The Temptations recorded “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” for their 1971 14th studio album, Sky’s The Limit. Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong wrote the song that featured Eddie Kendrick’s falsetto on lead. They employed an orchestra to create a dreamy feeling that matched the song’s message and the arrangement elevated the pureness of Kendrick’s voice. The performance was epic and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” became the third single to hit number one for them. Fans were relieved to hear the single because it was a return to the group’s previous sound. Whitfield and Strong had focused on psychedelic soul influenced by the music Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone were making at the time. “Cloud Nine” and “Ball Of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today)” were hits but fans were still attached to the earlier style.” Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” was more than familiar territory because it was slated to become one of the group’s signature songs.

Sky’s The Limit was the last time Kendricks recorded with the group before leaving for a solo career after multiple conflicts with members Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. Paul Williams’ co-leading part was his goodbye because his health was declining and he retired from The Temptations later that year. Williams and Kendricks made their last television appearance with the group when they performed the single on The Ed Sullivan Show. “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” is one of The Temptations’ greatest songs, and it has been covered at least 40 times by The Rolling Stones, Donald Byrd, Boyz II Men, Rod Stewart, Dianne Reeves, and more. Otis Williams still leads and tours with The Temptations in 2025.

On January 12, 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. founded Tamla Records in Detroit, Michigan. Gordy had previously owned a music store that exclusively sold jazz records and was a member of a songwriting team for singer Jackie Wilson and others. A meeting with a 17-year-old Smokey Robinson led to Gordy recording the single “Got A Job” by Robinson’s group, The Miracles. He leased the song to End Records, and this practice of leasing songs to bigger labels outside of Detroit continued with the Marv Johnson song, “Come To Me.” Robinson encouraged Gordy to start his own R&B record label, and he borrowed $800 from his family to release Johnson’s song on his Tamla label. In 1959, he started Anna Records, which was named after his sister, and they had the most success with Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want).” In April of 1960, he merged both companies and incorporated Motown Records.

Strong’s single was Motown’s first hit record in June of 1960, and by that time, Gordy had purchased the building that was the label’s headquarters and called it Hitsville U.S.A. Motown eventually took up space in seven additional nearby houses for the company’s administrative duties, artist development, management, payroll, sales, and recording. The Miracles’ “Bad Girl” was the first official Motown release, but it was their single “Shop Around” that was the first million-seller for the group and label. Gordy’s motto was to make music that appealed to both Black and white audiences. Motown became the most successful African-American business and independent record company in America, with 79 songs in the Billboard Top Ten between 1960 and 1969. Motown’s influence was critical to the integration of pop music. The label was home to some of the most important artists in the history of music, including The Miracles, Mary Wells, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, and Stevie Wonder. The company also moved into the media world after moving to Los Angeles with television specials and movies. Diana Ross’ starring roles in Mahogany, Lady Sings The Blues, and The Wiz opened the way for Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard decades later. 

Motown stayed independent until 1988, when Gordy sold it to MCA. Universal Music acquired Motown in 1998 when they purchased Polygram. In 2025, Motown is home to Brandy, Erykah Badu, Kem, Migos, Lil Yachty, and The City Girls. 

Barrett Strong recorded “Money (That’s What I Want”) for Berry Gordy’s Tamla Records in 1959. Gordy and Janie Bradford were the songwriters of the song that was a no. 2 R&B hit and the first one for the label. Strong’s gritty pleas, Gordy’s pounding piano, and Brian Holland’s shaky tambourine signaled an urgency for money like casting a spell. The success of “Money (That’s What I Want)” meant that it was Strong’s voice introducing the world to Motown Records. The Beatles had their own notable recording of the song in 1963. Strong worked with Norman Whitfield during the rest of the decade and together they wrote some of the biggest Motown songs; “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” “War,” “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” and “Cloud Nine” amongst others. In the ’70s, he resumed his singing career and released four albums with the last one coming out in 2001. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004. Strong passed on January 28, 2023, at age 81.