Since its premiere in October 1972, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" remains one of the highest-performing singles in the Temptations' catalog — and one of Motown's timeless classics. The song quickly rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the end of 1972, and snagged the group two GRAMMY wins at the 1973 GRAMMYs.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, Motown legend Smokey Robinson takes the stage to accept the Temptations' award for Best Duo/Group R&B Vocal Performance at the 15th GRAMMY Awards. Robinson was a longtime collaborator of the group, writing some of their most notable hits, including "My Girl," "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "Get Ready."

"I would like to say it's a great pleasure for me to come and accept this award for the Temptations, who have always been fantastic and are doing special, fantastic things," Robinson praised, alluding to their "musical marriage" to songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield.

Press play on the video above to watch Smokey Robinson accept the Temptations' golden gramophone for "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" at the 1973 GRAMMYs, and keep checking back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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Motown legend Martha Reeves had quite a day.

On March 27, the 82-year-old singer finally got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Flanked by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Berry Gordy, Reeves donned a pearl and gold strapless gown with a show-stopping hat for the celebration. That evening, Reeves was the star of a conversation at the GRAMMY Museum in downtown Los Angeles.

Reeves was definitely riding high that night. "I’m gonna try to calm down. I’ve been excited all day," Reeves told moderator Gail Mitchell, longtime Billboard Executive Director of R&B and Hip-Hop. 

Born in Alabama but raised in the Motor City, Martha Reeves was the lead singer of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The Motown girl group is responsible for 1960s and 1970s classics such as "Dancing in the Street," "My Baby Loves Me," "Jimmy Mack," "Nowhere to Run," "(Love is Like a ) Heatwave," and "Bless You." Following her time at Motown, Reeves went on to have a solo career and was even an elected councilwoman in Detroit. The GRAMMY-nominated artist was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. 

Throughout the evening, the Motown diva — now in a lavish purple and silver top — had the audience at the Museum's Clive Davis Theater singing along to her classics, laughing as she strolled down Motown memory lane, and even tearing up as she got personal.  She even teased that she might have a new album in store.

Read on for five things we learned from Martha Reeves' free-flowing, laugh-filled conversation at the GRAMMY Museum. 

She Had To Fight To Get Her Hollywood Star 

Reeves crossed paths with many legendary names over the course of her career. But one of the first people she shouted out wasn’t a star, but her manager Chris Roe. "He’s brought me a long way in just a couple of years." Reeves said of the industry veteran. During the Q&A segment of her conversation, Reeves even brought Roe on stage. 

Her gratitude makes sense for a number of reasons. Reeves was first nominated for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021 but the process stagnated, Roe said, because of representation that wasn’t truly in Motown singer’s corner. Reeves' management at the time, Roe noted, was treating the soul icon like a shiny trophy rather than an active musician.

The two first met when Roe was in Detroit on business; a year later Roe went all in to raise money and make her Walk of Fame star dream a reality. Onstage at the Museum, Reeves recalled walking down Hollywood Boulevard with her son in the 1970s (Reeves moved to L.A. for a time when Motown relocated to Southern California), reading the names of the stars. Her young son said Reeves should have her own marker, and his poignant memory was finally brought to fruition.

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"How did Berry Gordy manage to get all of those people in one place? It was like corralling in a Western," Reeves said of Motown's incredible roster of talent in the '60s. 

She added that, never in her wildest dreams, did she think she would soar so high alongside musical geniuses like Smokey Robinson and songwriting/production team Holland-Dozier-Holland (who arranged songs for the likes of the Four Tops and the Supremes during a piping-hot run during the mid-1960s). 

Occasionally, instead of answering questions, Reeves would burst into song. "I can’t describe it," Reeves said at one point while describing Motown's musical resonance. "But I can make you feel it." 

Reeves noted that it was tough to think of one particular moment that wasn’t exciting or that paved the way for future success. She calls everything an "adventure or a challenge." 

She did say that her first tour was grueling, consisting of 94 one-nighters and only one motel chain who would allow Black guests.

She Learned A Lot While On Tour With Motown

Reeves went from playfully talking about how "fine" Marvin Gaye was and being around different kinds of artists on cross-country Motortown Revue bus trips, to more serious topics like the integration of Black music during the turbulent 1960s. 

She recalled a particularly harrowing moment when the Revue arrived in Montgomery, Alabama in 1963 when the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, the Miracles, the Temptations, and others were performing for a segregated audience in a horse-training arena with American and Confederate flags. While Smokey Robinson and the Miracles performed "Mickey’s Monkey," men with baseball bats separated the audience — Black on one side, white on the other. 

But Robinson stepped to the microphone and challenged convention. He just wanted to make sure that everyone just had a good time and could dance. "We’ve come a long way. Music is the reason," Reeves told the audience. 

She Remembers Her Solo Work Fondly, Too

After Reeves and the Vandellas disbanded and Reeves left Motown, she released her eponymous debut solo album in 1974 on MCA Records. Producer Richard Perry came in to work on the album with her, resulting in many hits. 

Reeves spoke a lot about one track, "Many Rivers to Cross," which involved 110 takes and a 40-piece choir. "He was that diligent in getting the sound he wanted. [A] very profound producer," Reeves said of Perry. Reeves said she's very proud of "Dixie Highway," an ode to Reeves’s Alabama root. 

Reeves said that her mother and father — who had 11 children — taught her "everything" and that she was a very loved child. In fact, her parents fostered her musical talents from an early age, her mother helping with her singing and her father putting her on his lap as he played guitar. 

Reeves Gave Her Hometown Love, And They Gave It Back

Reeves served as an elected councilwoman in Detroit from 2005 to 2009. "You have to be careful what you ask for," Reeves said with a laugh about her time in politics. She calls the whole experience "an education." 

Because of Reeves’s efforts in local politics, Detroit is home to Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard, the street on which, fittingly, the Motown Museum is located. 

Some of her fans and friends from Detroit made it all the way to the GRAMMY Museum for the event, donning Martha Reeves shirts and carrying Vandellas records. Several times, Reeves shouted out a friend who is a dance teacher. "I love you so for being here." 

Some of the most moving moments of Martha Reeves' conversation came during the audience Q&A session. One member of the audience recalled meeting Reeves in New York shortly after his mother — a longtime fan of Reeves' — passed away; he shared the comfort his conversation with the singer brought him while grieving. Another attendee said he was a Detroit radio DJ and once received a ride home with Reeves; and yet another member of the audience spoke passionately about seeing the Motown Revue as a young man, and how the event was one of his first experiences in a desegregated scenario. 

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In 2020, Megan Thee Stallion solidified herself as one of rap's most promising new stars, thanks to her hit single "Savage." Not only was it her first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, but the "sassy, moody, nasty" single also helped Megan win three GRAMMYs in 2021.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit the sentimental moment the Houston "Hottie" accepted one of those golden gramophones, for Best New Artist.

"I don't want to cry," Megan Thee Stallion said after a speechless moment at the microphone. Before starting her praises, she gave a round of applause to her fellow nominees in the category, who she called "amazing."

Along with thanking God, she also acknowledged her manager, T. Farris, for "always being with me, being by my side"; her record label, 300 Entertainment, for "always believing in me, sticking by through my craziness"; and her mother, who "always believed I could do it."

Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage" remix with Beyoncé also helped her win Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance that night — marking the first wins in the category by a female lead rapper.

Press play on the video above to watch Megan Thee Stallion's complete acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the 2021 GRAMMY Awards, and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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Amongst Beyoncé's expansive catalog, "Halo" is easily one of her most iconic songs. Today, the 2009 single is her most-streamed song on Spotify; it was her first video to reach one billion views on YouTube; and it helped her set one of her GRAMMY records in 2010.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch the superstar take the stage to accept Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Halo" in 2010 — the year she became the first female artist to win six GRAMMYs in one night.

"This has been such an amazing night for me, and I'd love to thank the GRAMMYs," she said, admitting she was nervous before taking a deep breath.

Before leaving the stage, Beyoncé took a second to thank two more special groups: "I'd love to thank my family for all of their support, including my husband. I love you. And I'd like to thank all of my fans for their support over the years."

The five other awards Beyoncé took home that night were for the coveted Song Of The Year ("Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)") and four R&B Categories: Best Contemporary R&B Album (I Am... Sasha Fierce), Best R&B Song ("Single Ladies"), Best Female R&B Vocal Performance ("Single Ladies"), and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (for her cover of Etta James' "At Last"). 

As of 2024, Beyoncé has won the most GRAMMY Awards in history with 32 wins.

Press play on the video above to relive Queen Bey's "Halo" win for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

With Hasten Down the Wind, Linda Ronstadt became the first female artist with three million-selling albums in a row — and furthered her legacy as one of the pioneers of women in rock music.

The album also helped Ronstadt snag her second GRAMMY, as it won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1977. (The year prior, she took home Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her cover of Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You).")

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, relive the moment Linda Ronstadt won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Hasten Down the Wind in 1977.

Ronstadt kept her acceptance speech short and sweet: "I'd especially like to thank Peter Asher," the producer of the pop rock LP. "Thank you," she added with a smile.

To date, Ronstadt has won 11 GRAMMYs and received 27 nominations. In 2011 and 2016, respectively, she received a Latin GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award and a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award.

Press play on the video above to watch Linda Ronstadt take the stage to accept Best Pop Vocal Performance at the 19th Annual GRAMMY Awards and remember to keep checking back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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