19 Facts About Norman Whitfield

1.

Norman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s.

2.

Norman Whitfield has been credited as one of the creators of the Motown Sound and of the late-1960s subgenre of psychedelic soul.

3.

Norman Whitfield worked extensively with the Temptations as a producer and songwriter, producing eight of their albums between 1969 and 1973.

4.

Norman Whitfield then started his own label, Whitfield Records, in 1975, which yielded the Rose Royce hit "Car Wash".

5.

Norman Whitfield wrote or co-wrote 61 hits on the UK charts and 92 on the US charts.

6.

Norman Whitfield was born and raised in Harlem, New York, and spent much of his teen years in local pool halls.

7.

At 19, Norman Whitfield began frequenting Motown's Hitsville USA offices for a chance to work for the growing label.

8.

Norman Whitfield took over Smokey Robinson's role as the main producer for the Temptations in 1966, after his "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" performed better than Robinson's "Get Ready" on the pop charts.

9.

From 1966 to 1974, Norman Whitfield produced virtually all of the Temptations' music, experimenting with sound effects and other production techniques.

10.

Norman Whitfield added contemporary song topics, moving from love songs to the social issues of the time, such as war, poverty and politics.

11.

The psychedelic soul records Norman Whitfield produced for the Temptations and other artists such as Edwin Starr and the Undisputed Truth experimented with and updated the Motown sound for the late-1960s.

12.

Norman Whitfield often recorded notably different versions of songs with different artists in search of a hit, and did so successfully in the cases of Edwin Starr, with "War", and the Undisputed Truth, with "Smiling Faces Sometimes".

13.

In 1975, Norman Whitfield left Motown, following its move from Detroit, to form his own label, Norman Whitfield Records.

14.

Norman Whitfield's first act was the Undisputed Truth, whom he had convinced to leave Motown, followed by Rose Royce, Willie Hutch, Yvonne Fair, Nytro, Mammatapee and Junior Walker.

15.

Norman Whitfield had an international smash hit in 1976 with Rose Royce's "Car Wash", issued on MCA Records.

16.

On January 18,2005, Norman Whitfield pleaded guilty for failing to report royalty income he earned from 1995 to 1999 to the Internal Revenue Service.

17.

Norman Whitfield was not imprisoned because of health problems such as diabetes.

18.

Norman Whitfield fell into a coma, briefly improved, but eventually succumbed to diabetic complications.

19.

Norman Whitfield is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park.