Collins. This version No.27 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States. In Canada, the song reached No.58 on the pop singles chart[12] and No.6 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[13]
- A version performed by Ted Hawkins was included on his 1995 album, Songs from Venice Beach.
- The song was later covered by British pop group, Steps for ITVs MotownMania. It was the second A-side for their 2001 single, "It's The Way You Make Me Feel", and appeared on their album The Last Dance.
- Phil Collins re-recorded a cover during the sessions of his 2010 album Going Back.
References
edit- ^ a b "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 19, 1969. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 427. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 225.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 804.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". 1969-06-02. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
- ^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 21, 1969". Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1969". Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1995-05-15. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1995-06-26. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
External links
edit- List of cover versions of "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" at SecondHandSongs.com