| "The End of Our Road" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byGladys Knight & the Pips | ||||
| from the album Feelin' Bluesy | ||||
| B-side | "Don't Let Her Take Your Love From Me" | |||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1967,Hitsville USA,Detroit | |||
| Genre | R&B,soul | |||
| Length | 2:19 | |||
| Label | Soul | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Rodger Penzabene Norman Whitfield Barrett Strong | |||
| Producer(s) | Norman Whitfield | |||
| Gladys Knight & the Pips singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The End of Our Road" is a single written byRodger Penzabene,Norman Whitfield andBarrett Strong in 1967. First recorded in 1967 byGladys Knight & the Pips, the group's version of the song, released in 1968, became another top forty hit for them as it peaked at number fifteen on the pop singles chart and number five on the R&B singles chart.
As with the last two songs in Penzabene's trilogy forThe Temptations, "I Wish It Would Rain" and "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)", "The End of Our Road" talked about the demise of a couple's relationship. The sentiment behind the song's words, as lyricist Penzabene wrote his songs as personal statements to his wife, was about publicizing his pain of his own marriage falling apart. Unable to handle the extreme pain and hurt caused by this, he wrote the songs, drawing from his real-life heartbreak. After all three songs were completed and recorded, Penzabene committed suicide.
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S.Billboard Hot 100 | 15 |
| U.S.BillboardR&B Singles[1] | 5 |
Much like the minor controversy with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", Whitfield produced a different version of the song withMarvin Gaye. It was first issued as a track on Gaye's 1969 studio album,M.P.G., and then as a single on May 19, 1970. The song peaked at No. 40 on theBillboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. It was the first song counted down on the first show of the syndicated radio countdown programAmerican Top 40 on the weekend of July 4, 1970.[2]
Record World called it "a great vehicle for Marvin Gaye."[3]Cash Box said "The results once more are astounding. The vocal is inflated by production work that is strictly Motown monopoly."[4]
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S.Billboard Hot 100 | 40 |
| U.S.BillboardR&B Singles[5] | 7 |
