I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To

"I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To"
Single by Eddie Holland
A-side"I'm on the Outside Looking In"
B-side"I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To"
ReleasedOctober 16, 1963
RecordedHitsville USA (Studio A); November 2, 1962 & April 19, 1963
GenreR&B
LabelMotown 1049
Songwriter(s)Norman Whitfield
Eddie Holland
Producer(s)Norman Whitfield
Eddie Holland singles chronology
"Baby Shake"
(1963) 		"I'm On The Outside Looking In" / "I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To"
(1963) 		"Leaving Here"
(1963)
"I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To"
Single by The Temptations
A-side"(I Know) I'm Losing You"
B-side"I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To"
ReleasedNovember 2, 1966
RecordedHitsville USA (Studio A); November 2, 1962
(Remixed June 7, 1966)
GenreR&B/Soul/Pop
Length2:31
LabelGordy
G 7057
Songwriter(s)Norman Whitfield
Edward Holland, Jr.
Producer(s)Norman Whitfield
The Temptations singles chronology
"Beauty Is Only Skin Deep"
(1966) 		"(I Know) I'm Losing You" / "I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To"
(1966) 		"All I Need"
(1967)

"I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To" is a 1962 Motown song written by Edward Holland, Jr. and Norman Whitfield. It would later be released as B-sides for singles by The Temptations (in 1966)[1][2] and Holland himself (in 1963),[3] both of which were produced by Whitfield.

In the Temptations case, their recording had spent four years in the vault before being remixed in June 1966 and released that November, making it the last recording from the period of the original lineup to be put on a single (as a B-side).[4][5] It is also one of the few B-sides that was led by Paul Williams since David Ruffin, whose vocals are not on this track due to being recorded before he joined, took his spot as the group's main lead singer.[1]

Cash Box said that the Temptations version has a "powerful soul sound."[6]

Personnel

Temptations version

Eddie Holland version

  • Lead vocals by Eddie Holland
  • Background vocals by The Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps) and The Love-Tones
  • Produced by Norman Whitfield
  • Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

References

  1. ^ a b The Temptations - 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1961-1971 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
  2. ^ The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 6: 1966 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
  3. ^ The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 3: 1963 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
  4. ^ The Temptations: Emperors of Soul [CD liner notes]. New York: Motown Records
  5. ^ "Don't Forget the Motor City". Dftmc.info. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  6. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 12, 1966. p. 20. Retrieved 2022-01-12.


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