“Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)” (The Temptations)

Continuing with our socially conscious late ’60s/early ’70s songs by major R&B artists, today’s protest song of the day is “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)” by the Temptations. This powerful track was recorded on April 12 and 14 in 1970 and released as a single less than a month later, on May 7. It hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart.

“Ball of Confusion” was written by Motown legends Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield. Its lyrics address the chaos that was the world at the turn of the decade, cemented in a stream-of-consciousness flow of crises and concerns:

Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the preacher
And it seems nobody’s interested in learning but the teacher
Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration
Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation…

Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything…

Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors
Mod clothes in demand, population out of hand, suicide, too many bills
Hippies moving to the hills, people all over the world are shouting, end the war

And the band played on

The song features round-robin lead vocals by all five of the Temptations—Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams. The backing tracks were provided, as always, by the fabulous Funk Brothers. They actually recorded more than 12 minutes of music that was whittled down to the 4 minutes and 6 seconds found on the final track. Bassist Bob Babbitt recalls the session:

“There was no song, just some musical ideas, some chord patterns, and part of a bass line he (Whitfield) played us. Norman knew what he wanted, though, that it was going to be funky. He’d been listening to a lot of Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, that’s the sound he wanted to make the Motown sound…

“Putting it together was simple, we just did that one song in the three-hour session and we had enough time left over to eat some BLT sandwiches. We didn’t know it was going to be political, because the lyrics weren’t written when the rhythm track was recorded.”

“Ball of Confusion” was the fifth of a new round of socially relevant tracks from Whitfield and Strong for the Temptations, a sound that was dubbed psychedelic soul. (The previous new-sounding hits were “Cloud Nine,” “Runaway Child, Running Wild,” “I Can’t Get Next to You,” and “Psychedelic Shack.”) The new sound was instigated by the group’s Otis Williams, who noted a funkier, more modern sound from R&B groups like Sly and the Family Stone and thought the Temptations needed to update their sound. He got together with Whitfield and Strong and psychedelic soul was born.

Motown’s psychedelic soul was more than just a new sound, it was a new, more socially relevant approach. The Temptations were no longer singing about love and loneliness, they were singing about issues that resonated with their teenaged audience. Teens back then, especially African-American teens, were concerned about drugs, poverty, civil rights, and the Vietnam War. The Temptations, thanks to Whitfield and Strong, addressed those concerns—which continue to be concerns today.

And here’s today’s bonus video of the day, the Temptations performing “Ball of Confusion” live in 1970. Great googa-looga, can’t you hear them talking to you? And the band played on…