In 1964, The Temptations embraced versatility, willing to tackle any song. Smokey Robinson noticed their talent, offering them a track that would become legendary: “My Girl.”
Otis Williams, the group’s last surviving original member, reminisces about the genesis of “My Girl.” “Smokey came to see The Temps at a popular club in Detroit… Him and his [now former] wife Claudette, it was packed,” Williams tells PEOPLE. “Smokey was ranting and raving about how great the show was… And then during the course of him running that down, he stopped and he looked at David [Ruffin], he said, ‘I’ve got a song for you.’”
“Smokey came to see The Temps at a popular club in Detroit… Him and his [now former] wife Claudette, it was packed,” Williams recalls. “Smokey was ranting and raving about how great the show was… And then during the course of him running that down, he stopped and he looked at David [Ruffin], he said, ‘I’ve got a song for you.’”
The Temptations accepted the challenge. “We can sing anything,” Williams affirmed. “My Girl” became their first No. 1 single, immortalized in the National Recording Registry. The Beatles even sent a congratulatory telegram.
“When [Motown arranger] Paul Riser added the strings and the horns… ‘My Girl’ took on a whole-nother daylight,” Williams recalls. “‘I’m sitting there in the studio and I’m listening, I’m sitting there. I said, ‘Oh, this song has taken on a whole-nother fervor.’”
Williams had a feeling about the song’s success. “I never would’ve imagined it would be that big of a hit, but everywhere we would go, even today, people love that song,” he says.
“‘My Girl’ is just undeniable,” Williams asserts. “It has taken on a whole-nother life because I knew it was going to be a hit.”
Even after “My Girl” soared, the group considered dropping it from their setlist. “The audience almost called us every name except ‘the child of God,’” Williams chuckles. “That is one song that can never ever come out of the line-up.”
“My Girl” transcended generations, becoming a standard. “It’s not only a popular record. I heard a while back, the late great Tony Bennett was singing ‘My Girl.’ I said, ‘Oh my God, we have arrived,’” Williams reflects.