THIS IS VERY EYE-OPENING!!! THE TEMPTATIONS - BALL OF CONFUSION (REACTION) 

You'd have been better served by listening to the studio version with lyrics, but at least you get the drift of this tune. These guys were just stinking GREAT! Way ahead of their time.

The musicians for the 'the ED SULLIVAN SHOW ' didn't do this song justice, you got to listen to the original studio version with the 'FUNK BROTHERS '(1970). This is a song that should have been released a second time, cause it is still timely. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The song tries to make sense of the chaos and disorder pervading times. At that time you had Melvin Franklin (10/12/1942-2/23/1995),Paul Williams (7/2/1939-8/17/1973),Eddie Kendricks(12/17/1939-10/5/1992),Dennis Edwards (2/3/1943-2/1/2018) and Otis Williams (10/30/1941)

Still relevant today and that has to change. Great song. You have to listen to the studio version, it's better deeper base.

This song addresses the issues that were faced during the 60s. We have our own ball of confusion today. Different issues, same situation.

You are the first to notice this song . The Temps ruled the 1960's soul charts , but as the decade closed , their songs began to address the word from the street . CLOUD NINE is also powerful and thoughtful . Needless to say , many of these problems are still with us .

This is from my generation. The music kept us tight. Nowadays it's all about hate and division.I miss us.

"The Beatles' new record's a gas." I wonder how many people today would know what any of that means. Great song. Similar to Stevie's "Living for the City" and Eric Burden's "War" and Quicksilver's "What About Me?". You should listen to the studio version of this song, so you can hear the words clearly. Great classic. Thanks again.

Civil Rights was going on and this song was a part of that. A very deep song. Segragation was still going on when I was a little girl in many areas but in So Cal, it was more integrated. I still remember my best friend in kindergarden was black. Her name was Sonja. She had the biggest smile. I think I still have my kindergarden class photo. We are standing next to each other. I wish I could post it here. I always wondered if we hadn't moved, would me and Sonja have stayed friends growing up. Moving at 6 years old, you don't think of things like that. I moved around a lot until 3rd grade, then we finally stayed put.

In the early 70's the Temptations sang social consciousness songs. They were way ahead of their times. The great Motown lyricist who wrote this song are Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Other Motown composers and lyricist of their day were such names as Lamont Dozier, Brian and Eddie Holland, Smokey Robinson, and Marvin Gaye wrote some of the great social conscious songs of their day. This song "Ball of Confusion" lets the listener know all the ills in our country and the world during the virulent and revolutionary decade of the 60's. And the coming of age of radical Islam and the coming war that will come from it during the 70's. All lay at the feet of governments throughout the world... "and The Band Played On." As governments watch from afar and did very little to stop the madness that was going on during those times.

These guys were one of the best! They didn't think Eddie could pull this off, but he showed them the great singer that he truly is. This song is very deep, it will always hold true till the end of time. They had many hits, how about psychedelic shack! That will blow you away. Thank you for your time on this song.

I have to laugh when you say, "Maybe segregation was going on back then." Yes, the movement for equality, for peace, for changing the narrative was going hard throughout the 60's. The studio version is much better because you can really hear the Temptations. The beautiful thing about those times, blacks, whites and everyone else could love and enjoy the music. We had changes going on everyday and music was the backbone of our times. And that music can hold up today.

Sweet! 1970. Nice to see them perform this live, but there's nothing quite like the way the chorus lands for the first time on the studio version of this song, with the drums slowly building alongside that driving bass to a crescendo accented with a powerful symbol splash, a horn flourish, and the vibrato of all five of their voices wavering over the syllables of the word confusion. Killer! Then the funky pulse really takes over. The song gets categorized as psychedelic soul, but funky is what it is! Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong wrote this song. They also wrote "Money (That's What I Want)", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "War", "Smiling Faces Sometimes", "Cloud Nine", "I Can't Get Next to You", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" along with many others.

You've reacted to The Temptations a few times now. Would please react to The Four Tops "Reach Out". These two groups were around at the same time. Both FABULOUS groups, with tons of hits.

This song captures the psychedelic sounds that happened in 1968-69.

The original recorded studio version of this is 🔥 fire. You think the world seems crazy today ? There was a major war going on in Viet Nam, civil rights and war protests and assassinations going on and the worst environmental pollution happening among all the other stuff we were dealing with. The one of the best things, and a bit of escape, was the great music of the time. Hopefully we can survive these times as we did those of the past.

so much fun watching you both hear this music for the first time. It is still so relevant today.

I originally had a big paragraph to post and decided to trim it to what follows. That is exactly what was going on during that time and I grew up in that era. It was a ball of confusion.

Please go back and listen to the studio version! This was good but the studio is FUNKALISCIOUS with pounding bass that really gets the blood flowing!!! Prayers for Mama, Shawn 🙏🏼🙏🏼

SAME today!!!!! Marvin Gaye had a song called Inner City Blues and Mercy Mercy Me- gotta hear those to.

Second singer and doin most of the singin is the greatest soul voice Mr Dennis Edwards RIP LEGEND....This was a rocker of a track back then ....check out the other great Marvin Gaye "What's Goin On" class ...

I love the Temptations "social Injustice" period. So good. Give a reaction to "Wake Up Everybody" by Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes. It falls along the same subject line

A thank you guys 👍 Been asking for this one for awhile now. It’s crazy when a song mainly covering social issues can hold up as relevant 50 years on 🤯

STUDIO VERSION OF THIS CLASSIC AND STUDIO VERSION OF "AIN'T NO WAY" by ARETHA FRANKLIN!!!!

My Mum's favorite band. And she still listened up until she passed, aged 90. Love from London. Jan 🧡

I am 67 years old and still know all the words to this song.

The great Dennis Edwards on lead vocals. Dennis took over when David Ruffin was removed from the group...awesome singer. Others in this lineup are Eddie Kendricks, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams - sadly only Otis survives.

We done been thru these times we are having now. We lived without gas in the 1970s. We all got along until the government got involved in it. I was born in the 1950s and we already been thru this.

Most of the songs from back then was a reflection on what was happening during the times if you really listen to the lyrics the words the emotion you'll get it I grew up through that everybody experienced it back then

This is a great song, sounds a lot better with the studio version

This was one of my favorite songs by The Temptations I was about 13 years old when I heard this song and I'm not a young man love the reaction

Loved this song the first time I heard it ! Came out when I was a kid but really got the meaning in my mid teens . Great song .

groupe incroyable des chanteurs exceptionnel j'adore

Hi Shawn and Mel hope you are having a nice day! Thank you for playing the Temptations, they are one of my favorite groups. Next time you do a Temptations song, I would like to request "Treat Her Like a Lady" . I think you will really like it a lot. :)

"Ball of confusion" Nothing has changed! Thank you for this video. I love the Temptations. Prayers up for your Mother Shawn.🙏 Please react to Paul William's solo of the song " For once in my life" It will touch your soul!

The "struggle" has been on-going for a VERY very long time. This tune is nearly 50 years old! And is still cutting edge. These brothers were absolutely ON FIRE and smokin hot for a very long time even before these types of classics hit the airwaves! Many of the tunes from this era were created to help wake people the F**K up and draw attention to many of the concerns and issues of the time. Still going strong and VERY relevant even today, in some ways, even more so as our government has only gotten MUCH worse since then! Younger people such as yourselves need to embrace and become familiar with the music from back then. It will serve you well! Just like it did for those of us who knew it when it was new!

"Meet the New Boss the same as the Old Boss?" History always repeats itself.... listen to the song and relate to today... and what year was that song written? Those who refuse to study history are doomed to relive it.

This song was HUGE when it hit the airwaves. High school kids were asking each other, "Have you heard 'Ball of Confusion'??" Very relevant - with the expert touch of the great Temptations.

This is called "Psychedelic Soul".

This is so relevant to today... not much has changed since this song came out..

Truly a whole band that had it all singing , one-of-a-kind songs and great prefromers.

another eye opening song by the Temptations is POWER!

I post this song every year because when you hear the lyrics, today, it's the same saw from the 1970's period and every decade since! I'm glad you got a taste of my time when I was just a young teen-ager... some sh!t never changes!

The ball of confusion is the earth. The song came out in 1970.

Temptations for Life !!

you can't beat a bit of temptations.

It still applies today. The more things change, the more it remains same.

The sad thing is many of these situations still exist. We're stilll in a 'Ball of Confusion'. The cool thing about music in the 60's and 70's is that people sang about these things for realization. Now so many artists sing to get you to escape instead of empowerment of the mind and soul. That's why BTS is so popular-they song for healing. 👍🏾👵🏿🎶💜

My Favorite Song. So much Power!

Great reaction, Shawn and Mel. You picked up on this so quickly. The message rings true even today in so many ways. Keep up the great work. I love watching.

This was one of the iconic songs that defined the Viet Nam/Hippy era. It's brilliant & timeless.

Love and prayers to your Mom Shawn. 🙏🙏🙏

❤️🙏🏼 🙏🏼🙏🏼 PRAYERS, PEACE, LOVE, COMFORT AND HEALING FOR YOUR MOM, SHAWN, 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️ 💕 With all my love always ~ Laura 💕 ❤️ 🥰❤️ S and M HIT SQUAD IS THE BEST!!! ❤️🥰❤️

One of the greatest groups ever! Everyone should post this on their social media because you're right this is our reality today

This song is aa perfect example of the knowledge of the meek and humble man, they have had open eyes all along , they mention it is a cycle , it is, but we know what happens at the end, the cycle gets broken and only the meek and humble remain , This song is special forever.

THIS was SOUL. The wimpy singers today don’t even come close - this was message music - and I felt it’s power even as a kid.

They do a shout-out in one phrase, "eve of destruction" which refers to a song by Barry McQuire that is a necessary part of anti-war protest discography, here it is in high quality with lyrics. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aT4VOykMrMc.html

My all-time favorite Temptations song

Thank you for that one guys...Took me right back to High School...Cutting class...riding in the back of the bus me and the boys just singing this song out loud...These kids think they have it so bad these days...they wouldn't last a day in the South Bronx in those days. Thank God we had the Temtations, Marvin Gaye, Smokey and so many guiding us and keeping us educated about things that were hidden...They were our Candace Owens, Dinesh D'Souza, Charlie Kirk and many more who are leading the Political unveiling that is going on today.

My favorite song as a teeager , living through those times.

Another excellent reaction

The 70’s reflect what is going on right now. It was a very hard time!

I of course heard this on the radio back in the day. Had I know the future I would have realized this was RAP!! Love this one. Glad y'all reacted to it. Y'all be safe.

Almost TOO good! I used to love this song, and the Temptations, who were one of the most socially conscious of all the groups out there. Thank you!

I told my son the difference between the music that he grew up on. Which is the 2000 - present and the music I music up on which was in 60's - 70's. I informed him that the songs were relevant then now and will be relevant in the future.

It is really freaky how relevant this song is today.

The lyrics to this song could relate to today just like it did then. The 60's were traumatic with all the assassinations and the war. And we're still on this ball of confusion! Some things never change!

This was at the beginning of their dive into the political aspect of music, the 1970s. There is so much more! I always looked at the ball they are singing about as being the earth. This song is totally relevant today, with the exception of the phrase, “The Beatles new records a gas”.

A lot of memories connected to these times... Cutting School singing this song on the bus with my boys... Life has changed a lot since those days. My generation fought real hard to get to where we are now. Today racism is more victimhood. This was the original lineup of The temptations. The only difference was David Ruffin was not lead singer. This was a Master class of massive talent and sheer determination. These guys were beautiful through and through.

I REMEMBER WHEN THIS CAME OUT, WE WERE ALL SINGING IT, STILL TRUE TODAY

Epic song...civil rights, birth of feminism, abortion, Viet Nam, drugs and "free Love"....72 yrs and The Temptations were prescient in these lyrics...the question to be asked is this: How much larger has that "Ball Of Confusion" grown in 50 years?

This song is just as relevant today as it was when it was written 50 years ago.

You are listening to the best that ever did it and don't forget it

Monster hit back in the day! Bought this 45 the day it came out, still have it!

Yeah you need to listen to the original recording it's still relevant today one of my favorite groups of all time Keep On Keepin On y'all peace out!

I really like watching both of you!!

The Temptations Are The Best 💯

Cool, Song still applies today, 2022 and in 2023 🥰

Yeah, so deep. Thank you.

Talk about a message-give a listen to their RUNAWAY CHILD., RUNNING WILD. It’s a must listen to!! 👍🏻

If the politicians had their way it will go on forever. That’s how they hold their power. Love you guys

Change the words referring to the Beatles for a current group & this Temptations social conscience song message is still relevant today . I also reckon Dennis is preforming what you could term as a rap in parts of this song . This is the period when the late great Norman Whitfield & Dennis Edwards put some funk into the Temptations & the age of psychedelic soul ,or progressive soul as I called it at the time . Paul Williams suffered from Sickle cell disease at a time when there wasn’t any real help for it . He was sadly found dead from gunshot wound in 1973 ,it was listed as suicide ,but some are not fully convinced & believe it was homicide . When David was fired from the Temps around 1968 ,Paul took over the lead on live performances of My girl & did an excellent job until he was replaced by Richard Street on a permanent basis around 1971 or 2 .

Check out Temptations two songs, "Runaway Child Running Wild, and Cloud Nine."

Relevant song now as it was back then. If you love "Ball of Confusion ", you should listen to The Temptations' "Smiling faces, sometimes ", you'll LOVE it!🎶🎵🎵🎶

Great group had alot of hits..

Maybe the best Motown song ever, and my personal favorite.

Cedric R. Choice of Colors. Song by the Impressions. This song was written by Curtis Mayfield in 1969 for the Impressions. The song is about civil rights and takes a very bold stance! He have other songs similar to this one like Moving on up,and Keep on Pushing. Take a listen u two beautiful people.

Yesss! This is my favourite temptations song, although a different version to what I'm used to hearing, from my Motown giants album. I think you would enjoy that whole mixed album, with Stevie Wonder's signed sealed delivered, Diana Ross with ain't no mountain high enough, Smokey Robinson & the miracles' tears of a clown and two of my personal faves, war by Edwin Starr and still water by the four tops. 🥰💞😍😎 P.S. Every generation eventually wakes up to it, but many choose to pretend it's not happening.

The World Is A Ghetto by War is great. You will not be disappointed.

This song came out in 1970. Vietnam war, the draft, segregated schools and neighborhoods, politicians saying anything to get your vote, poverty, etc. The lyrics bring it all back. Check out Tracy Chapman as well.

Okay at this time there were two groups of Temptation due to some internal conflicts and what was funny is one week a Temptation Group would be on Soul Train, then the next time you saw them it was an entirely different group of 5 guys.... LOL But Both Groups could sing the same songs flawlessly!

For me this is the best era of the Temptations. Their best album was Masterpiece.

The group, at that time, was Dennis Edwards (who replaced David Ruffin); Eddie Kendricks (Who also left the group); Paul Williams; (Very underrated) Melvin Franklin (One of the best bass voices ever) & Otis Williams (A steading influence).

The great Eddie Kendricks RIP was lead on the high notes! Vietnam war era! 70's guys!

This was a great line-up--Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams (Rick Jame's cousin)

The GREAT TEMPTATIONS!!!!! 😎👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

We were headed in the right direction for a while and music brought us together, but the haters in this world took over and brainwashed people into believing that hate was the way to go.

Can't go wrong with The Tempts!

Everything they said is TRUE. Politicians say "more taxes will solve everything". And people believe it. Its a crock!

I'm glad some new people are beginning to understand I was a sophomore when that came out

We were once saddled with a ridiculously convoluted and complex computer program at work, which was - of course - mandatory. I passed by a co-worker's desk and noticed he had named the new icon 'Ball of Confusion.' The nickname was quickly adopted floor-wide, and they removed the program a few weeks later. Please listen to '20th Century' either by the composer, Steve Goodman, or the 80s country supergroup 'The Highwaymen.'