“My Girl” by Temptations

Smokey Robinson and his Miracles bandmate Ronald White wrote and produced "My Girl" for the Temptations in 1964, cutting it for Motown's Gordy label, and it later found a home on the 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey. Robinson had his own wife in mind, Claudette Rogers Robinson, herself one of the Miracles.

David Ruffin takes the lead, all warm grit and gratitude, while Eddie Kendricks, Otis Williams and Paul Williams cushion him from behind. The Funk Brothers lay down the floor, with James Jamerson on bass, Benny Benjamin on drums and Robert White on guitar, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's strings float in over the top like a slow sunrise. It handed the group their first number one in the US, became the song most tied to their name, and in 2017 the Library of Congress put it in the National Recording Registry.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.