The Temptations' "Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today)" was the first Motown pop tune that attempted to address some of what many young people felt about how bad things were under President Nixon, and as early as the fall of 1969. It only went into the top ten, because Motown's main producer and owner, Barry Gordy, wasn't really fond of challenging the political establishment. The above lines are from the second verse of a very uptempo beat tune, but one that is depressing when thinking of what the Temptations and writers, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong were thinking about about the year 1969. (I don't really count 1968's Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Love Child" in this list of songs that were addressing the social ills of the time, but only because it seemed to be mainly about what the woman, Diana Ross, was singing about with in terms of her own relationship with a man -- but of course others might dispute on that issue).

The Temptations' 1972 #1 smash hit, "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" continued the concept of Motown songs of the early 1970's having a social conscious message. This time from the pen of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong it was about a son curious to know from his mother why the father had left him and his mom so early on his life. The song had a very uptempo beat with the lp version at 6:53 being very danceable (as well as the edit of 3:52 being so to), but with message that is kind of depressing about why the kid ended up without his father being there when he was young.