Whitfield 1940–2008 · Strong 1941–2023 · Motown songwriting and production team
Whitfield produced and Strong wrote lyrics on a run of Motown records that includes “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Just My Imagination” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.” Strong had sung Motown’s first real hit, “Money (That’s What I Want),” in 1960 before moving behind the scenes. The pair wrote “War” in 1969 and Whitfield produced both recordings of it — the Temptations’ album version and Starr’s single. They entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame together in 2004.
Who recorded it
Songs written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong