| "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_(album_cover).jpg) | ||||
| Single bythe Temptations | ||||
| from the albumGreatest 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 | |||
| Length | 4:06 | |||
| Label | Gordy – G 7099 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Norman Whitfield | |||
| The Temptations singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| UK single cover | ||||
 | ||||
| "Ball of Confusion" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byB.E.F. featuringTina Turner | ||||
| from the album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One | ||||
| B-side | "Ball of Confusion" (instrumental) | |||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Tina Turner singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" is a 1970 hit single bythe Temptations. It was released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and written byNorman Whitfield andBarrett Strong.
The song was used to anchor the Temptations' 1970Greatest Hits II LP. It reached number 3 on the US pop charts and number 2 on the US R&B charts.[3]Billboard ranked the record as thenumber 24 song of 1970.[4] It reached number 7 on theUK Singles Chart.[5]
Although a nearly eleven minute long backing track was recorded bythe 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 the1971 self titled debut album of the Motown groupthe 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".[6]
Randy Shilts quoted the lyrics from "Ball of Confusion" when he named his award-winning journalistic account of theAIDS 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.[7][8]
A version of the song was performed in the 1993 filmSister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
The song was featured in the opening of the 2008 filmTropic Thunder.
The Undisputed Truth's 1971 cover of the song was featured in the trailers for the 2022 filmNope.[9][10]
The song "Ball of Confusion" plays an important part in the career ofTina Turner—if only indirectly. Her recording of the track was included on the 1982 albumMusic of Quality and Distinction Volume One, a tribute by theBritish Electric Foundation featuring members of thenew wave bandHeaven 17,Love and Rockets and a number of guest vocalists covering 1960s and 1970s hits, among themSandie Shaw,Paul Jones,Billy Mackenzie,Paula Yates,Gary Glitter andDuran 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 toCapitol Records signing Turner and toMartyn Ware andIan Craig Marsh recording another 1970s cover with her in late 1983. The track wasAl 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 albumPrivate Dancer going multi-platinum in 1984.[citation needed]
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norway (VG-lista)[11] | 5 |
...when British New Wave band Heaven 17 invited her to sing on their 1982 hit "Ball of Confusion". It was her first foray into the world of synth pop...
...she sang on the UK production duo BEF's synthy 1982 dance-pop cover of the Temptations' 1970 classic "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)."
