Please Return Your Love to Me

{{Infobox song

| name = Please Return Your Love to Me

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = The Temptations

| album = The Temptations Wish It Would Rain

| B-side = How Can I Forget

| released = July 16, 1968

| recorded = Hitsville USA; 1968

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Soul

| length = 2:21

| label = Gordy
G 7074

| writer = Norman Whitfield
Barrett Strong
Barbara Neely

| producer = Norman Whitfield

| prev_title = I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)

| prev_year = 1968

| next_title = Cloud Nine

| next_year = 1968

}}

"Please Return Your Love to Me" is a 1968 hit single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Produced by Norman Whitfield, who co-wrote the song with Barrett Strong and Barbara Neely, it is the last single to feature David Ruffin in the lineup (he is featured in the background). With Eddie Kendricks singing lead (his first as a solo lead vocalist since 1966's "Get Ready"), it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts in the Top 30 at number 26, and number 4 on the Billboard R&B Singles charts.Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. {{ISBN|0-8154-1218-5}}. Billboard described the single as a "strong easy beat ballad loaded with sales appeal."{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard|accessdate=2021-02-22|date=July 27, 1968|page=77|title=Spotlight Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1968/Billboard%201968-07-27.pdf}} Cash Box said that it is "in a slow vein that carries new shades of power in the group’s familiar style" and is "backed by the solid Motown rhythm section."{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=July 27, 1968 |page=32 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1968/CB-1968-07-27.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}}

The B-side, "How Can I Forget", is led by Paul Williams and was allegedly one of the earliest songs recorded by the group after Ruffin's departure. Though "How Can I Forget" was also covered by Marvin Gaye, the Temptations' original did not appear on any album or compilation until 1994's Emperors of Soul box set.

Personnel

Notes