Way You Do the Things You Do

The first time I heard The Temptations sing The Way You Do the Things You Do, what struck me most was how Eddie Kendricks' voice glides over that playful melody, as if each syllable had its own sparkle. It's not a song that hits you right away, but rather one that slowly envelops you with a subtle yet unmistakable groove, a rhythm that seems to move at its own pace but won't leave your head. The magic lies in how the harmony between the five members —with Kendricks up front and the others weaving those signature harmonies— conveys more than just words: a sense of complicity, as if they were sharing a secret through the music.

Recorded in 1965 within the walls of Motown, The Way You Do the Things You Do emerged at a time when The Temptations were still defining their sound. The album The Temptations Sing Smokey —as its title suggests— was entirely composed and produced by Smokey Robinson and other members of The Miracles, and in this case, the song was crafted to highlight Kendricks' high, ethereal voice. What's interesting is that, although the track wasn't the first to be released as a single, it ended up becoming one of the group's three consecutive hits at the time, alongside It's Growing and the unforgettable My Girl. It lasted just two minutes and forty-six seconds, yet in that time it achieved something few songs of the era did: sounding fresh decades later.