Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
The Temptations | Artist Essentials
First released: 1972 (year verified)
Original 1972 full Temptations album performance, approximately 12:04
MusicAtlas editorial note: Stay with the complete album performance and follow the instrumental development around each returning vocal section.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1972 (year verified)
The selected original recording is documented in 1972 in the release history of All Directions. Only year precision is assigned. Later singles, annual-list appearances, reissues and different performances do not replace the original year.
Recording: Original 1972 full Temptations album performance, approximately 12:04
Credit: The Temptations
Role in this collection: Original group performance
Original album: All Directions
All Directions - original 1972 album program
The original eight-track program identifies the complete approximately 12:04 Temptations Papa Was a Rollin Stone performance in 1972. The earlier Undisputed Truth recording and the shorter Temptations single are separate. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Temptations Gold - recording-specific years and separately labeled single editions
The licensed anthology distinguishes the approximately 4:46 Runaway Child, 6:57 Papa Was a Rollin Stone and 4:21 Masterpiece single presentations from the selected full original album performances. Its recording fields also identify Superstar in 1971; the 2005 compilation is not an original date. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Annual version match under review
The selected recording has release evidence, but its version has not been matched to the retained annual entry. It is omitted from Beyond the yearly lists until this match is resolved.
The selected complete approximately 12:04 album performance and the separately labeled approximately 6:57 single are distinct presentations. The actual annual entry does not specify its edition.
All Directions - original 1972 album program
The original eight-track program identifies the complete approximately 12:04 Temptations Papa Was a Rollin Stone performance in 1972. The earlier Undisputed Truth recording and the shorter Temptations single are separate. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Temptations Gold - recording-specific years and separately labeled single editions
The licensed anthology distinguishes the approximately 4:46 Runaway Child, 6:57 Papa Was a Rollin Stone and 4:21 Masterpiece single presentations from the selected full original album performances. Its recording fields also identify Superstar in 1971; the 2005 compilation is not an original date. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
About The Temptations
The Temptations developed in Detroit and signed to Motown in 1961. Their recordings paired carefully arranged vocal harmonies with coordinated stage movement, making the group sound and visual presentation closely connected. The Way You Do the Things You Do and My Girl helped establish their 1960s repertoire. Later recordings explored funk and psychedelic soul as the membership changed. Those phases remain part of the group's history, distinct from the solo work of singers who passed through it.
Artist background sources
The Temptations - official group history
Detroit and 1961 Motown signing, harmonies/choreography, early repertoire, changing historical lineups and funk/psychedelic soul; current membership and chart totals are omitted. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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