Songs You May Not Know Were Covers, Round 7: Papa Was a Rolling Stone (#5)

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Now we get into the “oh, really?” area. As I said, I tend to put these songs in the order of “shock value,” not necessarily my favorites. This one surprised me, and it may surprise you. Here’s today’s big hit that was a cover. #5: Papa Was a Rolling Stone On their album Are You Okay Was (Not Was) covered “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” including a “rap” in the middle. Although it was well-received, everybody knew that was a cover. There’s danger in covering such an iconic song like that, one of the biggest hits for the Temptations. Well......the Temps covered it, too. The song began its rise to legendary status in the spring of 1972 with the group The Undisputed Truth (best-known for “Smiling Faces Sometimes”). According to Picky Wedia, co-writer and producer Norman Whitfield had this group as his “test case” of sorts, allowing him to (quote from Wikipedia) “experiment with his psychedelic soul production techniques.” In other words, if it worked, he’d use it for other groups. If not, no big loss. So, in actuality, The Undisputed Truth gave us more than just “Smiling Faces Sometimes.” They gave us a recorded history of the experimental production work Whitfield did. Most importantly, they gave us the first version of a classic song. Papa Was a Rolling Stone Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong Originally recorded by The Undisputed Truth, 1972 Famously covered by the Temptations, 1972 Hey, mama!