Norman Whitfield
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.[1] He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motown Sound and of the late-1960s subgenre of psychedelic soul.[1]
For the English footballer, see Norman Whitfield (footballer).
Norman Whitfield
Norman Jesse Whitfield
May 12, 1940
Harlem, New York, New York, U.S.
September 16, 2008 (aged 68)
Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Keyboards, tambourine
1958–1986
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". Whitfield worked extensively with the Temptations as a producer and songwriter, producing eight of their albums between 1969 and 1973. He then started his own label, Whitfield Records, in 1975, which yielded the Rose Royce hit "Car Wash". Alongside his Motown lyrical collaborator Barrett Strong, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.[3] He wrote or co-wrote 61 hits on the UK charts and 92 on the US charts.[4] In 2024, Whitfield was posthumously selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the musical excellence category.[5][6]
Early life and education[edit]
Whitfield was born and raised in Harlem, New York, and spent much of his teen years in local pool halls. 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. He attended Northwestern High School.