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Whitfield has been credited with helping create the Motown Sound and helping the development of the subgenre psychedelic soul. He co-wrote "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone", "Ball of Confusion", "War", "Smilin' Faces", and "Just My Imagination (Runnin' Away with Me)". Following the death of Isaac Hayes last month, it's been a bad year for fans of heavily orchestrated, epic soul. [17], In 2015, Whitfield was cast as the main villain in Greenleaf, the Oprah Winfrey Network original scripted drama series about the unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch. 1 on the R&B charts in 1966. Whitfield fell into a coma, briefly improved, but eventually succumbed to diabetic complications. He spent the last few months at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles. Norman Whitfield was one of the architects of the Motown sound, from its early peak as a national label through its waning days of major chart success. We welcome all corrections and feedback using the button below. By way of Wilson's contemporary work with the Four Tops, Whitfield's influence extended to other corners of the Motown stable during this era. "[6] The New York Times added that Whitfield "powerfully captures her [Baker's] passionate determination. Whitfield did return to Motown briefly in the early '80s to produce the Temptations' "Sail Away," and also the soundtrack album to the movie The Last Dragon. Mr. Whitfields songs were recorded by a string of Motown luminaries, who besides Mr. Gaye included the Temptations and the Jackson Five. The film grossed over $35 million against a budget of $8 million. NEW YORK (AP) Barrett Strong, one of Motown's founding artists and most gifted songwriters who sang lead on the company's breakthrough single "Money (That's What I Want)" and later collaborated with Norman Whitfield on such classics as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "War" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," has died . He was not imprisoned because of health problems such as diabetes. [1], During his 25-year career, Whitfield co-wrote and produced many enduring hits for Motown artists, including "Ain't Too Proud to Beg",[2] "(I Know) I'm Losing You", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Cloud Nine", "I Can't Get Next to You", "War", "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", "Smiling Faces Sometimes", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". [1] He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motown Sound and of the late-1960s subgenre of psychedelic soul. The title track on the Temptations' album Masterpiece (1973) was the quintessential effort in this direction, an epic-length production propelled by a driving beat and lush instrumentation (in several layers) and filled with lyrics steeped in the urban landscape of the time -- ironically, as impressive as the latter was as a production, five people who were not entirely pleased with the track or the album were the Temptations themselves, who felt that they'd taken something of a back seat to the instrumentation and the overall production on what was supposed to be their album. But Masterpiece's critical notices were better than its sales, and Whitfield soon found himself, like most of the label's other producers, being discouraged from further recordings as ambitious as that, particularly as Motown's fortunes declined. - Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. When provided, we also incorporate private tips and feedback received from the celebrities or their representatives. He is survived by his Daughters: Linda Dean, Ann-Marie Major, Sherry Beneby, Hilly Harper, and Lerlene Moss-Walcott; Sons: Eugene and Andrew Beckford; Adopted Daughter: Judy Deleveaux; and a host of other relatives . I knew that this was extremely unlikely given his ongoing struggles with a) illness and b) the IRS, not to mention a longstanding reluctance to talk to the press. His genres are R&B,soul,pop,psychedelic soul,funk,disco. TV Mini-Series documentary writer - 1 episode, writer: "Just My Imagination Running Away With Me", "Smiling Faces Sometimes", writer: "Just My Imagination Running Away With Me", writer: "Just my imagination running away with me" - as Norman I. Whitfield, writer: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "I Wanna Get Next to You", writer: "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Smiling Faces Sometimes", as N. Whitfield, "Holler If Ya Hear Me" / writer: "Holler If Ya Hear Me" - as N. Whitfield, writer: "Ball of Confusion That's What the World Is Today", Madonna: The Girlie Show - Live Down Under, TV Movie documentary writer: "Rain" - as N. Whitfield, TV Movie writer: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", Raisins Sold Out: The California Raisins II, TV Movie writer: "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", producer: "War" / writer: "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka", "War", writer: "I Heard it Through the Grapevine", TV Movie writer: "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" - uncredited, Documentary "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" / producer: "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", writer: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", writer: "Wherever I Lay My Hat That's My Home", TV Special documentary writer: "That's the way Love is", producer: "The Last Dragon", "Stand Your Ground", "The Final Test" / writer: "The Last Dragon", "Stand Your Ground", "The Final Test", TV Series writer - 1 episode, 1985 lyrics - 1 episode, 1982 music - 1 episode, 1982, Video writer: "Friendship Train", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", writer: "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", TV Movie documentary writer: "Needle in a Haystack", Documentary "Just My Imagination Running Away With Me", lyrics: "WAR" - as N. Whitfield / music: "WAR" - as N. Whitfield, Bassie en Adriaan en het geheim van de sleutel, lyrics: "Which Way Is Up?" In his late teens, he and his family moved to Detroit, Michigan, so that his father could join his sister and work in her husband's chain of drug stores, Barthwell Drugs. Whitfield was born in Harlem, where his main achievement was to become a skilled pool player. In 1969, Whitfield won three BMI Awards for the songs "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "I Wish It Would Rain," and "You're My Everything."[5]. The early 1940s were dominated by World War II. Miss Whitfield was born September 5, 1975 in Hollywood, a daughter of Norman Whitfield and Asari Graham. Later that year his Cloud Nine, performed by The Temptations was honored with a prestigious Grammy Award which was followed by another Grammy for Papa Was a Rollin Stone which was released in 1973. Ball Of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) - The Temptations. He had been with Motown for several years without scoring a major hit, but in 1970 he enjoyed the biggest single of his career with "War," co-written by Whitfield and Holland. Her mother is an African-American while her father is Creole making her half Native American. Norman Whitfield, a Grammy-winning songwriter, producer and arranger for Motown Records whose many hits, including the signature song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," helped solidify the. [12] In 1998, Whitfield had supporting role of an oncologist in the comedy-drama film Stepmom.[13][14]. Norman Whitfield, a long time friend and best friend during our growing up years, was laid to rest at the Lower Greens Creek Cemetery - he lived in Eastland at the time of his death. Whitfield became the company's spark plug as music entered the psychedelic era, taking to the new sound, and especially the use of sound effects, more easily than most of the label's production personnel. He was survived by his daughter and four sons from who he had eight grandchildren. In 1983, Whitfield teamed up with Motown again, and produced The Temptations hit single Sailing Away while in 1985 he produced the original soundtrack of another Schultz movie, the martial arts cult classic The Last Dragon. He wanted Berry Gordy (head of Motown Records) to have Marvin Gaye record "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". For the next few years, Whitfield or his protg, Frank Wilson, produced virtually all of the Temptations' recordings, although as Gordy recalled in his autobiography, Whitfield was ambitious enough to extend his influence as a producer far and wide; he still wrote songs as well, and he was always looking for different ways of presenting the same composition. In the meantime, he became an admirer of Berry Gordy as the latter emerged as the most promising new music entrepreneur in Detroit. After several years fighting diabetes, Norman Whitfield passed away at the age of 68, on the 16th September 2008 in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He was known especially for his work with the Temptations; he produced many of their recordings for Motown, including the album Cloud Nine, whose title track earned the group a Grammy in 1969. Beginning with the single "I Wish It Would Rain," written in collaboration with lyricist Eddie Holland, he moved both the group and Motown into a new era, which opened up the subject matter as well as the sound of their songs. From 2016 to 2020, she starred as Lady Mae Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network dramatic series Greenleaf, for which she won critical acclaim and garnered two NAACP Image Awards and a Gracie Award. Is she dead? A native of Harlem, Whitfield spent his early teen years hanging out in local pool halls. "I Can't Get Next to You," "Ball of Confusion," and "Cloud Nine" -- all written with his main songwriting partner, Barrett Strong -- were among the best records to come out of the label during the turn of the '60s and into the '70s. Whitfield created a new group around this time out of the ruins of a failed Motown act called the Delicates and one ex-member of a group called the Preps -- he put Billie Rae Calvin, Brenda Joyce Evans, and Joe Harris together as the Undisputed Truth and, calling all of the shots for the group as far as songs and recordings, they became one of his two principal vehicles for his musical ideas. He worked with The Temptations as a producer and songwriter and produced eight of their albums. This was after Gordy had rejected the idea of recording it with Gaye, the Miracles, or the Isley Brothers. Birth name. 2023 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved. That success was complicated by the growing antipathy of the Temptations themselves, who sometimes felt like backup participants on their own records amid Whitfield's production efforts -- and Whitfield's prominent visual presence on Masterpiece's artwork -- a rare level of prominence for a producer -- couldn't have helped matters with the group. She also had a regular role on the short-lived NBC detective series The Cosby Mysteries from 1994 to 1995 and later guest-starred on Martin and Touched by an Angel. Thu., Sept. 18, 2008 Sly was definitely sly, and his sound was new, his grooves were incredible, he borrowed a lot from rock. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills). [7]" Whitfield won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role, and said this gave her "the greatest sense of accomplishment and realization of my vision. CNN . Whitfield played the leading role of Lady Mae Greenleaf, the imperious minister's wife and the power- and money-hungry matriarch of the family. Norman was raised in Harlem where he spent the majority of his spare time in pool halls. William Warren Lange. Mr. Whitfield joined Motown in the early 1960s, when he was not much more than 20. Their separation was brief, however, as Shirley passed away on August 14, 2021. Mr. Whitfield, who often wrote both lyrics and music, had more than 450 songs released in his lifetime, his daughter said. After wood-shedding on local . During the next 12 years til 1974, he produced all the groups material, including eight studio albums, and also wrote a dozen of their hit singles. In his late teens, he and his family moved to Detroit, Michigan so that his father could join his sister and work in her . After her breakthrough as Josephine Baker, Whitfield had the recurring role in the ABC legal drama Equal Justice, appearing opposite Joe Morton. Norman Whitfield Popularity Most Popular #126320 First Name Norman #23 May 12 Singer #27 Last Name Whitfield #15 Norman Whitfield Is A Member Of Born In 1940 R&B Singers LOS ANGELES (AP) - Norman Whitfield, who co-wrote a string of Motown classics including "War" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," has died. Whitfield's motives are still unclear - was he truly passionate about social change or just a canny hitmaker who sensed the mood of the times and catered to it? Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/norman-whitfield-mn0000957729. Whitfield enjoyed some success as a composer with "Too Many Fish in the Sea" by the Marvelettes, and "Needle in a Haystack" by the Velvettes, but it was his drive and his vision as a producer that allowed him to take over the helm of the Temptations' records. Her daughter has opted to pursue a career in music, and Lynn has been very supportive of her endeavors. Norman Whitfield. Born in New York in 1943, Whitfield wasn't yet in his teens when R&B began exerting itself as a major musical force. Alongside his Motown lyrical collaborator Barrett Strong, he was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2004. The family eventually relocated there, and Whitfield hustled pool and performed other marginal pursuits to survive, and also began watching and learning what was needed to work in music. Whitfield joined Motown's in-house songwriting staff, co-writing the Marvin Gaye hit "Pride & Joy", the Marvelettes's "Too Many Fish in the Sea" and the Velvelettes's "Needle in a Haystack". Norman Jesse Whitfield Profile: American songwriter and producer (born May 12, 1940, in Harlem, New York - died September 16, 2008, in Los Angeles) best known for his work with Berry Gordy 's Motown label during the 1960s. In 1975 he split with Motown and founded his own record label Whitfield Records. Norman Whitfield was born in Harlem, New York in May 1940 and passed away in September 2008. Legendary songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield, the anchor of Motown 's early 70s movement toward funk, has died. 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