Norman Whitfield, the Grammy-winning songwriter and forward-thinking producer who helped shape the direction of R&B and soul music at Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s, died Tuesday. He was 67.
Whitfield, the co-writer of dozens of Motown hits and producer of most of the recordings by the Temptations, died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, reportedly of complications from his long struggle with diabetes. He also had a history of heart and kidney ailments.
“Norman Whitfield was one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers of our time," fellow Motown Records veteran Smokey Robinson said in a statement issued Wednesday. “He will live forever through his great music." Whitfield wrote, often in collaboration with Barrett Strong, or produced such era-defining hits as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine," “Ain't Too Proud To Beg," “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)," and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone." The latter earned Whitfield one of his two Grammy Awards as a songwriter and composer.
His ambitious production work helped move Motown from the catchy love songs that typified the label's output in the early and mid-'60s into social commentary reflecting volatile issues at the heart of the civil rights movement.
