The common reissue version was actually the third recording of this song...a 1967 remix with Rob Grill singing lead, but here is the 1966 hit, a studio recording made before there was actually a touring Grass Roots band. It was purportedly first recorded with co-writer/producer P.F. Sloan as lead vocal and then second with Bill Fulton on lead, but there is a difference of opinion on which one was here on the single. Some people swear up-and-down that it’s Fulton (and that the Sloan version was an unreleased demo) while others swear up-and-down that this is Sloan on the hit (to me, it sounds very much like the voice heard on other P. F. Sloan recordings).
Pop Chart Peaks: Record World 26, Billboard 28, Cash Box 33
Transferred from mono 45 single Dunhill 4029 - Where Were You When I Needed You (P F Sloan-Steve Barri) by The Grass Roots, produced by Sloan & Barri
THE 1966 HITS ARCHIVE - Here in one place, a comprehensive collection of ‘pop’ best-sellers and songs which made an impact that were either released or enjoyed a major chunk of their popularity within the calendar year 1966 (some were recorded in 1965)