Ain't Too Proud to Beg

For the TLC song, see Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg. For the Broadway musical based on the life and songs of The Temptations, see Ain't Too Proud (musical).

"Ain't Too Proud to Beg"
Single by the Temptations
from the album Gettin' Ready
B-side"You'll Lose a Precious Love"
ReleasedMay 3, 1966 (1966-05-03)
RecordedJanuary 4 and January 11, 1966
StudioHitsville USA (Studio A), Detroit, Michigan
Genre
Length2:36
LabelGordy
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Norman Whitfield[1]
The Temptations singles chronology
"Get Ready"
(1966) 		"Ain't Too Proud to Beg"
(1966) 		"Beauty Is Only Skin Deep"
(1966)
Official audio
"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" on YouTube

"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" is a 1966 song and hit single by the Temptations for Motown Records' Gordy label,[2] produced by Norman Whitfield and written by Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Chart, and was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B charts for eight non-consecutive weeks.[3] The song's success, in the wake of the relative underperformance of the previous Temptations' single, "Get Ready", resulted in Norman Whitfield replacing Smokey Robinson, producer of "Get Ready", as the Temptations' main producer. In 2004 it finished number 94 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs poll thanks to its inclusion in The Big Chill soundtrack.

Notable covers have been recorded by the Rolling Stones (1974) and by Rick Astley (1989).

  1. ^ a b c "The 60 Greatest Motown Songs of All Time". Variety. April 21, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  2. ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 26 – The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 5]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 571.