"Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)" is a 1971 hit single for the Gordy (Motown) label, recorded by The Temptations and produced by Norman Whitfield.
Something of an early ancestor to the "diss songs" prevalent in hip hop music towards the end of the 20th century, "Superstar" is an attack at two former Temptations members, David Ruffin (who had been fired back in 1968) and Eddie Kendricks (who quit the act in early 1971 and negotiated a Motown solo deal).
Kendricks quit the group amidst conflicts and tension between him and his bandmates, Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin,[1] and after being denied the opportunity to record a solo album of classic-styled soul as a reprieve from Norman Whifield's psychedelic soul recordings, which he detested.
[2] Kendricks had continued his friendship with Ruffin following his firing in 1968,[3] and by mid-1971 was making public statements blaming his departure on his problems with Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin.
[5] Notably, among the few covers of "Superstar" is a version by David Ruffin, one of the subjects of the original record, for his Whitfield-produced 1975 LP Me 'N Rock 'N Roll Are Here To Stay.