Best Vietnam War Protest Songs – The Temptations “Ball Of Confusion” [VIDEOS]

"Ball Of Confusion" was one of the many songs of Psychedelic/Soul Norman Whitfield wrote /produced for the Temptations between the late '60 and early '70s.

The song attacks the Vietnam War, Nixon's government and drug addiction, making it one of the few if not the only protest records that came from Motown.

Bob Babbitt of the The Funk Brothers Band stated in Mojo Magazine (Feb 2009) : "Norman Whitfield gave the call to me the night before (the session). So I got to the studio the next day, there were a whole load of musicians in there - Uriel Jones, Pistol Allen, Jack Ashford, Eddie Bongo, Earl Van Dyke on clavinet, Johnny Griffith on organ, Joe Messina, Dennis Coffey."

"There was no song, just some musical ideas, some chord patterns but Norman knew what he wanted though, that it was going to be funky. He'd been listening to a lot of Hendrix, Sly & the Family Stone, that's the sound he wanted to make the Motown sound."

"We didn't know it was going to be political, because the lyrics weren't written when the rhythm track was recorded." (Bob Babbitt, Mojo Magazine)

War Protest Songs