View source for Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)

{{Short description|1970 song by The Temptations}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)
| cover      = Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) (album cover).jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[the Temptations]]
| album      = [[Greatest Hits II (The Temptations album)|Greatest Hits II]]
| B-side     = It's Summer
| released   = May 7, 1970
| recorded   = April 12 and 14, 1970
| studio     = [[Hitsville U.S.A.]] (Studio A), [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]]
| genre      = [[Psychedelic soul]]
| length     = 4:06
| label      = [[Motown Records|Gordy]] – G 7099
| writer     =
* [[Norman Whitfield]]
* [[Barrett Strong]]
| producer   = Norman Whitfield
| prev_title = [[Psychedelic Shack (song)|Psychedelic Shack]]
| prev_year  = 1969
| next_title = Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)
| next_year  = 1970
| misc       = {{Extra album cover
| header  = UK single cover
| type    = single
| cover   = tempts-1970-ball-of-confusion-uk.jpg
| border  =
| alt     =
| caption =
}}
}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Ball of Confusion
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[British Electric Foundation|B.E.F.]] featuring [[Tina Turner]]
| album      = Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One
| B-side     = "Ball of Confusion" (instrumental)
| released   = 1982
| recorded   = 1982
| studio     =
| genre      =
* [[Synth-pop]]<ref name= "Rolling Stone Staff 2023">{{cite magazine|last=Rolling Stone Staff|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/tina-turner-best-songs-1234741225/a-fool-in-love-1960-1234741295/|title=Tina Turner: 15 Essential Songs|magazine=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]|date=24 May 2023|access-date=24 May 2023|quote= ...when British New Wave band Heaven 17 invited her to sing on their 1982 hit "Ball of Confusion". It was her first foray into the world of synth pop...}}</ref>
* [[dance-pop]]<ref name= "Breihan 2020">{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It|website= [[Stereogum]] |date= August 31, 2020 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2096436/the-number-ones-tina-turners-whats-love-got-to-do-with-it/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= ...she sang on the UK production duo BEF's synthy 1982 dance-pop cover of the Temptations' 1970 classic "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)."|access-date= July 29, 2023}}</ref>
| length     = 3:50
| label      = [[Virgin Records|Virgin]]
| writer     =
* [[Norman Whitfield]]
* [[Barrett Strong]]
| producer   =
* [[Martyn Ware]]
* [[Ian Craig Marsh]]
| chronology = [[Tina Turner]]
| prev_title = Music Keeps Me Dancin'
| prev_year  = 1979
| next_title = [[Let's Stay Together (Al Green song)#Tina Turner version|Let's Stay Together]]
| next_year  = 1983
}}
"'''Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)'''" is a 1970 hit single by [[the Temptations]]. It was released on the Gordy ([[Motown Records|Motown]]) label, and written by [[Norman Whitfield]] and [[Barrett Strong]].
The song was used to anchor the Temptations' 1970 ''[[Greatest Hits II (The Temptations album)|Greatest Hits II]]'' LP. It reached number 3 on the US pop charts and number 2 on the US R&B charts.<ref>{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=571}}</ref> ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970|number 24 song of 1970]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Top Records of 1970 {{!}} Top 100 Singles |page=58 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=December 26, 1970 |volume=82 |issue=52 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1970/Billboard-1970-12-26.pdf |access-date=February 21, 2022}}</ref> It reached number 7 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/ball-of-confusion-(that's-what-the-world-is-today)/|website=Official Charts|access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref>
Although a nearly eleven minute long backing track was recorded by [[the Funk Brothers]], only slightly more than four minutes was used for the Temptations' version of the song. The full backing track can be heard on the [[The Undisputed Truth (The Undisputed Truth album)|1971 self titled debut album]] of the Motown group [[the Undisputed Truth]].
''[[Cash Box]]'' said of the song that the Temptations came up with "another shocker featuring studio-work voltage and the charge of new-Temps lyric power" and "another electrifying experience".<ref>{{cite news |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=May 23, 1970 |page=34 |access-date=December 9, 2021 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1970/CB-1970-05-23.pdf |newspaper=Cash Box}}</ref>
==Personnel==
* Lead vocals by [[Dennis Edwards]], [[Eddie Kendricks]], [[Paul Williams (The Temptations)|Paul Williams]], and [[Melvin Franklin]]
* Background vocals by Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and [[Otis Williams]]
* Written by [[Norman Whitfield]] and [[Barrett Strong]]
* Produced by Norman Whitfield
* Instrumentation by [[the Funk Brothers]]
==In popular culture==
[[Randy Shilts]] quoted the lyrics from "Ball of Confusion" when he named his award-winning journalistic account of the [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] epidemic, ''[[And the Band Played On]]''. In the song, the repeated usage of the phrase "and the band played on" signaled that no one was paying proper attention to world problems, in the same manner the AIDS epidemic was initially ignored.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genius.com/The-temptations-ball-of-confusion-thats-what-the-world-is-today-lyrics |title=Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) (lyrics by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong) |website=Genius.com |date=April 2, 2017}}</ref><ref name="engel">Engel, Margaret. "AIDS and Prejudice: One Reporter's Account of the Nation's Response." ''The Washington Post'', December 1, 1987, p. Z10.</ref>
A version of the song was performed in the 1993 film ''[[Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit]]''.
The song was featured in the opening of the 2008 film [[Tropic Thunder]].
[[The Undisputed Truth]]'s 1971 cover of the song was featured in the trailers for the 2022 film ''[[Nope (film)|Nope]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title=NOPE {{!}} Final Trailer |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUgmq_8PlRY |language=en |access-date=June 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearis |first=Bill|title=Jordan Peele shares final 'Nope' trailer |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/jordan-peele-shares-final-nope-trailer/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |website=BrooklynVegan |date=June 9, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
==Tina Turner version==
The song "Ball of Confusion" plays an important part in the career of [[Tina Turner]]—if only indirectly. Her recording of the track was included on the 1982 album ''Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One'', a tribute by the [[British Electric Foundation]] featuring members of the [[New wave music|new wave]] band [[Heaven 17]], [[Love and Rockets (band)|Love and Rockets]] and a number of guest vocalists covering 1960s and 1970s hits, among them [[Sandie Shaw]], [[Paul Jones (singer)|Paul Jones]], [[Billy Mackenzie]], [[Paula Yates]], [[Gary Glitter]] and [[Duran Duran]].
Turner's synth-driven interpretation of "Ball of Confusion" opened the album, was also issued as a single, and became a top five hit in Norway; this led to [[Capitol Records]] signing Turner and to [[Martyn Ware]] and [[Ian Craig Marsh]] recording another 1970s cover with her in late 1983. The track was [[Al Green]]'s "[[Let's Stay Together (Al Green song)|Let's Stay Together]]", which became a surprise hit single on both sides of the Atlantic and the starting point of Turner's comeback, with the following 1984 album ''[[Private Dancer]]'' going multi-platinum in 1984.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}
===Track listing and formats===
*'''European 7" single'''
#"Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" – 3:50
#"Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (instrumental) – 3:50
===Charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Chart performance for "Ball of Confusion" by B.E.F.
! scope="col"| Chart (1982)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Norway|5|artist=B.E.F. feat. Tina Turner|song=Ball of Confusion|rowheader=true|access-date=June 30, 2022}}
|}
==See also==
* [[List of anti-war songs]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://secondhandsongs.com/work/10750/versions List of cover versions of "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)"] at SecondHandSongs.com
{{The Temptations}}
{{The Temptations singles}}
{{Tina Turner singles}}
{{Love and Rockets (band)}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1970 singles]]
[[Category:1982 singles]]
[[Category:Protest songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Barrett Strong]]
[[Category:Songs written by Norman Whitfield]]
[[Category:The Temptations songs]]
[[Category:Gordy Records singles]]
[[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]]
[[Category:Psychedelic soul songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield]]
[[Category:1970 songs]]
[[Category:Tina Turner songs]]
[[Category:Virgin Records singles]]
[[Category:Monster Magnet songs]]