The Curious History of “It Ain’t Easy”

"It Ain't Easy" Ron Davies Copyright 1970 Irving Music Inc. (BMI)

Have you ever noticed a song that seems to follow you through your record collection, appearing in different forms across decades and genres? This episode explores the fascinating journey of “It Ain’t Easy“, a song that found a home in the repertoire of David Bowie, Three Dog Night, Long John Baldry, Mitch Ryder, Shelby Lynne and more. We trace the song back to its source: Ron Davies, a prolific but often-overlooked songwriter who came out of the Pacific Northwest garage rock scene. Despite never reaching the top of the Billboard charts himself, Davies created a song with musical bones so strong that it transitioned seamlessly from the glam-rock harpsichord of Bowie’s sessions to the stripped-back folk of Chris Smither.

We take a look at the specific production touches of the most significant versions, including the “all-star” original recording featuring Leon Russell and Jim Keltner. We discuss the tragic “lost” sessions of Bettye LaVette at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, the Rolling Stones-style swagger of Claudia Lennear’s version (featuring Ry Cooder), and even modern interpretations by The Raconteurs and Alexis P. Suter. Whether filtered through blues, country, glam, or soul, “It Ain’t Easy” remains a masterclass in songwriting consistency. Join us as we explore the lifespan of a track that proved a great song doesn’t need to be a commercial smash to become a timeless classic.

“It Ain’t Easy” Ron Davies Copyright 1970 Irving Music Inc. (BMI)

TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome back, friends, to the I’m In Love With That Song podcast. We’re surfing the intertubes to come to you, courtesy of the Pantheon Network of podcasts. I’m Brad Page, the host of this shindig, and each edition of this show, I pick a favorite song and we explore it together. This is a show for any music fan; we don’t get too technical or get into music theory or anything like that, so you don’t have to be any kind of expert. This show only requires two things: a love for music and a healthy dose of curiosity.

So, this episode is going to be a little different than usual, but I hope you find it interesting. To paraphrase—or mangle—an old saying: when something happens twice, it could be a coincidence; when something happens three or more times, well, that’s a mystery waiting to be solved. And that is where the curiosity comes in, because I get curious about certain things, like this: Many years ago—I’m talking like 40-something years ago—when I got my first copy of David Bowie‘s Ziggy Stardust album, it caught my eye that Bowie wrote every song on the album– except one. The last song on side one is a song called “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: David Bowie – “It Ain’t Easy”]

I looked at the credits for this song and saw that it was written by someone named Ron Davies. At first, I thought maybe that’s Ray Davies—you know, from The Kinks—but nope, not Ray; it’s Ron, a completely different guy, not related at all. But I always liked that song, so it stuck with me.

A few years later, I picked up an album by a band called Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder of “Devil with the Blue Dress” fame. And this is just a great rock and roll record; I really love this album. And one of the tracks on this album is “It Ain’t Easy“. It’s Detroit‘s version of the same song. This album was actually released in 1971, a year before David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Skip ahead a few years: I was turned on to an R&B singer named Bettye LaVette, who’s become maybe my favorite female vocalist of all time. And so I started collecting her albums. I picked up a re-issue of her very first album, Child of the Seventies, and the first song on that album is “It Ain’t Easy“. This song, by a songwriter I’ve never heard of, keeps turning up.

And then, just a couple of years ago, I finally picked up an album that I’d been looking for for quite a while, an album by legendary background singer Claudia Lennear called Phew!. I put the album on and, sure enough, there’s that song again, “It Ain’t Easy“. So that was kind of like the last straw. I had to find out more about this song, which was written by a fairly obscure artist, had never been a hit for anybody, yet so many artists kept covering it. What is the story of this song? On this episode, we’re going to find out.

Ron Davies was born Ronnie Wayne Dickerson on January 15, 1946, in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father was Tex Dickerson, a country singer. His sister, Gale, would become a well-known singer-songwriter herself and the first female record producer in country music. Both Gale and Ronnie took their stepfather’s last name when their mother remarried, hence Davies. They also moved from the South up to Tacoma, Washington. That’s where his stepfather gave him his first guitar.

In the 1960s, the Pacific Northwest was a hotbed of the sound that would eventually be called garage rock. That’s the sound of Nuggets-era bands like The Sonics, The Kingsmen, and Paul Revere & the Raiders. And one of the biggest bands on that scene were The Wailers—not to be confused with Bob Marley and the Wailers, completely separate band. The Wailers had a hit with a song called “Tall Cool One” in 1959.

In 1966, The Wailers released an album called Outburst. Every song on that album was written by Ron Davies. He was only 17 at the time. That established Ron as a songwriter, but he also played and recorded as a solo artist. In 1968, he signed to A&M Records as a singer-songwriter and released his debut solo album in 1970. That album was called Silent Song Throughout the Land. The album was produced by Chad Stewart of Chad & Jeremy fame, and the single released from that album was “It Ain’t Easy“.

The song features kind of an all-star lineup, including the great Leon Russell on piano, Jim Keltner on drums, and backing vocals by Clydie King, Venetta Fields, and Merry Clayton, who we’ve talked about on this show before.

[Music: Ron Davies – “It Ain’t Easy”]

The song never hit the Billboard chart, though it did chart in Canada, reaching number 55 on their RPM chart. Ron Davies would release a second solo album, UFO, in 1974, which included some of the same songs that were on that first album, including “It Ain’t Easy“. He moved to Nashville in 1985 and continued working as a songwriter. Ron Davies died from a heart attack in October of 2003.

The next time “It Ain’t Easy” appeared was courtesy of Three Dog Night. It was actually the title cut from their third album, released in March 1970. Three Dog Night didn’t write their own material, but they were pretty good at finding and adapting other people’s songs and had churned out quite a few hits. The It Ain’t Easy album included their hit version of “Mama Told Me Not to Come“, along with their take on Elton John’s “Your Song” and a cover of “Woman“, a song by Free, who are about to be featured on an upcoming episode here. Three Dog Night’s version of “It Ain’t Easy” is less swampy, doesn’t have that gospel choir feel on the chorus, and the song is a little more AM radio friendly, which fits Three Dog Night’s style. But the song still retains quite a bit of the original’s feel.

[Music: Three Dog Night – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Though Three Dog Night’s It Ain’t Easy album was a big hit, they never released the song as a single, at least not as an A-side. So the song still hadn’t really hit the charts.

“It Ain’t Easy” resurfaced again in 1971 with a version by Long John Baldry. Baldry was a fixture of British blues in the 1960s. He was a founding member of that scene. He had gigged along with The Rolling Stones, and both Rod Stewart and Elton John had been members of his band. He helped to give them their start.

When he released his fifth album in 1971, both Rod and Elton returned the favor by each of them producing half of the record. The album was titled, of course, It Ain’t Easy. The song “It Ain’t Easy” appears on side one—that was the side produced by Rod Stewart. Baldry’s version is bluesier, it’s a little slower, heavy with that blues-rock swagger. Baldry’s vocal is intense, digging into the despair of the lyrics. And he’s supported on the chorus by the backing vocals of Maggie Bell, one of the great blues-rock vocalists of her time. She’s been forgotten, unfortunately, but I would put her right up there with Janis Joplin; she’s that good. Check out her vocals. Also featured on this track is Ron Wood on slide guitar.

[Music: Long John Baldry – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Also in 1971, there was an album released that I personally really love. Mitch Ryder made his name fronting The Detroit Wheels in the 1960s and had a number of hits, including “Devil with the Blue Dress“, “Jenny Take a Ride“, and “Sock It to Me, Baby!“. In the early 1970s, he formed a new band just called Detroit. They took Ryder’s already ramped-up R&B flavored rock and added a heavier edge. Detroit featured guitarist Steve Hunter, who would go on to work for Lou Reed and Alice Cooper—great guitar player. Detroit only issued one self-titled album; it came out in 1971, and it included this version of “It Ain’t Easy“. Check out the little riffs added by Steve Hunter, along with the pretty busy bass part played by W.R. Cooke.

[Music: Detroit – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Dave Edmunds has had a multifaceted career, to say the least. A terrific guitarist and a great singer, he first made his mark in the British psychedelic-tinged rock band Love Sculpture in 1968 and then went solo. He had a big hit with “I Hear You Knocking” in 1970. He went on to form Rockpile, became an in-demand record producer, and collaborated with many artists, including Paul McCartney. But back in 1972, he released his first solo album. It was called Rockpile, and it featured his take on “It Ain’t Easy“. His version is less bluesy than Baldry’s and avoids the studio sheen of Three Dog Night; it’s not as riffy as Detroit’s version, and he injects some of his rockabilly sensibility into it. But the bones of the song remain the same. Let’s hear a little of Dave Edmunds doing “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Dave Edmunds – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Next, we get to the big one. If you’re familiar with this song at all, it’s probably this version. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is not only one of David Bowie‘s biggest records, it’s one of the most iconic albums of the 1970s, probably of all time. When you talk all-time classic albums, this one has got to be on the list.

Ziggy Stardust is a concept album, a very particular, specific vision of David Bowie’s. So why on this album of songs about a space-alien rock star is there a version of “It Ain’t Easy“? Well, the track was originally recorded for Bowie’s previous album, Hunky Dory, released the year before in 1971. It was left off of that album, but for some reason, they decided to include it on the Ziggy Stardust record. Rick Wakeman played many of the keyboard parts on the Hunky Dory album and, because this track was recorded during those sessions, he appears on this song playing harpsichord. It’s the only song on the Ziggy Stardust album that Wakeman appears on. Rick Wakeman was, of course, a member of Yes and would become a legendary keyboard and synthesizer player. Also appearing on this song is Dana Gillespie, providing background vocals on the chorus. Neither Wakeman nor Gillespie were credited on the original release of the album.

Not surprisingly, Bowie’s version drifts the furthest away from the bluesy, swampy vibe of the original. The harpsichord, in particular, takes it to a different place. You don’t find the harpsichord on too many blues numbers.

[Music: David Bowie – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Bettye LaVette is hands-down one of my favorite singers. We featured her on an episode a while back, so if you want to dig into her history further, go listen to episode 139 on Bettye LaVette and “I Still Want to Be Your Baby“. But to sum up things briefly here, Bettye released her first single way back in 1962 and had some success on the R&B charts in the ’60s. In 1972, she went to the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios to record her first album. That album was called Child of the Seventies, and I think it’s a great record. But for some inexplicable reason, the record company never released it. God knows why, but it was put on a shelf until it was rediscovered in 1999 and finally issued. And people rediscovered Bettye LaVette. That album features Bettye’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“, recorded in 1972, the same year that Ziggy Stardust was released, though Bettye’s version wouldn’t be officially released until 27 years later.

[Music: Bettye LaVette – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Claudia Lennear was one of the premier backup singers in the business. She started her career as an Ikette with Ike and Tina Turner, and her list of credits is a mile long. She’s sung on albums by Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker, Dave Mason, Humble Pie, Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, Freddy King… the list goes on. But she only released one solo album back in 1973; that album was called Phew! (P-H-E-W) and it opens with “It Ain’t Easy“. Claudia’s version injects the song with a whole lot of Rolling Stones-style swagger and a touch of gospel. It also features some excellent guitar work by the great Ry Cooder.

[Music: Claudia Lennear – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Things went quiet for a few years after that until Graham Bonnet recorded a version of “It Ain’t Easy” for his 1977 solo album. Bonnet established himself as one of the leading hard rock and metal singers with his work with Rainbow and Alcatrazz, but here’s his take on “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Graham Bonnet – “It Ain’t Easy”]

One of the more oddball versions was recorded by Dennis Waterman, who was mostly known as a TV actor in the UK, though he also had a career as a singer—a British version of David Hasselhoff, I guess. He released a version in 1977, but I don’t own that record to be able to play it for you.

Chris Smither is a blues and folk artist who started his career in the folk scene around Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1984, he stripped the song down to its pure basics and released his version of “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Chris Smither – “It Ain’t Easy”]

In 1996, there was a Bowie tribute album released called Crash Course for the Ravers. The alternative band Hazel had the honors of contributing their version of “It Ain’t Easy“. I wouldn’t typically include this song here because it’s more of a tribute to Bowie than it is a cover of the original song, but just to be complete, here is Hazel’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Hazel – “It Ain’t Easy”]

In more recent years, the song’s been covered by The Raconteurs…

[Music: The Raconteurs – “It Ain’t Easy”]

…and Shelby Lynne did a nice version of it.

[Music: Shelby Lynne – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Fish covered it when they performed the entire Ziggy Stardust album in 2016. And just last year, in 2025, Alexis P. Suter recorded a version for her album Just Stay High.

[Music: Alexis P. Suter – “It Ain’t Easy”]

So that brings us up to date. I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed some other versions of this song, but as far as I can find, these are the significant versions of this track. We’ve heard this same song filtered through blues, to country, to glam, to soul, to rock and back again. The bones of this song remain remarkably consistent, I think, and yet it can slide so easily into the repertoire of so many diverse artists. Not one of these versions was ever a hit; it was never a commercial success. And yet, the song has lived a pretty interesting life. And who knows where it’ll turn up next?

Well, I hope you enjoyed this history ride through the lifespan of this one song. I have to say, this episode is kind of the perfect example of why I do this podcast; every episode begins with me asking myself a question, and then trying to find the answer, just for my own satisfaction. I never go into an episode knowing all the answers. The fun part for me is learning all of this stuff and then sharing it with you. And I hope you find all of this as interesting as I do.

Thanks for joining me here on the Pantheon Podcast Network, where fans belong. New episodes of this podcast come out on the 1st and the 15th of every month, so you can bet your sweet bippy that the I’m In Love With That Song podcast will be back soon. Until then, visit our website at lovethatsongpodcast.com to find all of our previous episodes. Whether you’re catching up on shows you missed or want to rediscover some of your favorites, our website is the best place to do it.

You can support the show by going to oldglory.com and buying a t-shirt or some band merch from your favorite artists. They have a ton of stuff on their site, and if you use our discount code, LOVETHATSONG, you’ll save 15% and you’ll be supporting the show. That’s discount code LOVETHATSONG; the website is oldglory.com.

I would also ask that you share the show with your friends and family. The word-of-mouth support from savvy listeners like you is the best way to spread the word and grow this show, so I really appreciate it. Thank you.

So, I’m going to pack it in for the night. Thanks again for sticking with me on this one. So many great versions of this song, but if I had to pick just one, well, I got a real soft spot for that version by Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder. So let’s close it out with Detroit’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“. I’ll see you next time.

[Outro Music: Detroit – “It Ain’t Easy”]

RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

Artists & Bands:

Record Labels & Studios:

The Temptations – “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)”

by N. Whitfield, B. Strong Copyright 1970 Jobete BMI

By 1970, the “Psychedelic Soul” movement was beginning to wane, leading producer Norman Whitfield and The Temptations to return to their ballad roots—but with a sophisticated, dream-like twist. This episode deconstructs the instrumental layers of “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” and explores the brilliant production of Whitfield, the legendary contribution of The Funk Brothers, and the heartbreaking reality behind the lyrics. This episode serves as a bittersweet tribute to a group at a crossroads, marking the final appearances of both Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams.

Beyond the music, this episode explores the history of The Temptations during this recording session. As the classic lineup began to fracture, the song became a final curtain call for Eddie Kendricks’ ethereal falsetto and features Paul Williams’ single poignant line. Let’s celebrate the enduring legacy of a song that remains one of the most perfect three-minute stories ever committed to tape.

“Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” by N. Whitfield, B. Strong Copyright 1970 Jobete BMI

TRANSCRIPT:

This is the I’m In Love With That Song podcast. Oh, it’s not your imagination, the I’m In Love With That Song podcast is back with another episode here on the Pantheon Podcast Network. I’m your host, Brad Page, and each edition of this show, I pick one of my favorite songs and we listen to it together, listening for all the little moments, those special touches that make it a great song. No musical skill or knowledge is required; all you need is a love for music and a little curiosity, and you’ll fit right in here.

We’ve covered The Temptations a couple of times on this show, and that’s because they’re probably my favorite Motown act. I mean, sure, it’s hard to argue with Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder is an outright genius. But both of them did their best work when they pursued their own vision outside of the Motown machine. But The Temptations were firmly rooted within the institution of Motown. In many ways, they exemplified the Motown sound, but they also pushed against those boundaries, especially with their work with producer Norman Whitfield. That’s my favorite era of The Temptations, and that’s the period we’re going to return to in this episode as we venture into the dreamlike landscape of “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)”.

As I said, we’ve covered The Temptations a couple of times before with “I Can’t Get Next To You” back on episode 40 and “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” on episode 116. We went through a detailed history of the band on those shows, so I won’t cover the same ground here, but let’s review a few things just to get us up to speed.

The Temptations were a five-piece vocal group. Melvin Franklin held down the bottom end with his deep, rich voice. Eddie Kendricks glided along the top with his beautiful falsetto. Otis Williams and Paul Williams—and it’s really just a coincidence that they shared a last name because they weren’t related—they sat in the middle with their baritone voices, and David Ruffin would usually take the lead. This is the lineup that cut The Temptations’ early hits like “My Girl”, “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”, “I Wish It Would Rain”—all of those classics.

But David Ruffin left the group in 1968 and was replaced by Dennis Edwards, who had sung with The Contours. Edwards had a grittier, more gospel-influenced voice, and with Edwards on board, The Temptations entered an edgier, more experimental phase led by producer Norman Whitfield. We discussed The Temptations’ relationship with Norman Whitfield and his songwriting partner Barrett Strong on those previous episodes that I mentioned, so if you want to dig into that, go back and listen to those episodes.

But Whitfield was the mastermind behind psychedelic soul. He was melding the sounds of psychedelic rock with the groove and feel of R&B. Sly Stone and George Clinton were exploring this sound too, but Whitfield had his own approach. With Whitfield at the helm, The Temptations laid down definitive psychedelic soul classics like “Ball Of Confusion”, “Cloud Nine”, “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”, and “Psychedelic Shack”. This is my favorite period for The Temptations.

But psychedelic soul was a short-lived fad, at least as far as Motown. By 1970, the novelty was wearing thin and Whitfield could see the audience interest was moving on. And The Temptations themselves, they were not huge fans of this direction; they preferred their old style. So, “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” was a transitional song, an attempt to return to a somewhat more traditional Temptations-style ballad, but retain some of the psychedelic elements. No fuzz guitar, no wah-wah, but it retains the psychedelic sense of disorientation.

“Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” was a song Whitfield and Strong had worked on before, but it had been put on the shelf. They dusted it off and began working out the basic tracks for The Temptations. We should also say that The Temptations themselves were not in a good place at this point. The band was fracturing and the classic lineup wouldn’t last much longer. But first, they had a hit to record.

The backing track was recorded in November 1970 at Golden World Studio B, which had been purchased by Motown in 1966. Whitfield brought in the legendary The Funk Brothers to lay down the foundation. The band included Eddie Willis and Dennis Coffey on guitars, Earl Van Dyke on keyboards, Andrew Smith on drums, Jack Ashford on marimba, Jack Brokensha on timpani, and on bass, Bob Babbitt. Most people assume James Jamerson played the bass as he was the man responsible for so many classic Motown bass lines. But studio logs confirm that it was Bob Babbitt who played the bass on this track.

The song begins with one of Motown’s most memorable guitar intros, played by Eddie Willis. The guitar is drenched in reverb which, in the context of the mix, the soundscape places it off in the distance.

[Instrumental Breakdown]

So we have Eddie Willis’s guitar in the right channel playing that main riff, and Dennis Coffey’s guitar is on the left playing some accent fills. Both guitars have a very clean tone; there’s no fuzz tones here. Bob Babbitt’s bass is dead center and then the strings are layered on top in the right channel along with that main guitar. Let’s play it again from the top.

[Music: Intro]

The Temptations come in with some harmonies.

[Music: Harmonies]

And you can also hear Jack Ashford on marimba sitting nicely in the mix. Let’s just hear a little of that along with the guitars.

[Music: Marimba and Guitars]

Okay, that brings us to the first verse where the drums will come in along with Eddie Kendricks and that incredible falsetto voice. We’ll explore all of this in a minute, but first, let’s just play through that first verse.

[Music: Verse 1]

All right, let’s unpack a few things here. First, let’s listen to the bass and drums laying down a patented Motown groove.

[Music: Bass and Drums]

Really nice reverb on the drums. Andrew Smith is just hitting the rim of his snare drum, not the drum head itself, to get that “tack” sound. Now let’s bring the rest of the instruments in and listen to the backing track without the vocals. The first thing that jumps out at me are those tasteful little guitar fills.

[Music: Instrumental backing track]

That’s a nice little touch; sounds like it’s a harp there. Listen to how the orchestration starts to build.

[Music: Orchestration building]

Now, let’s listen to Eddie Kendricks’ vocal. He’s singing it in a soft, ethereal way that perfectly matches the daydream-like vibe of the music. You can imagine him lost in his own thoughts. And let’s take a look at the lyrics, too, because they are inseparable from this vocal. The lyrics are so critical to this song.

“Each day through my window I watch her as she passes by. I say to myself, ‘You’re such a lucky guy.’ To have a girl like her is truly a dream come true. Out of all the fellows in the world, she belongs to you.”

Which all sounds innocent enough, except that we’re about to find out it’s all an illusion. But there’s a clue planted right there at the beginning: “Each day through my window.” He watches her pass by. He’s observing, but not interacting. We’ll learn more as the story progresses.

[Music: Verse 1 Vocals]

Let’s put all those pieces back together and hear the final mix.

[Music: Verse 1 Full Mix]

The group is going to harmonize on this one line: “To have a girl like her is truly a dream come true.”

[Music: Verse 1 Harmonies]

That takes us right into the chorus, which we’re going to take one line at a time.

“But it was just my imagination.”

Notice how the guitar part echoes the vocal melody there. And the next line: “Running away with me.” And the strings almost sound like they’re running away there. All right, let’s keep going.

“It was just my imagination running away with me.”

Again, the guitar echoes the vocal melody, but this time an octave higher. The chorus ends with the strings swelling up and Jack Brokensha comes in with the timpani drum. Now let’s hear that whole chorus start to finish.

[Music: Chorus]

The second verse begins with the group singing a single word, “So,” before Eddie Kendricks starts the verse.

[Music: Verse 2]

Okay, so that first verse was kind of sweet, this guy longing for this woman. But here, it starts to get a little obsessive. He’s building this whole fantasy with them having children and living in the country.

“Soon we’ll be married and raise a family. Oh yeah. A cozy little home out in the country, with two children, maybe three.”

And this verse concludes with the lines, “I tell you, I can visualize it all. This couldn’t be a dream, far too real it all seems.” And there’s some really beautiful harmony work from the group here.

[Music: Verse 2 Harmony/Outro]

And that leads into the second chorus, and let’s bring up the vocals on this one.

[Music: Chorus 2]

And that leads to a short instrumental break where the orchestration takes over.

[Music: Instrumental Break]

Now the next line is not sung by Eddie Kendricks; it’s sung by Paul Williams. It’s a short line: “Every night on my knees I pray.” It’s the only lead vocal in this song that’s not sung by Eddie Kendricks.

At the time, Paul Williams was in a bad spot. He was a serious alcoholic and suffering from sickle cell disease. These would be the last words he would ever sing with The Temptations. It’s kind of poignant.

“Dear Lord, hear my plea. Don’t ever let another take her love from me or I would surely die.”

Starting to get maybe a little creepy. “Don’t ever let another take her love from me or I would surely die.” And that leads right into one final verse.

[Music: Verse 3]

Taking a closer look at this verse, it’s purely orchestration. The drums and guitars have dropped out; the beat is handled by the timpani. And then we have the key line in the song that shatters the illusion: “In reality, she doesn’t even know me.” The way he delivers it is heartbreaking. And the rock instrumentation comes back in for the final chorus.

[Music: Final Chorus]

And one final ad-lib by Eddie Kendricks puts a button on the whole thing: “I never met her, but I can’t forget her.” We’ll let it play out through the fade.

[Music: Outro/Fade]

“Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” by The Temptations.

By the time “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” came out, Eddie Kendricks had basically quit the band. He signed to Motown as a solo artist. This song would be the last Temptations single that Kendricks sang on. It was also the last single that Paul Williams sang on. By this time, his alcoholism and his sickle cell disease had really caught up to him. The Temptations had tried to cover for him, but eventually, he had to go. And things did not get better for Paul Williams. Tragically, he was found dead in his car from a gunshot wound in 1973. He was only 34 years old.

Eddie Kendricks did have a successful solo career. Unfortunately, after 30 years of smoking, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1991. He had one of his lungs removed to try to prevent the spread of the cancer, but he passed away on October 5th, 1992. He was 52. Melvin Franklin died in February 1995, and Dennis Edwards left us in February 2018. But Otis Williams, at the time of this recording, is still with us.

Thank you for tuning into this episode. The I’m In Love With That Song podcast will return with another new episode in about two weeks. All of our previous episodes are available on our website, lovethatsongpodcast.com. So if you missed any of them—and there are over 200 episodes now—you can go back and re-listen to any of them right there on the website. And make sure that you follow the show so that you never miss an episode.

If you’d like to help the show out, the best thing that you can do is to tell someone about it. Talk it up, share it with your friends and your family, because recommendations from listeners like you are the best advertising that a show like this could ever ask for. So, thank you. I will see you back here on the Pantheon Podcast Network for our next episode. Until then, let your imagination run away with you and go listen to some classic Temptations.

RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

Bands & Artists:

Record Labels & Studios:

Historical References: