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How Can I Forget

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"How Can I Forget"
Single by The Temptations
from the album The Temptations Wish It Would Rain
A-side"Please Return Your Love to Me"
ReleasedJuly 16, 1968
RecordedHitsville USA; June 29, 1968
GenreSoul
Length1:48
LabelGordy
G 7074
Songwriter(s)Norman Whitfield
Barrett Strong
Producer(s)Norman Whitfield
The Temptations singles chronology
"I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)"
(1968)
"Please Return Your Love to Me" / "How Can I Forget"
(1968)
"Cloud Nine"
(1968)
"How Can I Forget"
Single by Marvin Gaye
from the album That's the Way Love Is
B-side"Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got"
ReleasedDecember 16, 1969
RecordedHitsville USA; 1969
GenreSoul, funk, psychedelic soul
Length1:55
LabelTamla
T 54190
Songwriter(s)Norman Whitfield
Barrett Strong
Producer(s)Norman Whitfield
Marvin Gaye singles chronology
"What You Gave Me"
(1969)
"How Can I Forget"
(1969)
"The Onion Song"
(1970)

"How Can I Forget" was originally recorded as a love ballad by Motown group The Temptations in 1968[1][2] and was re-recorded in a psychedelic soul/funk styling by fellow Motown artist, Marvin Gaye in 1969.[3] His version, released on Motown's first subsidiary, Tamla, became a modest hit that almost reached the Top 40 of the pop charts while peaking at number-eighteen on the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart in 1970.[4] Marvin's recording was featured on his That's the Way Love Is album. The song is also notable for being (at the time) one of the shortest recordings for both The Tempts and for Gaye; recorded when most songs are over three minutes, its length is just under two.

Personnel

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The Temptations' version

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Marvin Gaye's version

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References

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  1. ^ The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 8: 1968 [liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
  2. ^ Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. ISBN 0-8154-1218-5.
  3. ^ The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 9: 1969 [liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 225.