"My Girl" is a song written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White for the Motown group The Temptations. It was released as a single in 1964 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was included on the Temptations album "Sing Smokey", which was certified a diamond record in 1995.
Robinson wrote the song in response to the question frequently asked by the band's fans about who the band members' girlfriends were. He said the song was meant to be a "love song for all the Temptations' girlfriends. Robinson also stated that the song was partly inspired by Fred Astaire's "The Way You Look Tonight.
The song was recorded in March 1964 and was produced by Robinson. The instrumental track was recorded by The Funk Brothers. The song was mixed by Robinson and recording engineer Cal Harris.
"My Girl" is a soulful ballad featuring the voices of Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks. Williams wrote the lyrics for the song The song is built on a C major chord theme, with a C-G-L chord progression. The melody of the song is based on the song "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Fats Waller.
The song was a commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the Temptations' first hit. The song was certified gold in 1987 and was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Made Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 277 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
