1990
Album by The Temptations
Release	December 7, 1973
Recorded	1973
Genre	Soul/Funk/Psychedelic soul
Length	N/A
Label	Gordy GS 966
Producer(s)	Norman Whitfield
Professional reviews
All Music Guide (3.5/5) link
The Temptations chronology
The Temptations in Japan (1973)	1990 (1973)	A Song for You (1975)

1990 is a 1973 album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, their final LP written and produced by Norman Whitfield. The cover to The Temptations 1973 LP 1990. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... The Classic 5 lineup of The Temptations, circa 1965. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... Funk is a distinct style of music originated by African-Americans, e. ... Psychedelic soul is a subgenre of soul music that thrived during the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... Motown Record Company, L.P., also known as Tamla-Motown outside of the United States, is a record label specializing in the musical genres of R&B, pop, soul music, and hip-hop music. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) is (among many other tasks) primarily responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for mass production and commercial release. ... Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (born in Harlem, New York in 1943) was a songwriter and producer for Berry Gordys Motown label during the 1960s. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... The Classic 5 lineup of The Temptations, circa 1965. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... A Song For You is a 1975 album by the Motown singing group The Temptations, considered one of their best overall efforts. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Classic 5 lineup of The Temptations, circa 1965. ... Motown Record Company, L.P., also known as Tamla-Motown outside of the United States, is a record label specializing in the musical genres of R&B, pop, soul music, and hip-hop music. ... Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (born in Harlem, New York in 1943) was a songwriter and producer for Berry Gordys Motown label during the 1960s. ...

The LP was the center of a number of problems. The Temptations were dissatisfied with Whitfield's socially conscious message tracks, which were by now failing commercially, and desired to get back to signing ballads. Whitfield relented some here, mixing message tracks such as "1990" and "Ain't No Justice" alongside love songs such as "Heavenly" and "You've Got My Soul on Fire".

The album's first single, the Rose Royce-backed and Dennis Edwards led funk track "Let Your Hair Down", was its only Top 40 hit. The ballad "Heavenly", sung by Richard Street and Damon Harris, was caught in the center of a disc jockey boycott against Motown concerning a Motown executive's not thanking the nation's DJs while accepting an award for the Temptations at the 1974 American Music Awards. "You've Got My Soul on Fire", another heavy Edwards-led funk track, also stalled out on the pop charts. Rose Royce was a soul and disco band, most noted for their work with Motown producer Norman Whitfield. ... Dennis Edwards (born February 3, 1943 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an African-American soul and R&B singer, most noted for being one of The Temptations lead singers. ... Richard Street (top right corner) on the cover of the 1984 Temptations LP Truly for You. ... Damon Harris (born Otis Robert Harris, Jr. ... For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The American Music Awards show is one of four annual major music awards shows (the others being the Billboard Music Awards, the Grammy Awards, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony). ...

The Temptations remained disatisfied with Whitfield's "slave-driver" like production mentality and his tendency to overshadow the Temptations' contributions to their own records by emphasising his production techniques and effects, resulting in extended instrumental tracks with only a few verses of vocals. Group leader Otis Williams complained to Motown chief Berry Gordy, who replace Whitfield with Jeffrey Bowen for their next LP, 1975's A Song for You. Whitfield left Motown soon afterward, and started his own label, Whitfield Records, which released several hits from Rose Royce. Otis Williams (second from right), with the Temptations in 1967. ... Berry Gordy, Jr. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... A Song For You is a 1975 album by the Motown singing group The Temptations, considered one of their best overall efforts. ... Whitfield Records (also known as W Records) was founded in 1975 by former Motown producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield. ...

Tracklist

All songs written and produced by Norman Whitfield.

1. "Let Your Hair Down"
2. "I Need You"
3. "Heavenly"
4. "You've Got My Soul on Fire"
5. "Ain't No Justice"
6. "1990"
7. "Zoom"

Personnel

• Dennis Edwards: vocals
• Damon Harris: vocals
• Richard Street: vocals
• Melvin Franklin: vocals
• Otis Williams: vocals
• Norman Whitfield: producer
• The Funk Brothers and Rose Royce: instrumentation