The Temptations

Artist: The Temptations

LP: Sky's the Limit

Song: "Smiling Faces Sometimes"

[ listen ]

Yesterday I parked in a yellow-painted loading zone with my hazard lights flashing just so I could run in and pick up The Temptations' 1973 "Masterpiece" LP at Everyday Music on Capital Hill, but it wasn't in the new arrivals where I'd left it the day before! Undaunted and with hazards still flashing, I dashed upstairs to the used 'T' section and found a copy of that LP along with two other Temptations albums I didn't already have, paid for them and was back in my car before you could say "parking ticket." One of the other two LPs I found was "Sky's the Limit" from 1971, which features the original 12+ minute version of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "Smiling Faces Sometimes," which warns about seemingly friendly folks who really only want to stab you in the back! You can read more about the song here and find lots of information about The Temptations (the group's origins, lineup changes, discography, their legacy, whether or not they've ever used Auto-Tune) on Wikipedia here.