"Get Ready" is a Motown song written by Smokey Robinson, which resulted in two hit records for the label: a U.S. No. 29 version by The Temptations in 1966, and a U.S. No. 4 version by Rare Earth in 1970. It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer.
Song history
Temptations version
The original Temptations version of "Get Ready", produced by Smokey Robinson, was designed as an answer to the latest dance craze, "The Duck". The Temptations' falsettoEddie Kendricks sings lead on the song, which Robinson produced as an up-tempo dance number with a prominent rhythm provided by Motown drummer Benny Benjamin. In the song, Kendricks informs his lover to "get ready" because "I'm bringin' you a love that's true". Melvin Franklin sings lead on the pre-chorus: "fe, fi, fo, fum/look out/'cause here I come" along with several other similar lines. The song made it to No. 1 on the U.S. R&B singles chart, while peaking at No. 29 on the pop charts. The B-side to "Get Ready" was the ballad "Fading Away", which was also led by Kendricks. The song talks about fading love with its narrator asking his soon-to-be-former-lover "Where is your love going?" and saying how much she changed since they fell in love. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, & Bobby Rogers, and produced by Robinson, "Fading Away" was later included on the Temptations 1966 album Gettin' Ready along with the hit side. The group's previous singles since "My Girl" had all landed in the U.S. Pop charts Top 20. However, although it hit No. 1 on the R&B charts, "Get Ready" was only a Top 30 hit, while "Fading Away" missed all U.S. national charts. As was promised, the next single released would have Norman Whitfield's song on it. When Whitfield's "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" made it to thirteen on the pop charts, Motown chief Berry Gordy assigned him to be the Temptations' new main producer. Ironically, the song did eventually become a Top 10 pop hit, but not by the Temptations, but by the Motown rock band Rare Earth.. Until the group recorded "Please Return Your Love to Me" in 1968, this was their last song to feature lead vocals solely by Eddie Kendricks, as David Ruffin, and later, Dennis Edwards, would be placed in that role in later songs.
In 1970, Motown's rock band Rare Earth released a cover version of the song as a single. Rare Earth's "Get Ready" was the band's first recording for Motown, and was based upon a version it performed as part of the closing numbers to their live performances. Their 45 RPM single sold in excess of a million U.S. copies, earning a Gold certification from the RIAA. In the live show, each member of the band performed a solo, resulting in a twenty-one-minute rendition of the song. It has been debated whether the actual recording for the album was really recorded at a concert. It has been noted that the audience sounds throughout the song are repetitive and canned. This has been done before with The Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie" released on an album with party crowd noise dubbed in. The band wanted to release "Get Ready" as a single, but Motown declined at first, issuing the unsuccessful "Generation, Light Up the Sky" as the band's first single. Finally deferring to the band's wishes in February 1970, Motown released a three-minute edit of the song as a single, which became a hit. "Get Ready" hit No. 2 on the Cash Box Top 100 and peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, a far better performance than the original. It took up the entire second side of their Platinum-selling Motown album, also titled Get Ready. The Rare Earth version of the song also peaked at number twenty on the R&B chart. Today, "Get Ready" is among the most familiar of both the Temptations' and Rare Earth's recordings. The B-side of the single of "Get Ready" is "Magic Key", which is found on the same album as "Get Ready". "Magic Key" has a fast tempo, and uses a mixolydian chord progression with a key change on the chorus.
