“Serenade of Temptation” meets fans with “My Girl” in Game 5 of NLCS

Otis Williams confessed.

When asked if he was a baseball fan, the 82-year-old founder of The Temptations coughed and said in a deep, sing-song voice: “The Dodgers.”

Sixty years after its premiere, The Temptations’ “My Girl” has been playing at Citi Field since late May, when it featured New York Mets star Francisco Lindor as his striptease. All the rage. Even as Lindor’s set began, fans continued to sing the lyrics.

The Temptations detoured to New York on a day off from their tour to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “My Girl” before the Mets defeated Los Angeles 12-6 on Friday night (October 18) to finish 3-2 The game is in the NL Championship Series.

“That’s the highest compliment you can get,” Williams said in the dugout 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 vocal excellence, with Lindor Then watch and sing along from the foul line behind first base.

They then donned Mets jerseys and sang “My Girl” to the accompaniment of music from the sound system, while Lindor warmed up by sprinting on the outfield grass, smiling broadly and shaking his head. Eventually he arrived in the dugout and had a special pre-match handshake with teammate Piet Alonso.

“Most players pick a jam song just because that’s how they’re feeling at the time, but they also want fans to feel the vibe of the song,” Lindo said. “Whenever you see the whole crowd getting involved, I think that’s cool.”

“My Girl” was released on December 21, 1964. It became the band’s first number one single in March of the following year and has been played 1 billion times on Spotify. Williams clearly recognized the song’s impact during a 1965 concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

“We went on stage and played without ‘My Girl.’ They called us pretty much every name except Children of God,” he said. “So we knew we could never, ever take that song out. Lose.

Lindor chose this song because of his wife Katia and daughters Kalina and Amapola. He hadn’t expected such a reaction.

“I changed the song every day last year,” he said. “I changed it because that was the song I was listening to and it started to hit. I don’t know if it was because I started hitting or because we started winning or because it was a good song.

“My Girl” was created and produced by Smokey Robinson and Ronnie White.

“Smokey saw us playing at a place in Detroit called the 20 Grand, and he said, ‘I got a song for you,’ and he pointed to Davey Ruffin,” Williams said He recalled that he was referring to a lead singer of a band in the 1960s.

“So we went into the studio, put the sound down, and I said, ‘Smokey’s got another great song for us.'” But when Paul Riser edited the strings and French horns, I said, “Oh , oh, this is a different kind of song.” So I walked into the control room. I said, ‘Smokey, I don’t know how big of a record this is going to be, but it’s going to be a big deal.

A few months after the album’s release, Williams said he received congratulatory messages from The Supremes and The Beatles, proudly declaring: “I have this in my house.”

The Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for songs such as “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.” They were ranked No. 1 14 times and in the top 10 42 times.

Sujata Murthy, executive vice president of media and artist relations at Universal Music Enterprises, noticed Lindor’s use of the song and contacted the Mets. The band played a concert in Mount Pleasant, Miss., last weekend and is heading to New York before performing in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Durham, N.C., this weekend.

Williams, who would have turned 83 on October 30, was the band’s last original member. He has no intention of retiring.

“I tell people I’m going to ride,” he said. “When I dismount, he goes bald. When you ride a bald horse, you ride a lot.

Williams grew up in Detroit, but the Motown baseball team didn’t get his allegiance.

“Tiger is talking nonsense,” he said. “But now the Lions, they’re committed. They see hope. I love the Lions. Even though I’m in Los Angeles, I’m still a Detroiter at heart.