Talk:Papa Was a Rollin' Stone

Spelling
Note on the spelling: the record has been spelled both ways since 1972: "Rollin'" appears on the original 45 RPM single, and future official Motown releases have used either spelling since then. --b. Touch 05:38, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Removed
I removed these:

Artists that have sampled this song

 * The same artist who made PWaRS also made a song with a reference to PWaRS called "Standing on the Top". They made it with Rick James.
 * In 1999, Jennifer Lopez recorded a hit single called Waiting for Tonight, that interpolated parts of this composition.

I've heard all three records. None of them have ANY correlation to each other at all. Where does the "interpolation" come in? I need referenced sound samples before this gets added in. --FuriousFreddy 02:11, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

All he left us was a loan
Are you sure it is "all he left us was alone"? Perhaps it is "all he left us was a loan"? &mdash; J I P | Talk 17:16, 24 July 2005 (UTC)


 * It's "all he left us was alone". He left them alone with nothing. --FuriousFreddy 17:49, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

The burden of proof that the listeners cannot possibly hear more than one interpretation rests on the person who wiped out my mention thereof. Jidanni (talk) 03:44, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Why not a case of Double entendre? Jidanni (talk) 04:58, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

How many sons?
The article seems to suggest that there are several sons questioning their mother about their dead father. The lyrics, on the other hand (use of the pronouns "I", "me", "my" for self-reference; the mother's preface of "Son..." -- in the singular -- before each refrain), suggest there is only one, although his words are sung by each member of the group. I'm referring to the Temptations version, of course. Have other versions implied more than one son? If not, this should be corrected. Kelisi (talk) 07:01, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Other cover artists?
Did David Ruffin or Eddie Kendricks Ever Sing this Live?

x —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.231.230.68 (talk) 00:34, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Don't know the scope that should be included in "notable covers." Ween & friends (performing as Jimmy Wilson Group) did an epic cover of this song early in Set II of their 6-30-01 show in New Hope; a show which is quite a popular bootleg among Ween fans. Some people may not know who Ween is, but I don't know who most of the listed cover artists are, so who's to say what's considered "notable?" Seems to boil down to a matter of opinion? I don't want to make an edit only to get it deleted, so that's why I'm posting this as a suggestion here, and the community can take it under advisement. Cheers! 71.197.152.48 (talk) 05:35, 27 May 2011 (UTC)  edited 71.197.152.48 (talk) 05:51, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Cover?
Is this a cover version? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=0g7KawdsVSQ

If so, who did it, when, what's the name of the cover?

-Chumchum7 (talk) 11:42, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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Actual single length
This song is announced with a duration of 6:54 for the single version. The genuine Temptations version I have on a cd compilation is announced at 5:14 by iTunes and it does last this length on my watch. Where could this huge difference come from ? A shortened version officially recorded and edited after 1972 ? A mistyping on the record ? Any help welcome. --Bibliorock (talk) 01:08, 22 January 2018 (UTC)

Redirect
As WP:NOTBROKEN *clearly* states, "there's usually nothing wrong with linking to redirects", and WP:NOPIPE says that "it's generally not good practice to use piped links simply to avoid redirects". In this case, I changed Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin to Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin, but User:Doctorhawkes reverted my edit in favor of the piped link, stating "that's a redirect". Shouldn't we keep wikilinks as simple as possible? Maybe there's some technical nuance(s) that I'm missing here.2601:153:881:3D60:6179:3F38:E8E4:F383 (talk) 07:22, 19 February 2023 (UTC) I've learnt something new. I'll revert. Doctorhawkes (talk) 09:00, 19 February 2023 (UTC)