<P> Later that year, Whitfield, who also produced the song, took "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and remade it as a 12 - minute record for The Temptations, which was a number - one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammy Awards in 1973 . While the original Undisputed Truth version of the song has been largely forgotten, The Temptations' version of the song has been an enduring and influential soul classic . It was ranked number 168 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, one of the group's three songs on the list . In retrospect, The Temptations' Otis Williams considers "Papa" to be the last real classic the group recorded (it would be the Temptations' last number one hit and would win them their second and final Grammy Award in a competitive category). </P> <P> Beginning with an extended instrumental introduction (3: 53 in length), each of the song's three verses is separated by extended musical passages, in which Whitfield brings various instrumental textures in and out of the mix . A solo plucked bass guitar part, backed by hi - hat cymbals drumming, establishes the musical theme, a simple three - note figure; the bass is gradually joined by other instruments, including a blues guitar, wah - wah guitar, Wurlitzer electric piano, handclaps, horns, and strings; all are tied together by the ever - present bass guitar line and repeating hi - hat rhythm . An unusual characteristic about this song is that it uses only one chord throughout--B - flat minor . </P> <P> Vocal duties are performed in a true ensemble style: Temptations singers Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street (who was a frequent fill - in for Paul Williams and his eventual replacement) and Damon Harris (who had replaced Eddie Kendricks as the group's falsetto singer the previous year) alternate vocal lines, taking the role of siblings questioning their mother about their now - dead father; their increasingly pointed questions, and the mother's repeated response ("Papa was a rollin' stone / wherever he laid his hat was his home / and when he died, all he left us was alone") paint a somber picture for the children who have never seen their father and have "never heard nothing but bad things about him ." </P> <P> Friction arose during the recording of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" for a number of reasons . The Temptations did not like the fact that Whitfield's instrumentation had been getting more emphasis than their vocals on their songs at the time, and that they had to press Whitfield to get him to produce ballads for the group . Norman Whitfield forced Dennis Edwards to re-record his parts dozens of times until he finally got the angered, bitter grumble he desired out of the usually fiery - toned Edwards . Whitfield's treatment of the group eventually led to his dismissal as their producer . Legend has it that Edwards was angered by the song's first verse: "It was the third of September / That day I'll always remember /' cause that was the day / that my daddy died", as his father was said to have died on that date . It actually was on the third of October, however . </P>

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