One of the truly unsung MOTOWN heroes is BARRETT;I love NORMAN,but BARRETT is always left out of many discussions;So...how did he interplay w/ RE,if at all?We always hear about the NORMAN sessions,did BARRETT have any influenced on those recordings?
Good question. My understanding is that Barrett was the lyricist, in which case his contribution to the likes of Ball of Confusion and Papa was massive. Wasn't he also credited as having the first motown hit with the much covered Money (That's What I Want)?
Without knowing very well their work, there is a clue that helps to think that Barrett Strong was the lyricist in the Whitfield-Strong team. When the two men went separate ways and when Whitfield left Motown galaxy to found Whitfield Records in 1975, producing there The Undisputed Truth or Rose Royce, lyrics were no more 'magical' without Barret Strong.
