Norman Whitfield, R.I.P.

Damn, quite the sad week for music. First Rick Wright of Pink Floyd goes to that "Great Gig in the Sky", and then legendary Motown songwriter/producer Norman Whitfield dies yesterday at the age of 65, apparently from complications of diabetes.

The name may only vaguely familiar to some of you; but if you've ever listened to the radio at any point in your existence, you already know Whitfield's work: He either wrote or produced (or, in many cases, did both) "Pride & Joy" for Marvin Gaye, "He Was Really Sayin' Something" for the Velvelettes, "I heard it Through the Grapevine" for Gladys Knight & the Pips, "I Wish It Would Rain" for the Temptations, "Car Wash" for Rose Royce, and that's really just the tip of the soulful iceberg. But my favorite Whitfield stuff — and Marvin Gaye's immortal What's Goin' On aside, my favorite Motown stuff, period — is from his "psychedelic soul" period, wherein he found a way to apply the freaky soul and fuzzy funk of Sly & the Family Soul, Funkadelic and Jimi Hendrix to the more traditionally staid Motown sound.

(I remember reading an interview years ago with some of the original P-Funk players, where they alleged that Whitfield used to tape Funkadelic performances at local Detroit nightspots on a portable cassette player, and then work their riffs into Temptations songs. It may have been bullshit or sour grapes; then again, given the competitive nature of the Detroit music scene at the time, it's also entirely possible.)   

Beginning in 1968 with the Temptations' "Cloud Nine," and continuing until he left Motown in 1973 to form his own label, Whitfield produced the trippiest, funkiest — and in some cases, most socially conscious — records Motown ever released. "War" by Edwin Starr; "Smiling Faces Sometimes" by the Undisputed Truth; "Friendship Train" by Gladys Knight & The Pips; "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" by the Temptations... the list goes on and on and on. Fuzz guitar, wah-wah, phasing, extended grooves — Whitfield considered all the new tricks of the trade fair game, but his productions went way, way beyond mere novelty or jive-ass cash-in.

Well, some of it was pretty jive-ass, but to me that only adds to the charm. Consider 1970's "Psychedelic Shack," with its gypsy caravan of period sound effects, and its florid description of a day-glo nightspot that sounds as if it were written by Madison Avenue ad execs. ("Hmmm, let's see... 'Got a cat that's shoutin' the blues'... anybody got a rhyme for that?" "Well, Bert, I was thinking that 'Talkin' 'bout payin' some dues' might work in that particular spot." "Nice going there, Ted. Shall I have my secretary send out for sandwiches?") But it's so supremely cheesy and so gloriously funky at the same time, I can utimately only stand in awe of its utter brilliance. Chant along with me now: "Psychedelic Shack / That's where it's at / Psychedelic Shack / That's where it's at..."

psychedelic_shack.mp3

Comments

[Eric Colin]

Your right, there is definitely some jive-assed-ness in the Motown Psych_soul canon, but the high marks it receives for charm makes up for it.

For this here gentleman's money, my favorite Whitfield production would have to be the Temptations "Take a Stroll Through Your Mind".
Not that I have any allusions that the Temps strolled through anyone's mynd, more less their own, but the track is just so right on that you can't help but be moved by it!

[Will]

Ball Of Confusion, Papa Was A Rollin' Stone, Car Wash: pop minimalism at its most thrilling, one-chord wonders that never stand still even for a second. RIP indeed; absolutely, one of the greats.

[Stu]

Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within...John Fucking McCain and Sarah Fucking Palin, anybody?

[Bob]

So sad. Truly one of the greats. Funny, I didn't see any mention of his passing in the 'media' -- guess he doesn't rate with Republican-created financial disasters and all the other mayhem flying around out there. Ball of confusion, indeed!