Gordy 7028B - Just Let Me Know - Temptations

I was listening for a change today to my Meet the Temptations CD and heard a fabulous Temptations song. It was the "B" side of the Way You Do the Things You Do. The song is JUST LET ME KNOW. That in my opinion should have been the "A" side as it is greater in my opinion than the Way You Do the Things You Do. I researched it and discovered that Paul Williams was the lead singer on the song which was produced by the one and only Berry Gordy.

Listen to it if you haven't or don't recall. You will like it very much.

This song went up against “The Way You Do The Things You Do” for the a-side slot. Smokey came to Berry shortly after he’d cut Just Let Me Know, to tell him he had a “smash for the Temptations. Berry thought he had the breakthrough smash. Smokey cuts his song on the tempts, and his song soundly defeated Gordy’s in the QC meeting. Smokey’s song became the a-side, while Gordy’s became the b-side.

Blimey Woodward I was only thinking about the song this week! I had a uk release of the ‘Meet...’ album and actually got a 3 figure sum for it when I sold it on a well known auction site! I of course replaced it on CD. I’m now collecting 7in singles all over again as I’m now doing some DJing, and thought ‘Just...’ would fit in nicely as no one else plays it. However the record is more than i’ I’ll pay as I’m a bit of a skinflint! Great track though

Opinions, we all got 'em. So here is mine for better or worse. "Just Let Me Know" is a good song, but it does't have an aural "hook". It's a good song, but it sounds like a classic R&B/Soul song, not much different from the previous songs the Temptations had released.

There is something about "The Way You Do The Things You Do" that was different enough from everything else at the time. I say "at the time" because I remember my folks played that record to death and it's one of the first tunes I clearly recall from my youth [[and that says a lot as I was about 2 when I heard it, which would have been in '68.)

"The Way" also seemed to hook the general public in a way none of the earlier Temptations releases had. Again, I chalk that up to the fact that there was something just a bit newer and fresher in the sound of this record. I've heard people remark that the lyrics are "corny." I never got that, but the lyrics are definitely something you wouldn't forget so easily- that's the aural hook that was missing from the other songs. Something different and memorable, whether or not you cared for it.

For me; "Just Let Me Know" is a pleasant song [[with a fine lead by Paul Williams) but it just doesn't have the sound of a big hit [[unlike "JLMK"'s classic A-side "The Way You Do The Things You Do").

Good temps song,not a-side good but nice.