Get Ready

This was written by Smokey Robinson, who was the main songwriter for The Temptations. In the Motown stable, The Temptations were considered the premier group, and there was a lot of competition among the songwriters to have their compositions recorded by the band. When this song underperformed on the charts, Motown chief Berry Gordy gave the next Temptations single, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," to Norman Whitfield, and he became their primary writer. "Get Ready" went to #1 on the R&B charts for a week, but made just #29 on the Hot 100. "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" was a chart monster, spending eight weeks at #1 R&B, and rising to #13 on the Hot 100.

Like many of Robinson's compositions, this is a fun song that can be danced to. This formula led to many Motown hits like "Going To A Go-Go" and "The Way You Do The Things You Do."

Rare Earth recorded an unusual version of this song that stretched over 21 minutes and took up the entire second side of their first Motown album, which was issued in the fall of 1969. This version was based on Rare Earth's live version of the song, where every member of the band would get a solo. In 1970, Motown released a 3-minute edit as a single, which went to #4. The song also did well on R&B stations, even though some DJs refused to play it when they found out the group wasn't black - they were one of the first white groups signed to Motown.