'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' writer Norman Whitfield dead at 65.

Norman Whitfield, who co-wrote a string of Motown classics including "War" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," has died. He was 67.

A spokeswoman at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center says Whitfield died there Tuesday. He suffered from complications of diabetes and had recently emerged from a coma, The Detroit Free Press reported.

Whitfield was a longtime Motown producer who, during the 1960s and '70s, injected rock and psychedelic touches into the label's soul music. Many of his biggest hits were co-written with Barrett Strong, with whom he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.

The two won the Grammy in 1972 for best R&B song for the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." Whitfield won another Grammy in 1976 for best original TV or motion picture score for "Car Wash."

Whitfield also worked as a producer for the Temptations and others.

Many of Whitfield's songs from that era, including Edwin Starr's 1970 "War" and the Temptations' 1970 "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)," have a strong political tone.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Source: AP via Yahoo news