Rodger Penzabene

{{Short description|Songwriter/Lyricist}}

{{more citations needed|date=August 2014}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Rodger Penzabene

| background = non_performing_personnel

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = 1945

| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date|1967|12|31}} (age 22)

| death_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

| genre = Soul music

| occupation = Lyricist

| years_active = 1966–1967

| other_names =

| known_for =

}}

Rodger L. Penzabene (1945 – December 31, 1967) was an American songwriter for the Motown label. Among his most notable compositions as a lyricist are "Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me" by Gladys Knight & the Pips; "The End of Our Road" by Gladys Knight & the Pips and Marvin Gaye; and a trilogy of hits for The Temptations: "You're My Everything", "I Wish It Would Rain", and "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)".

Penzabene was of Sicilian and Irish descent.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} He attended Mumford High School in Detroit, Michigan. He was a childhood friend and neighbor of Cornelius Grant, with whom he wrote "You're My Everything". After Grant became musical director for the Temptations, Penzabene continued to contribute songs for the group, as well as The Isley Brothers and other Motown groups.{{Cite web |title=Roger Penzabene |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/626894-Roger-Penzabene |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Discogs |language=en}}{{Citation |title=Save Me From This Misery |url=https://www.pandora.com/artist/the-isley-brothers/soul-on-the-rocks/save-me-from-this-misery/TRx5zxvhnJ5X3bw |access-date=2023-03-27 |language=en}}

The mournful songs "I Wish It Would Rain" and "I Could Never Love Another" reportedly drew from Penzabene's real-life pain and suffering. Otis Williams wrote that: "We liked Roger{{Sic}} a lot. He was young, nice-looking, but kind of quiet and reserved, and very humble. The inspiration for these great songs was his unhappy personal life."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KMJo37QXc7gC&dq=%22roger+penzabene%22&pg=PA116|title=Temptations|first1=Otis|last1=Williams|first2=Patricia Romanowski|last2=Bashe|year=2002|isbn= 9780815412182|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|pages=118–119}}

On New Year's Eve 1967, a week after the release of "I Wish It Would Rain", Penzabene committed suicide by gunshot at the age of 22.{{Cite news |date=2009-01-15 |title=Death, drugs tarnish Motown's legacy |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-motown-idUSTRE50E7KP20090115 |access-date=2023-03-27}}