While the track was made famous by The Temptations, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” was originally written for the Motown band The Undisputed Truth. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1971 for The Undisputed Truth, the track was released in 1972. But it was made into a legendary song—and an official No. 1 hit—by The Temptations later that year.
The Temptations’ version begins with an extended, heady instrumental that’s nearly four minutes long. It’s pensive, moody and lovely. A big bass line is heard amid cymbal strikes, hand claps, violin screeches, funky disco guitar and more. A solo trumpet rings out, played masterfully by the Funk Brothers’ Maurice Davis.
While shorter versions exist for radio play (that featured prominent bongos), the original song itself clocks in at about 12-minutes. It’s as much an acid trip as it is a piece of sonic entertainment. The vocals are mostly a group effort. The Temptations’ Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street (who often filled in for Paul Williams and was his eventual replacement), and Damon Harris (who had replaced Eddie Kendricks as the band’s falsetto vocalist) alternate lines like siblings asking their mother about their now-dead father.
Of the song’s meaning, Strong told the Wall Street Journal, “‘Rolling stone’ was a phrase used all the time in my neighborhood going back to the ’50s. It meant a guy who couldn’t settle down, even if he had a wife and kids. It was from the old proverb, ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss.’” From: https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-of-papa-was-a-rollin-stone-by-the-temptations/
Although Heart reconquered the charts during the mid- to late '80s, the band forfeited the organic sound of their early recordings in favor of pop gloss. By the early '90s, the Wilson sisters (vocalist Ann and guitarist Nancy) were ready to return to their roots, which they attempted to do in the form of a side band, the Lovemongers. The group (which saw the Wilsons joined by keyboardist Sue Ennis, guitarist Frank Cox, and drummer Ben Smith) debuted on the motion picture soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's 1992 film Singles, with a dead-on cover of the Led Zeppelin folk classic "The Battle of Evermore." The group issued a four-song EP a year later, The Battle of Evermore, which included the Zep cover once more, in addition to covers of Todd Rundgren, the Temptations, and even the early Heart classic "Crazy on You." From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lovemongers-mn0000052866#biography
