IS THERE a music fan alive who doesn’t immediately recognize “My Girl” from those opening bass notes? There’s pure joy in the music, and the lyrics reflect a universal message of love. No wonder “My Girl,” released in December 1964, remains one of our favorite songs.

For this 60th anniversary, we talked with Otis Williams, 83, the sole remaining original member of the Temptations.

Well, the Temps at the time were performing at a place called the 20 Grand, a noted nightclub in Detroit. Smokey Robinson and his wife, Claudette, came to see us. Smokey was basically, “Man, you guys are something else!” Then he looked at [Temptations singer] David Ruffin and said, “I got a song for you.” And us being young, cocky, said, “Man, bring it on. We can sing anything.”

But when Paul Riser did the string arrangement and the horns, I said, “Oh, this song has taken on a whole other life-form.” I went in the control room and told Smokey, “I don’t know how big a record this is going to become, but this is going to be a big record.”

People can relate to that: a guy that’s in love with a woman. It’s got that relatable kind of message. And “My Girl” has become so loved that even when a father is giving away his daughter, that’s the song they play. Hey, it’s undeniable. —Pamela Mathieson