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Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)

1970 song by The Temptations

Summary

1970 song by The Temptations

Field	Value
name	Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)
cover	Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) (album cover).jpg
type	single
artist	the Temptations
album	Greatest Hits II
B-side	It's Summer
released	May 7, 1970
recorded	April 12 and 14, 1970
studio	Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A), Detroit
genre	Psychedelic soul, funk
length	4:06
label	Gordy – G 7099
producer	Norman Whitfield
prev_title	Psychedelic Shack
prev_year	1969
next_title	Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)
next_year	1970
misc	{{Extra album cover
header	UK single cover
type	single
cover	tempts-1970-ball-of-confusion-uk.jpg

| B-side = It's Summer

Norman Whitfield
Barrett Strong | B-side = "Ball of Confusion" (instrumental)
Synth-pop
dance-pop
Norman Whitfield
Barrett Strong
Martyn Ware
Ian Craig Marsh

"Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" is a 1970 hit single by the Temptations. It was released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The lyrics list problems affecting the world, including crime, taxes and drugs, calling them a "ball of confusion." It was part of the group's "psychedelic soul" phase.

The song was used to anchor the Temptations' 1970 Greatest Hits II LP. It reached number 3 on the US pop charts and number 2 on the US R&B charts. Billboard ranked the record as the number 24 song of 1970. It reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.

Although a nearly eleven minute long backing track was recorded by the Funk Brothers, only slightly more than four minutes was used for the Temptations' version of the song. The full backing track can be heard on the 1971 self titled debut album of the Motown group the Undisputed Truth.

Cash Box said of the song that the Temptations came up with "another shocker featuring studio-work voltage and the charge of new-Temps lyric power" and "another electrifying experience".

Personnel

Lead vocals by Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Melvin Franklin
Background vocals by Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams
Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Produced by Norman Whitfield
Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers

In popular culture

Randy Shilts quoted the lyrics from "Ball of Confusion" when he named his award-winning journalistic account of the AIDS epidemic, And the Band Played On. In the song, the repeated usage of the phrase "and the band played on" signaled that no one was paying proper attention to world problems, in the same manner the AIDS epidemic was initially ignored.

The Undisputed Truth's 1971 cover of the song was featured in the trailers for the 2022 film Nope.

It is sung by the nuns in * Back in the Habit*.

"Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" is featured in the Watchmen episode Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship.

Tina Turner version

The song "Ball of Confusion" plays an important part in the career of Tina Turner—if only indirectly. Her recording of the track was included on the 1982 album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One, a tribute by the British Electric Foundation featuring members of the new wave band Heaven 17, Love and Rockets and a number of guest vocalists covering 1960s and 1970s hits, among them Sandie Shaw, Paul Jones, Billy Mackenzie, Paula Yates, Gary Glitter and Duran Duran.

Turner's synth-driven interpretation of "Ball of Confusion" opened the album, was also issued as a single, and became a top five hit in Norway; this led to Capitol Records signing Turner and to Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh recording another 1970s cover with her in late 1983. The track was Al Green's "Let's Stay Together", which became a surprise hit single on both sides of the Atlantic and the starting point of Turner's comeback, with the following 1984 album Private Dancer going multi-platinum in 1984.

Track listing and formats

European 7" single

"Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" – 3:50
"Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (instrumental) – 3:50

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak
position

References

Rolling Stone Staff. (24 May 2023). "Tina Turner: 15 Essential Songs".
Breihan, Tom. (August 31, 2020). "The Number Ones: Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It".
Graff, Gary (August 29, 1988). "The Temptations: Otis tells the group's tale", ''Detroit Free Press''. Online version available from [[Internet Archive]] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20050406060553/http://www.freep.com/motownat40/archives/082888mo.htm]
Whitburn, Joel. (2004). "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004". Record Research.
(December 26, 1970). "Top Records of 1970 {{!}} Top 100 Singles".
"Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)".
(May 23, 1970). "CashBox Record Reviews". Cash Box.
(April 2, 2017). "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) (lyrics by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong)".
Engel, Margaret. "AIDS and Prejudice: One Reporter's Account of the Nation's Response." ''The Washington Post'', December 1, 1987, p. Z10.
"NOPE {{!}} Final Trailer".
Pearis, Bill. (June 9, 2022). "Jordan Peele shares final 'Nope' trailer".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1970-singles 1982-singles american-protest-songs songs-written-by-barrett-strong songs-written-by-norman-whitfield the-temptations-songs gordy-records-singles cashbox-number-one-singles psychedelic-soul-songs song-recordings-produced-by-norman-whitfield 1970-songs tina-turner-songs virgin-records-singles

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