1972 Soul Train Performance “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”

(The Temptations – Papa Was a Rolling Stone, Soul Train 1972)

The Temptations’ 1972 performance of “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” on the television show Soul Train presents a dramatic shift in both music and live performance style. Created in 1971 as a response to artists’ newfound focus on Black expressionism in the post-Civil Rights era, Soul Train’s dancing and live performances served as a platform for Black popular music and a public declaration of artists’ pride for black culture. Since Soul Train was produced for syndication within the black community, the show’s content “remained relatively untouched by a disinterested white corporate structure” (Neal 96). 

The Temptations’ decision to perform “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” represents the widespread shift of Motown artists from the tender sound of earlier work to activist lyrics that present a gritty, strong-willed tone. When comparing the opening riffs of “My Girl” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” this musical shift is evident: while “My Girl” is  catchy, thumb-snapping guitar twang is replaced by a deep bass melody in “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.”Additionally, the lyrics in “Papa Was a Rolling Stone ” cover subject matter that would have never been acceptable in the early Motown period where the Temptations began. For example, a verse towards the end of the song is “Folks say Papa never was much on thinking / Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking / Momma I’m depending on you to tell me the truth / Momma looked up with a tear in her eye and said, son Papa was a rolling stone”. Singing about adultery, drinking, and lying directly contrasts the image that Gordy envisioned for his Motown artists at the beginning of the 1960s. The transition from uncontroversial, white-washed lyrics to activist verses was personified through the more portable two-piece camera. During the Temptations’ Soul Train performance, the camera can move throughout the crowd and portray The Temptations and their audience in a more authentic light. The Temptations are grouped together, performing in a less manufactured style with more freedom of movement and cultural agency. Additionally, Soul Train’s crowd of dancers is put on display, a feature of live performance that was seldom included before the introduction of portable two-piece cameras. Soul Train’s ability to feature black bodies embracing African-American culture was dependent on portable cameras that were able to adapt to the unchoreographed sequences and improvisations of the style. Without camera portability, Soul Train would not have been able to serve as “a visual affirmation of the black communal ethic” (Neal 96).