# 60 years ago, The Temptations surprised the world with ‘Beauty Is Only Skin Deep’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/60-years-ago-the-temptations-surprised-the-world-with-beauty-is-only-skin-deep/
- Published: 2026-08-04T09:00:37+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-04T09:13:36+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/60-years-the-temptations-beauty-is-only-skin-deep/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- The Temptations released "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" 60 years ago, in 1966.
- The song surprised listeners with its unconventional themes for the era.
- It highlighted The Temptations' and Motown's broader influence on soul music.

## Summary

This year marks 60 years since The Temptations released "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", a single that stood out for tackling themes beyond typical romantic pop lyrics of the mid-1960s. The song, released in 1966, is remembered as a departure that showed the Motown group's willingness to experiment with subject matter and sound at a pivotal point in their career.

The track was part of The Temptations' prolific run of hits during the mid-1960s, a period in which the group, alongside Motown's songwriting and production machine, helped define the sound of soul music for a mainstream audience. Its message-driven approach to lyrics, unusual for a chart pop single at the time, has led commentators to revisit the song decades later as an example of the group's versatility and Motown's broader influence on popular music.

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