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NEW YORK — Otis Williams had a confession.
Asked whether he was a baseball fan, the 82-year-old founder of The Temptations coughed and said in a low, sing-song voice: “Dodgers.”
Sixty years after its debut, The Temptations’ “My Girl” has become a hit at Citi Field since New York Mets star Francisco Lindor began using it as his walk-up song in late May. Fans continue singing the lyrics even after Lindor’s plate appearance is underway.
The Temptations detoured to New York on an off day from their tour to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “My Girl” before the Mets beat Los Angeles 12-6 on Friday night and closed to 3-2 in the NL Championship Series.
“It’s the highest compliment you can get,” Williams said in a green room behind home plate.
Wearing blue tuxedos with orange pocket squares, the five singers stood on the warning track behind home plate and sang an a cappella version of the national anthem that highlighted their harmonic excellence as Lindor watched from the foul line behind first base and sang along.
They then donned Mets jerseys and sang “My Girl” with music backing them on the sound system as Lindor warmed up with sprints on the outfield grass, smiling widely and bobbing his head. He reached the dugout by the end and exchanged his special pregame handshake with with teammate Pete Alonso.
“Most players, they pick a walk-up song just because that’s how they feel in the moment but they also want the fans to vibe to to the song,” Lindor said. “Whenever you see the whole crowd getting into it, I think it’s pretty cool.”
Released on Dec. 21, 1964, “My Girl” became the group’s first No. 1 hit the following March and has been streamed 1 billion times on Spotify. The song’s impact became clear to Williams during a 1965 concert at Harlem’s Apollo Theater.
“We went out on the stage and we did the show without ‘My Girl.’ They damned near called us every name except the child of God,” he said, “so we know we can never, ever take that the song out.”
Lindor picked the song because of his wife Katia and daughters Kalina and Amapola. He didn’t anticipate the reaction.
“Last year I changed the song every single day,” he said. “I changed it because it was the song I was vibing to at the moment and it took off. I don’t know if it’s because I started hitting or because we started winning or because the song is good.”
“My Girl” was written and produced by Smokey Robinson and Ronnie White.
“Smokey saw us perform in Detroit at a place called the 20 Grand and he said then, ‘I got a song for you guys’ and he pointed to Davey Ruffin,” Williams recalled, referring to a lead singer for the group in the 1960s.
“So we went in the studio and we put the vocals down and I said: ‘Smokey did another great song for us.’ But when Paul Riser edited the strings and horns, I said, ‘Oh, oh, this is a different kind of song.’ So I went in the control room. I said, ‘Smokey, I don’t know how big a record this is going to become, but this is going to be something big.’”
A few months after the release, Williams said he received congratulatory telegrams from the Supremes and the Beatles, proudly proclaiming: “I have that at the house.”
The Temptations were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for a catalogue including “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.” They’ve had 14 No. 1 hits and 42 in the top 10.
Sujata Murthy, Universal Music Enterprises’ executive vice president of media and artist relations, took notice of Lindor’s use of the song and contacted the Mets. The group was in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, for a concert last weekend and diverted to New York ahead of performances this weekend at North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Durham, North Carolina.
Williams, who turns 83 on Oct. 30, is the last original member of the group. He has no intention of retiring.
“I tell people I’m going to ride the hell out of the horse,” he said. “When I get off the horse, it’s going to be bald. That’s a lot of rides when you ride the horse bald.”
Williams grew up in Detroit, but the Motown baseball team did not get his allegiance.
“Tigers is flimflam,” he said. “But the Lions now, they got promise. They got hope. I love the Lions. I’m still a Detroiter at heart, even though I’m in LA.”
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