In this dramatic offering from The Temptations, David Ruffin gives voice to an anguished man who's losing his girl to someone else. Motown hitmakers Eddie Holland, of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, and Norman Whitfield wrote the tune, along with guitarist Cornelius Grant, whose searing guitar hook opens the track.
According to Temptations founder Otis Williams, Holland's lyrics often tapped into a female sensibility that translated into hits. "We knew that women love to hear guys pleading, begging, confessing, and basically admitting they'd made mistakes," he wrote in his 1988 autobiography, Temptations. "After all, it works so well in real life."
Whitfield took up the mantle as The Temptations' primary songwriter and producer from Smokey Robinson after "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - another co-write with Eddie Holland - hit big earlier in 1966.
The Temptations had a lock on the R&B chart for 16 weeks in 1966 with four consecutive singles reaching the apex, the last being "(I Know) I'm Losing You," which held the top spot for two weeks starting on Christmas Eve. The lead single from the group's fifth studio album, The Temptations With A Lot O' Soul, it also reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Motown rock band Rare Earth recorded a 10-minute version for their 1970 album, Ecology. Also produced by Whitfield, the funky psychedelic-rock cover was edited for a single release and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 - one spot higher than The Temptations' original. Another Whitfield act, The Undisputed Truth, recorded a psychedelic-funk rendition for their 1975 album, Cosmic Truth.
Rod Stewart recorded this for his breakthrough Every Picture Tells A Story album in 1971. Stewart told Rolling Stone that he and David Ruffin later became friends when both of their bands played in Detroit. "Ruffin would come to every show and we'd sing '(I Know) I'm Losing You,'" he recalled in a 2004 essay for the magazine. "His voice was so powerful - like a foghorn on the Queen Mary. He was so loud." From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-temptations/i-know-im-losing-you
