SOUND PROJECTIONS
AN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU
FALL, 2018
VOLUME SIX NUMBER TWO
ARETHA FRANKLIN
Featuring the Musics and Aesthetic Visions of:
SMOKEY ROBINSON
(October 6-12)
THE TEMPTATIONS
(October 13-19)
JOHN CARTER
(October 20-26)
MARTHA AND THE VANDELLAS
(October 27-November 2)
RANDY WESTON
(November 3-9)
HOLLAND DOZIER AND HOLLAND
(November 10-16)
JELLY ROLL MORTON
(November 17-23)
BOBBY BRADFORD
(November 24-30)
THE SUPREMES
(December 1-7)
THE FOUR TOPS
(December 8-14)
THE SPINNERS
(December 15-21)
THE STYLISTICS
(December 15-21)
The Temptations
(1963-Present)
Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny
Thanks to their fine-tuned choreography -- and even finer harmonies -- the Temptations became the definitive vocal group of the 1960s. One of Motown's most elastic acts, they tackled both lush pop and politically charged funk with equal flair, and weathered a steady stream of changes in personnel and consumer tastes with rare dignity and grace. The Temptations' initial five-man lineup formed in Detroit in 1961 as a merger of two local vocal groups, the Primes and the Distants. Baritone Otis Williams, Elbridge (aka El, or Al) Bryant, and bass vocalist Melvin Franklin were longtime veterans of the Detroit music scene when they came together in the Distants, who in 1959 recorded the single "Come On" for the local Northern label. Around the same time, the Primes, a trio comprised of tenor Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams (no relation to Otis), and Kell Osborne, relocated to the Motor City from their native Alabama; they quickly found success locally, and their manager even put together a girl group counterpart dubbed the Primettes. (Three of the Primettes -- Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard -- formed the Supremes.)
In 1961, the Primes disbanded, but not before Otis Williams saw them perform live, and he was impressed by both Kendricks' vocal prowess and Paul Williams' choreography skills. Soon, Otis Williams, Paul Williams, Bryant, Franklin, and Kendricks joined together as the Elgins; after a name change to the Temptations, they signed to the Motown subsidiary Miracle, where they released a handful of singles over the ensuing months. Only one, the 1962 effort "Dream Come True," achieved any commercial success, however, and in 1963, Bryant either resigned or was fired after physically attacking Paul Williams. The Tempts' fortunes changed dramatically in 1964 when they recruited tenor David Ruffin to replace Bryant; after entering the studio with writer/producer Smokey Robinson, they emerged with the pop smash "The Way You Do the Things You Do," the first in a series of 37 career Top Ten hits. With Robinson again at the helm, they returned in 1965 with their signature song "My Girl," a number one pop and R&B hit; other Top 20 hits that year included "It's Growing," "Since I Lost My Baby," "Don't Look Back," and "My Baby."
In 1966, the Tempts recorded another Robinson hit, "Get Ready," before forgoing his smooth popcraft for the harder-edged soul of producers Norman Whitfield and Brian Holland. After spotlighting Kendricks on the smash "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," the group allowed Ruffin to take control over a string of hits including "Beauty's Only Skin Deep" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You." Beginning around 1967, Whitfield assumed full production control, and their records became rougher and more muscular, as typified by the 1968 success "I Wish It Would Rain." After Ruffin failed to appear at a 1968 live performance, the other four Tempts fired him. He was replaced by ex-Contour Dennis Edwards, whose less polished voice adapted perfectly to the psychedelic-influenced soul period the group entered with "Cloud Nine," their first Grammy-winning recording. As the times changed, so did the group, and as the '60s drew to a close, the Temptations' music became overtly political. In the wake of "Cloud Nine" -- its title a thinly veiled drug allegory -- came records like "Run Away Child, Running Wild," "Psychedelic Shack," and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)."
After the chart-topping success of the gossamer ballad "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" in 1971, Kendricks exited for a solo career. Soon, Paul Williams left the group as well. Long plagued by alcoholism and other personal demons, he was eventually discovered dead from a self-inflected gunshot wound on August 17, 1973, at the age of 34. In their stead, the remaining trio recruited tenors Damon Harris and Richard Street. After the 1971 hit "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)," they returned in 1972 with the brilliant number one single "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," winner of two Grammy awards. While the Tempts hit the charts regularly throughout 1973 with "Masterpiece," "Let Your Hair Down," and "The Plastic Man," their success as a pop act gradually dwindled as the '70s wore on. After Harris exited in 1975 (replaced by tenor Glenn Leonard), the group cut 1976's The Temptations Do the Temptations, their final album for Motown. With Louis Price taking over for Edwards, they signed to Atlantic, and attempted to reach the disco market with the LPs Bare Back and Hear to Tempt You.
After Edwards returned to the fold (resulting in Price's hasty exit), the Temptations reentered the Motown stable, and scored a 1980 hit with "Power." In 1982, Ruffin and Kendricks returned for Reunion, which also included all five of the then-current Temptations. A tour followed, but problems with Motown, as well as personal differences, cut Ruffin's and Kendricks' tenures short. In the years that followed, the Temptations continued touring and recording, although by the '90s they were essentially an oldies act; only Otis Williams, who published his autobiography in 1988, remained from the original lineup. Although the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, the intervening years without new studio recordings were marked by tragedy. After touring in the late '80s with Kendricks and Edwards as a member of the "Tribute to the Temptations" package tour, Ruffin died on June 1, 1991, after overdosing on cocaine; he was 50 years old. On October 5, 1992, Kendricks died at the age of 52 of lung cancer, and on February 23, 1995, 52-year-old Franklin passed away after suffering a brain seizure.
In 1998, the Temptations returned with Phoenix Rising. Their history was also the subject of a televised mini-series, The Temptations, based on Williams' autobiography. Although it was well-received and nominated for several Emmy Awards, numerous parties, including David Ruffin's family, filed lawsuits. Meanwhile, the group continued to perform and record. Ear: Resistible followed in 2000 and won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. Although Awesome and Legacy, released during the next few years, became the group's final Motown studio recordings, the Temptations kept their label affiliation intact. Reflections, issued in 2006, featured covers of classic Motown numbers. Another all-covers set, Back to Front, followed in 2007 with Issac Hayes and David Porter, Skip Scarborough, and the Bee Gees among the farther-reaching crop of tributees. After three years of steady touring, the group returned with Still Here, a set of new material issued on the eve of their 50th anniversary. Dennis Edwards died on February 1, 2018 at the age of 74. Three months later, still led by Otis Williams, the group released All the Time, which combined original songs with covers of hits recorded by the likes of Michael Jackson, Maxwell, and the Weeknd.
Bios of The 'Classic Five' Members of Music Group, The Temptations.
October 4, 2016
The Temptations.
Legendary music group, The Temptations, are regarded as one of the greatest American vocal groups to ever exist. Even today, The Temptations legacy and impact on R&B and soul music is still prevalent within music circles. A lot of people wonder what was it that made The Temptations such a special group? The Temptations had all the elements of what a group could ask for.
They were a group that had five singers that were all capable of singing lead. They not only focused on singing, but also selling sex as well. They were a group that displayed precision choreography and dance skills during their performances, and their flashy attire and wardrobes dazzled audiences. Throughout the years, the group's lineup has changed. However, the Temptations were arguably at their best during their 'Classic Five' era in the 60's and early 70's.
The Classic Five era of The Temptations members included: Otis Williams, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and David Ruffin. This lineup was way before my time, as I wasn't even born during this era. However, often times during life we find ourselves becoming a fan of things from non-traditional methods. For me, it all began with a movie that documented the struggles and triumphs of the then Motown era group.
Each member of The Temptations brought something to the group that made it a complete unit. This article will highlight the five Temptation members that produced classic songs such as 'My Girl', 'Ain't Too Proud to Beg', 'The Way You Do The Things You Do', and 'I Wish It Would Rain'. Enjoy!
Eddie Kendricks
Eddie Kendricks was one of the co-founders of The Temptations. Kendricks is remembered for his unique falsetto style of singing, and for being The Temptations wardrobe manager. Kendricks also was responsible for most of the vocal arrangements for the group. Some of the songs Kendricks sang lead on included: 'Dreams Come True', 'The Way You Do The Things You Do', 'Get Ready', and 'Just My Imagination'. Eddie Kendricks left The Temptations in 1971, but returned for The Temptations 'Reunion' tour and album in 1982.
Eddie Kendricks was born in Union Springs, Alabama in 1939. When Kendrick's family moved near the Birmingham area as a child, he met and befriended Paul Williams, who would also become a member of The Temptations along with Kendricks. Kendricks and Williams would later form a group with friends of theirs called The Cavaliers. While looking for more opportunities in the music industry, The Cavaliers moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and later to Detroit where Kendricks and Williams would meet Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. Along with Elbrigde 'Al' Bryant, Kendricks, Williams, Otis Williams, and Melvin Franklin formed The Temptations.
Although Kendricks remained with The Temptations throughout the 60's, a variety of issues began to push him away from the group. Kendricks later revealed during an interview in 1991 that he considered leaving the group in the mid 1960s, but instead stuck around feeling that he wouldn't receive the support he needed to go solo. After David Ruffin's depature from the group, the group's sound changed as well, which was something Kendricks wasn't receptive to. Kendricks officially left the group in 1971, but would go on to have a successful solo career. Kendricks along with the other members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. A known smoker, Eddie Kendricks was diagnosed with lung cancer in the early 90's. Kendricks eventually succumbed to lung cancer on October 5, 1992 at the age of 52.
Paul Williams
Paul Williams was a co-founder of The Temptations, and the group's baritone singer/choreographer. Paul Williams was the group member responsible for incorporating dancing and choreography into the group's performances in addition to singing. Williams sung lead on several popular Temptations songs including: 'Don't Look Back', 'I Can't Get Next to You', 'Cloud Nine', and The Temptations cover of 'For Once In My Life'.
Paul Williams was born and raised in the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama on July 2, 1939. As a kid, Williams met Eddie Kendricks, with whom he would become best friends with. Williams and Kendricks started singing together, and formed a group called The Cavaliers with fellow friends of theirs. After The Cavaliers disbanded, Williams and Kendricks along with friend Kel Osbourne formed The Primes. The trio found themselves a manger in Cleveland Ohio that moved them to Detroit.
The Primes disbanded after Kel Osbourne moved to California. Williams, along with Eddie Kendricks found out that Otis Williams had two openings in his group, and they joined with Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Elbridge Bryant to form The Elgins, who would later change their names to The Temptations. Although Paul Williams contribution to the group was important, he began to suffer from personal issues in the mid to late 1960s.
Williams suffered from sickle cell anemia, which often made it difficult for him to perform at times. He became depressed, and began to drink heavily also. Williams's health continued to decline to the point where he was often unable to perform. After a visit to a doctor in 1971, a spot was found on William's liver and he was advised to retire. He was replaced by Richard Street, but stayed on the group's payroll as an adviser and choreographer.
Williams began to record again as a solo artist in 1973. Sadly, Paul Williams was found dead in an alley on August 17, 1973 from a gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a suicide, but his family to this day suspects that there was foul play involved. Paul Williams was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with his fellow Temptation members in 1989.
Melvin Franklin
Melvin Franklin was a co-founder of The Temptations, and the group's bass singer. Franklin had a very distinct bass voice that would be a signature trademark of The Temptations sound. Franklin sung lead on several of The Temptations songs that included 'I Truly, Truly Believe', Christmas song 'Silent Night', and 'The Prophet'. Franklin is also remembered for his live performance of Paul Robeson's 'Ol' Man River'.
Melvin Franklin was born in Montgomery, Alabama on October 12, 1942. Franklin moved to Detroit at the age of ten, and was a member of several music groups in Detroit as a teenager. One of the groups that Franklin was a part of was The Voice Masters, which also featured Lamon Dozier and David Ruffin, who would later join The Temptations. Franklin met Otis Williams in 1958, and joined William's group Otis Williams and The Siberians.
Following the disbandment of The Siberians, Franklin would remain with Otis Williams as they along with Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and Elbridge Bryant formed the group The Elgins. The Elgins would later become The Temptations. Franklin and Otis Williams remained best friends for over 30 years, and were the only two original members never to quit the group. Similar to fellow group member Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin began to battle health related issues in the late 1960s.
Franklin was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and began to take cortisone to combat the disease. The consistent usage of cortisone left Franklin's immune system weakened, and he would eventually develop diabetes. Franklin was shot in both the hand and leg in 1978 while trying to prevent a man from stealing his car. Melvin Franklin died in 1995 after falling into a coma from a number of seizures. He along with his fellow members of the Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.
David Ruffin
David Ruffin was the last of 'The Classic Five' Temptations to join the group. However, Ruffin was the member that probably had the most impact on the group's success. Known for having a unique raspy voice, Ruffin joined The Temptations in 1964 after Elbridge 'Al' Bryant was fired from the group. Ruffin initially sung background vocals, with the leads being traded between Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. However, Motown artist Smokey Robinson saw something in Ruffin when he became the group's producer and co-writer.
Smokey Robinson wrote and gave the lead to Ruffin on what is probably The Temptations most popular song 'My Girl' in 1964. My Girl became The Temptations first number one single, and the momentum of the song pushed Ruffin into the role of the leading singer. Other popular Temptation songs that Ruffin sung lead on include: 'It's Growing', 'Since I Lost My Baby', 'Beauty's Only Skin Deep', and 'I Wish It Would Rain'.
Ruffin's ego began to take over by 1967, as he began to cause problems for the group. Ruffin became addicted to cocaine, and would often show up late for rehearsals and performances. Ruffin also insisted that the group's name should be changed to David Ruffin and The Temptations, which would lead to a lot of friction between he and Otis Williams. After having enough of Ruffin, the group chose to fire him in 1968. David Ruffin would be replaced by Dennis Edwards.
Ruffin would remain a problem for Motown and The Temptations following his departure. He would often show up at the group's shows, and steal the microphone from Dennis Edwards during performances, which led to the group having to hire added security. Ruffin also sued Motown Records in 1968, seeking a release from his the record label. The case was eventually settled, with Ruffin staying with Motown as a solo artist.
Ruffin had successful years as a solo artist following his tenure with The Temptations. Ruffin developed a friendship with Eddie Kendricks, and the two later joined The Temptations in 1982 for their 'Reunion' tour and album. However, Ruffin continued with many of the habits that led to his firing from the group during the 'Reunion' album tour. Ruffin's addictions led him to miss shows, and subsequently caused the group to lose money. Ruffin would be fired for the second and final time.
Throughout the mid and late 80's, Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks would perform together as a duo. The two would later team up with Dennis Edwards, whom originally replaced Ruffin, and formed the group Ruffin/Kendricks/Edwards: Former Leads of The Temptations. The three were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 along with Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and posthumously Paul Williams.
David Ruffin died on June 1, 1991 in Philadelphia of an 'adverse reaction to drugs'. He was 50 years old at the time of his death.
Otis Williams
Otis Williams is one the co-founders of The Temptations, and the only member from the original lineup that is still living today. Now at age 71, Williams currently still performs with the group. Williams rarely sung lead on records for The Temptations, but was primarily known for being the groups leader and organizer. He was also known as the group's 'background tenor in the middle'.
Otis Williams was born in Texarkana, Texas. However, William's mother moved to Detroit Michigan while he was still a toddler. During his teenage years, Williams became interested in singing. It was during his teenage years when Williams helped put together several singing groups headlined as Otis Williams and The Siberians, El Domingoes, and The Distants. It was during his teenage years when he would meet and befriend fellow Temptation member Melvin Franklin, with whom Williams would maintain a friendship with for over 30 years.
Otis Williams along with 'The Classic Five' Temptations and Dennis Edwards was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Williams co-authored a book titled 'Temptations' in 1988. The book was deemed William's personal autobiography, and a history of the group. Ten years later, the book would be adapted into a television miniseries for NBC titled 'The Temptations'.
Throughout the years, public opinion of Otis Williams has been mixed. Some viewed Williams's account of his former group members as being negative and jealous, while others have defended Williams for his brutally honest accounts of the troubles The Temptations shared.
Member Facts
Each member of The Temptations not only had unique voices, they also had different styles, nicknames, and personalities. Here are some added facts about the group.
- Otis Williams received an honorary doctorate from Stillman College in 2006.
- Melvin Franklin was known as 'Blue' by friends and group members. This nickname came from Franklin's love of the color blue.
- Eddie Kendricks favorite food was cornbread, and he was given the nickname 'Cornbread' or 'Corn' by the group.
- The late Rick James was the nephew of Melvin Franklin. James idolized lead singer David Ruffin, and jumped at the chance to produce the song 'Standing on the Top' in 1982 during The Tempations 'Reunion' album.
- Paul Williams took over the live performances of 'My Girl' following David Ruffin's exit from the group.
- Melvin Franklin worked as a voice actor in the 1984 cartoon series 'Pole Position'. Franklin provided the voice of the character Wheels.
- David Ruffin was nicknamed 'Ruff' by group members.
- David Ruffin was the mastermind behind The Temptations trademark four-headed microphone stand.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temptations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ruffin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Williams_(The_Temptations)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Kendricks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Franklin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_James
Motown Legends Smokey Robinson and Otis Williams Visit New Bio Musical Based on The Temptations
Shelly Berger, Otis Williams and Smokey Robinson
Hal Banfield
September 13, 2018
PEOPLE
Smokey Robinson, original Temptations member Otis Williams, and longtime Temptations manager Shelly Berger had a chunk of their lives flash before them on Wednesday night.
The three Motown legends reunited to attend a viewing of Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations, the new Broadway-bound musical about the creation of the classic 1960s vocal group.
PEOPLE has the exclusive look at the trio’s visit to the show, which is now playing at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles through Sept. 30.
The Temptations (clockwise from top left): Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, Dennis Edwards, and Otis Williams
Otis, 76, was one of the founding members of the group, which formed in Detroit in 1960. He, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and David Ruffin found massive success together at the height of The Temptations fame, their lineup dubbed “the Classic 5” in later years.
Otis is the sole survivor of that bunch.
Robinson, 78, worked as a songwriter for Motown between 1962 and 1966, and wrote some of the group’s biggest hits — including “The Way You Do The Things You Do”, “My Girl”, “Since I Lost My Baby” and “Get Ready.” He would later go on to find success of his own, of course, as a solo artist.
Both, as well as Berger, were all smiles as they posed backstage Wednesday night.
They were joined by cast members Derrick Baskin (Otis Williams), James Harkness (Paul Williams), Jawan M. Jackson (Melvin Franklin), Jeremy Pope (Eddie Kendricks), Ephraim Sykes (David Ruffin), and Christian Thompson (Smokey Robinson). In total, The Temptations, with their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, scored 37 top 40 hits and 14 No. 1 R&B singles.
Many of those songs — and tunes like “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me),” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” and obviously “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” — are featured in the new musical, which follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Tonight, Los Angeles officially gets to meet five young guys from Detroit who became The Temptations on Opening Night of @AintTooProud at @CTGLA! #TemptationsMusical
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations is slated to open on Broadway in Spring 2019 at the legendary Imperial Theatre. Previous out-of-town runs of the musical have taken place at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California and Washington D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. From Oct. 11 through Nov. 17, the musical will play Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre.
Two-time Tony winner Des McAnuff is directing, with Kennedy Prize-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau crafting the show’s book.
“The Temptations are one of the cornerstones of popular music…”
Tempting History…
All around entertainment legends The Temptations stand as not only the greatest vocal group of Motown Records’ golden era empire; the quintet is indisputably the greatest singing group of all-time. Setting the bar in the standard bearing stratosphere for what a group should sing like, look like, dance like and artistically pilot the planet through triumphs and catastrophes like, The Temptations are world renowned ambassadors of soul, conscience and style. From 16 million selling LPs, 14 #1 R&B singles, three Grammys plus induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame, membership in The Vocal Group Hall of Fame, induction into The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a TV miniseries classic, and the most great vocalists to spring from one group – Detroit’s Temptin’ Temptations are still here, and still going strong. With 43 Top 10s clocked between the `60s and `90s, they are hailed as Billboard’s Top All-Time R&B/Hip Hop Artist in 2017.Among the most popular of their nearly 100 R&B charted songs are “My Girl,” “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” “Get Ready”, “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”, “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” (with The Supremes), “Cloud Nine,” “Psychedelic Shack,” “Ball of Confusion,” “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” “Shakey Ground,” “Treat Her Like a Lady,” “Stay” and their near definitive rendition of the Christmas standard “Silent Night.” These and many others have been covered by artists across stylistic borders in blues (Al Green), rock (Rolling Stones and Anthrax), jazz (Grover Washington Jr. and Cassandra Wilson), pop (Hall & Oates and Bette Midler), reggae (Peter Tosh), country (Dolly Parton and Glen Campbell) and many others. As a group that is equal parts thrilling showmen and consummate singers, The Temptations have influenced several generations of singing groups from Blue Magic and The Dramatics to The Jacksons and The Sylvers to New Edition and *NSYNC.The Temptations were the result of the cream of two vocal groups merging into one, then morphing into a series of stellar lineups. In the beginning, there was a trio from Birmingham, Alabama called The Cavaliers, led by childhood friends Eddie Kendrick (no ‘s”) and Paul Williams. They first moved to Cleveland, then Detroit, where they became The Primes under the supervision of Milton Jenkins who also created a female counterpart group, the Primettes (which later became The Supremes). Then there was a quintet called The Elegants led by Otis Miles with high school friends Melvin Franklin, Richard Street (Melvin’s cousin), Elbridge Bryant and Albert Harrell. Their name later changed from The Questions to The Distants under which they recorded local singles with Street as lead singer.Friendly rivals around town, The Distants and the more polished Primes continued to cross paths. When Street and Harrell left The Distants, Otis (now Williams), Eddie (now Kendricks), Paul, Melvin and Elbridge united to form The Elgins. This group auditioned for Berry Gordy in March 1961. Impressed, he signed them to his then fledgling Motown company imprint, Miracle Records. It was on the porch of Motown’s Hitsville USA office/studio on West Grand Blvd. that Otis, Paul, songwriter Mickey Stevenson and Miracle Records employee Billy Mitchell came up with the magical name The Temptations (instigated by another group already using the name The Elgins). The quintet recorded several early singles, first on the Miracle label then on the freshly minted Gordy imprint, usually with Eddie or Paul leading. Most successful of these was “Dream Come True” (penned by Gordy) which went to #22 on the R&B chart as sung by Eddie. They even recorded two sides under the name The Pirates before deciding against going with that moniker. In 1963, The Temptations were paired with William “Smokey” Robinson, lead singer of The Miracles and a proven songwriter in his own right. His first shot with the group was “I Want a Love I Can See” featuring Paul which, while not a major charter, became a fixture in their live set. Impatient that the group hadn’t made it yet, Elbridge Bryant left the group. Enter David Ruffin from Whynot, Mississippi, who was signed to Motown as a solo artist but had his eye on joining The Temptations from the moment he first encountered them. Ruffin’s entry into The Temptations marked what in musicology circles is considered the group’s “Classic Five”: first tenor Eddie Kendricks, second tenors David Ruffin and Paul Williams, baritone Otis Williams and bass Melvin Franklin.
It was Robinson’s next single attempt that relieved the group of its ‘No Hits Temptations’ nickname and broke them wide open as a national sensation: “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” with matinee idol Eddie’s soaring falsetto as the lead voice. The group swiftly became the stars of the company’s “Motortown Revue” concerts with a string of hits including “I’ll Be In Trouble” and “Girl, Why You Wanna Make Me Blue.” Another breakthrough occurred when Smokey wrote one with ever-bespectacled Ruffin in mind entitled “My Girl” that shifted the star focus to him, resulting in a multi-million-seller that topped Billboard’s R&B chart for six weeks and the Pop chart for one. The Tempts/Smokey hit train rolled on with “It’s Growing,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” “My Baby” and “Get Ready.”
Then Berry Gordy handed the production reins over to a hungry and highly competitive Norman Whitfield who fortified their hit streak beginning with “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” which sat for 8 weeks at the top of the R&B chart. It was followed by “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” “I Know I’m Losing You,” You’re My Everything,” “I Wish It Would Rain” and “I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You).” The latter turned out to be Ruffin’s last hit of an incomparable run which included eight consecutive #1 albums in three years time on the Billboard R&B chart: The Temptations Sing Smokey, Temptin’ Temptations, Gettin’ Ready, Greatest Hits, Temptations Live!, With a Lot of Soul, Temptations In a Mellow Mood and I Wish It Would Rain. Ruffin’s attitude and inflated ego forced The Temptations to terminate his membership. They could not afford undue stress and unpredictability at this time. Bigger things were in the works.
Eddie and Otis plucked powerhouse Dennis Edwards out of the Motown dance group The Contours to be Ruffin’s replacement. He proved to be perfect and right on time for the group’s transition into an elastic band of 360 degree excellence. The Temptations released the album Live at The Copa (i.e. New York’s legendary high-tone Copacabana nightclub reserved for class acts and a pinnacle for Black entertainers of the time), two LPs paired with the Supremes which led to the top-rated and groundbreaking “T.C.B.” (Takin’ Care of Business) NBC-TV special and soundtrack album (the group’s sole project to top Billboard’s Top 200 Pop Albums chart) which led to the sequel “G.I.T.” (Get It Together On Broadway) and having their own TV special/soundtrack “The Temptations Show.”
Most importantly, Dennis Edwards’ entry into the Temptations coincided with producer Norman Whitfield and songwriting partner Barrett Strong – under the influence of emerging Sly Stone – taking the group into harder, grittier and funkier territory musically that became defined as Psychedelic Soul with lyrics that were boldly more forthright about sociopolitical issues of the day. This began with the single “Cloud Nine” which became the first Grammy-winner for both The Temptations and Motown Records. It was followed by fiery missives such as “Runaway Child, Running Wild,” “Don’t Let The Joneses Get You Down,” “Message From a Black Man,” “Slave,” “Ball of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today),” “Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are),” “Masterpiece” and the triple Grammy-winning “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone.” Many of these opuses stretched from 7 to 12 minutes with long instrumental intros and solos that increasingly alienated the group as Whitfield’s ego grew and grew.
In 1971 – in the middle of Whitfield’s `67-`73 run – Eddie Kendricks left the Temptations to pursue what became the most successful of any former member’s solo career, including nine Top 10 R&B hits, three at #1: “Keep On Truckin’,” “Boogie Down” and “Shoeshine Boy.” Eddie’s swan song from The Temptations was the dreamy ballad “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” which also poetically included what would become the farewell lines of Paul Williams (“Every night on my knees I’d pray”) before he was forced to step down from the group due to sickle-cell disease, depression and alcoholism. After recording two songs for an unreleased single, Williams was tragically found dead in his car from a self-inflicted gunshot on August 17, 1973.
Paul was replaced by the group’s longtime friend from their days as The Distants, Richard Street (who had been subbing and singing off stage for Paul for some time). Eddie was briefly replaced by Ricky Owens before Baltimore-born Damon Harris was ultimately settled upon. This lineup rode out the high flying early to mid-`70s years of The Temptations loaded with world touring, television galore, a spot in the concert film, “Save the Children,” a live album recorded in Japan, plus the handoff from Norman Whitfield to producer Jeffrey Bowen for one of the finest albums the group ever recorded, A Song For You in 1975 – nine indisputable classics in “Happy People” (backing band: The Commodores), “Glasshouse” and “Shakey Ground” (musicians including members of Parliament/Funkadelic), “The Prophet,” “A Song For You,” “Memories,” “Firefly” “Soulmate” (unreleased until decades later) and “I’m a Bachelor” (the first song to be written and arranged solely by all five Temptations: Otis, Melvin, Dennis, Richard and Damon).
Following an end of the decade slump during the Disco years, the Temptations shocked the industry by leaving Motown and recording two albums for Atlantic Records featuring short-lived lead singer Louis Price (replacing Edwards in `77) and Glenn Leonard (who’d replaced Harris in `76). When no hits ensued, the group made a dramatic return to Motown to usher in the `80s, personally overseen by President Berry Gordy who wrote the politically charged “Power” for them and brought Dennis Edwards back to ensure its explosiveness, peaking at #11 R&B. That same year a second holiday album, Give Love At Christmas, was issued, noteworthy for including their second recording of “Silent Night” which has become one of the most popular R&B Christmas songs of all time.
When the Hollywood movie theme “Take Me Away” and an album produced by legendary Philly Soul maestro Thom Bell (of Stylistics and Spinners renown) surprisingly failed to connect, The Temptations were saved by the new king of Motown in the `80s, ‘Punk Funk’ royalty Rick James (Melvin’s nephew), who first featured them on his multi-platinum Street Songs album (name-checking them on his crossover dance oddity “Super Freak”) then fired up their Top 10 hit “Standing On The Top” as writer, producer and guest star. The latter event single was the highlight of a special 1982 project, Temptations Reunion, which brought David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks back to the Temptations for one album and tour.
Following two more albums (including Back to Basics which reunited the group with Norman Whitfield), The Temptations participated in the legendary Spring of `83 television special “Motown 25” which celebrated the company’s January 1958 Silver Anniversary by having many of the stars the label launched come back to sing its praises. Amidst stellar performances by Michael Jackson, The Jacksons, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and more was an unforgettable “battle” between The Temptations and The Four Tops in which they traded back and forth singing not only their own hit records but each others’! This good natured encounter between old friends proved such a classic, it was released as a limited edition12” single.
Dennis Edwards left The Temptations again, this time recording two solo albums and scoring an enduring funk hit with “Don’t Look Any Further” (a duet with Siedah Garrett) that hit #2 for two weeks in 1984. His replacement was another worthy fire-starter, Detroit native Ali-Ollie Woodson, who had been considered to replace Dennis the first time in `77. Also added around this time was Philadelphia-born Ron Tyson, a former member of The Ethics and Love Committee but, more importantly, a seasoned Philly Soul songwriter who replaced Glenn Leonard.
The Otis, Melvin, Richard, Ali and Ron edition of The Temptations settled into a satisfying run of albums and singles from 1984 to 1992, beginning with the #2 R&B charting “Treat Her Like a Lady” (produced by former Earth Wind & Fire members Al McKay and Ralph Johnson). Following were the standouts “(My Love Is) Truly For You,” “Lady Soul,” “To Be Continued,” “Special,” “Soul to Soul” and “Hoops of Fire.” In between, Ali was replaced a third and final time by Dennis Edwards for the Together Again album in 1987 which yielded two Top 10 R&B singles: “I Wonder Who She’s Seeing Now” and “Look What You Started.”
The close of the `80s saw the eagerly anticipated publishing of Otis Williams’ best-selling autobiography “Temptations” in 1988, and the induction of original members Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, plus long-tenured Ruffin replacement Dennis Edwards into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on January 18, 1989.
The `90s were marked by great tragedy and great triumph for the Temptations. In 1992, Richard Street left the group after 22 years of service. He was replaced by Theo Peoples of St. Louis. Far deeper, original member Melvin Franklin, whose health bad been deteriorating, succumbed to a brain seizure on February 23, 1995, a devastating loss for childhood friend Otis, the institution of The Temptations and the world of music as it lost the greatest, most instantly identifiable bass singer of all-time. Franklin’s final recordings were included in the romantic standards CD, For Lovers Only, which featured their gossamer single/video of the classic “Some Enchanted Evening.” Former Parliament-Funkadelic bass singer Ray Davis slid into his hallowed position, followed by former Futures member Harry McGilberry.
On the upside, 1998 was a banner year for The Temptations. They starred in the halftime of Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego on January 28, 1998, celebrating Motown’s 40th anniversary. By summer, they enjoyed the #1Adult Contemporary radio hit “Stay” – produced by Narada Michael Walden, led by Theo Peoples on the recording but lip-synced in the video by Barrington “Bo” Henderson – floating on a blissful sample from The Temptations’ now-evergreen 1965 gem, “My Girl.” Then in the fall on November 1 & 2, the two-part miniseries “The Temptations” – produced by longtime Temptations manager Shelly Berger with Otis Williams whose book “Temptations” was the source material – aired on NBC. Viewed by 45 million fans, it won an NAACP Image Award for Best Television Movie or Miniseries, and an Emmy for Outstanding Direction for a Miniseries or Movie.
The Temptations won their third Grammy for the CD Ear-Resistible in the Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance category 2001. They have since released the concept albums Legacy, the Grammy nominated Reflections, Back to Front, and the aptly titled Still Here.
Otis Williams remains the sole original member of The Temptations, still leading a carefully chosen/ever-revolving group of torchbearers (including Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, Larry Braggs and Willie Green) around the globe for over a hundred shows a year to carry on the legacy of the world’s longest running singing group in the annals of R&B. Otis once stated, “I equate The Temptations with the fabulous New York Yankees who have remained strong for years and years – long after Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig and Reggie Jackson. We look for great songs, which has always been our strong suit: melodies that a five year-old can hum with lyrics that everybody can relate to.”
In the “Ball of Confusion” our world continues to be, The Temptations have been taking us up and away to “Cloud Nine” for six decades…with no ceiling in sight.
— A. Scott Galloway
Month of May
© Copyright 2018 UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
https://writewyattuk.com/2016/06/30/lead-us-unto-the-temptations-the-otis-williams-interview/
Lead us unto The Temptations
The Otis Williams interview
Temptations Today: The band in 2016, with Otis Williams, centre, the sole surviving original member
Otis Williams – barely 11 weeks older than Ali, who died on June 3, aged 74 – already had a couple of group name changes and minor hits under his belt by the time fellow 18-year-old Cassius Clay won his gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He was with The Distants then, having relocated from Texarcana, Texas, to Detroit, Michigan as a youngster, quickly emerging on the local music scene.
By the time Clay had converted to Islam, changed his name and turned pro, Otis had joined forces with the band that made their name as The Temptations, signing to Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Records in March 1961. And while Ali was celebrating his first WBA and WBC heavyweight titles in early 1964, The Temptations were enjoying their first major hit, The Way You Do The Things You Do. The stage was set, with Ali already a major figure in the civil rights movement and The Temptations one of the key groups providing a soundtrack for such a pivotal era in American history.
So what did Muhammad Ali mean to Otis Williams?
“You know, when I heard of his passing, in all honesty I cried. I thought about the times Ali and me walked down Broadway, New York City, and people came out of buildings, he stopped traffic, and I was thinking, ‘Here I am, walking with Ali!’
“I was with him with my group when he fought over in Manila in ‘75. One of his fellas called us to his dressing room and we talked together. He asked us to sing Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, which we did, a capella. We used to go to his house when he lived in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. I had some wonderful times with The Greatest. When I heard of his passing I sat there and I cried like a little boy.”
I could go further with those parallels between Ali and the Tempts, charting their own progress at key moments such as when the Louisville, Kentucky-born boxer refused to be conscripted into the military in ’66, citing religious beliefs and opposition to US involvement in Vietnam; the subsequent stripping of his title in ’67 and eventual overturning of the resultant conviction for draft evasion that led to his March 1971 ‘Fight of the Century’ with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden, around the time of the Tempts’ third US No.1, Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me). And then there was the afore-mentioned ‘Thrilla in Manila’ with the same opponent in October 1975, at which point the Tempts were on Shakey Ground, their last R&B chart No.1 stateside. But Otis isn’t all about the past, and there have been four decades of Temptations performances since the latter.
In fact, there have been five top-10 hits and 28 top-75 singles in the UK alone over 51 years (starting with My Girl, which surprisingly only reached No.43 this side of the Atlantic first time around). And life certainly goes on apace for the highly-driven Otis Williams.
Way Back: The Temptations, stepping out,
1965 style (and I mean style)
The day we spoke, Otis was all set for a weekend show at the Saban Theatre in his adopted city and others at Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley, followed by ‘a string of one-nighters’. It’s a busy life, I suggested, for a septuagenarian.
“Ah, you know, I can’t complain. I’m doing what I love to do. When you’re all having your holidays, we’re performing for ours! And we love coming to England. I consider England my second home. We’ve been coming there ever since ’64.”
That was for the Motortown Revue, wasn’t it?
“That’s true. We came over and did Ready Steady Go and all those wonderful early shows you had back then.”
Gerri Hirshey said in 1984’s Nowhere to Run – the Story of Soul Music (yes, it gets yet another name-check here, but with good reason as far as I’m concerned), ‘In their prime nobody could work a crowd like the Tempts. No one dressed as well; no set of voices could match their full-court give-and-go. And surely no one could out-dance them.” That’s not a bad way to be remembered, is it?
“Not a bad way at all. And we’ve been told that for quite some time, so I think there’s some truth to that.”
Not least considering the wealth of competition at the time.
“Oh yeah, that makes it even more interesting – competition in showbusiness is thick as thieves, so for people to knock yourselves above that structure is a marvellous feat in itself.”
In the same book, former Temptations member Richard Street, who was with The Distants from 1959/60 and then with The Temptations from 1971/92, identified you and fellow founder Melvin Franklin (who also featured in The Distants) as the ‘heart and brains of the group’. Was that right?
“Well, we’ve been told that since day one, so I guess there’s some truth to that. But all I ever wanted to do was have fun, make money and sing to the girls, get on the stage and do what we do. For me, it’s just been about having fun – which is the operative word!”
You and Melvin were together way before. What do you recall of your first sighting of The Primes’ Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks? Did you feel instinctively you should join forces?
“We didn’t. All I knew at the time – when they were The Primes and my group was the El Domingoes – is that I recognised Paul, Eddie and Kell (Osborne) as fantastic singers, but I had no inclination that in a certain amount of time Paul and Eddie would be joining my group.
“At that time we become The Temptations – Melvin Franklin, Al Bryant and myself – and enter Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks. I knew they could sing but didn’t know fate would have it as such that we would end up getting together, as happened in 1961.”
That said, it took the addition of David Ruffin to see you truly break through.
“David Ruffin was a talent unto himself, and made a few singles as a solo artist. They did okay, but didn’t put him on the map. But my group were so popular in the Detroit area that David and myself used to hang together, run together and go to different parties.
“One day David said, ‘I want to sing with your group’. I was really astounded. He was a hell of a singer and competent performer. He joined at the end of ’63 and we recorded The Way You Do The Things You Do in January ’64, and history was made at that point.”
Getting back to Muhammad Ali, when he saw you play New Jersey one night at the turn of the ’70s, he reckoned you were so good (hence his ‘greatest group’ comment) he heard an extra voice. It turned out that Richard Street was in the wings, ready to deputise for Paul Williams, who was struggling with his health at the time (not least a drug problem).
“Oh yeah. Well, we’ve gone through some changes to carry on The Temptations’ legacy. It’s been an interesting ride, trying to keep us going. But 56 years later we’re still having fun!”
There was certainly a lot of chopping and changing. The Temptations proved a perfect name. Members over the years have succumbed to a few temptations. There have been troubles, shall we say.
First Footing:
The band’s debut album
as the Temptations,
from 1964
“I’ve been asked before what I look for when I need to find a new talent. But I don’t look for talent first. When I say that, they look at me quizzically, but I look for the head and heart. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you’re not ready to handle showbusiness, you will negate the talent.”
The Temptations clearly have a winning blend – from deep bass to falsetto via your baritone, that rich lead, and so on. There’s the dazzling choreography too. I’m guessing it all works only with a lot of practise.
“Oh sure! We have been blessed to be round some very wonderful talented, consummate performers and entertainers, like our choreographer, the late, great Cholly Atkins; our vocal coach Maurice King and Johnny Allen, who also helped arrange our songs; Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows; and naturally Berry Gordy himself. He instilled a lot of things in us.
“Then there’s Shelly Berger, my manager then and now. I’ve had many wonderful talented people to help shape and mould The Temptations into what we are known for today.”
Ever analysed how you fit into the Motown story? Businesses today talk about unique selling points. What are yours?
“We just enjoy what we do. I try not to analyse. I believe in living life rather than getting analytical. When you do that, you’re not enjoying life. Let things take their course, enjoy the ride.
“But I do know we have self-worth and we’ve made an impact, being voted one of the greatest 100 acts of all time in Rolling Stone. Wow – I never would have imagined that. I’ve had so many amazing things happen, so there’s a reason for The Temptations being here.”
That Rolling Stone accolade from late 2010 (with a link here) saw the Tempts poll 68th out of 100 acts, 11 places higher than The Four Tops and between Cream and Jackie Wilson. All highly arguable of course – I’d have had them much higher. As Rod Stewart put it in print, “I was on holiday with my parents in the late Sixties when I heard I Wish It Would Rain. I lived in England, where it f***ing rains all the time, so it was appropriate. But that’s also when I fell in love with David Ruffin’s tenor — it jumped out of the speakers and ravished my soul. Whether it was Ruffin or Dennis Edwards or Eddie Kendricks or Paul Williams singing lead, the Tempts were always an all-star vocal band. Throughout the Sixties and Seventies, the Tempts had an unprecedented string of hits: My Girl, The Way You Do the Things You Do, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, Just My Imagination. Later on, they broke ground with the psychedelic soul of Cloud Nine. I remember listening to the hi-hat rhythms on that record over and over with the guys in the Jeff Beck Group. We’d try to change every one of our songs to try and capture their drumbeats. When I got home from holiday, I immediately bought I Wish It Would Rain. At that time I was very much into folk music and turning the corner into R&B, and I’ll never forget seeing that cover, with all the Tempts dressed as Foreign Legionnaires, sitting in the desert. Their outfits were wonderful — I blame them for teaching me to wear loud colors. They also came up with the cutting-edge dance routines. Nobody moved like the Tempts. I’d later become friends with David Ruffin — when our bands would play in Detroit, Ruffin would come to every show and we’d sing (I Know) I’m Losing You, a Temptations cover off my album Every Picture Tells a Story. His voice was so powerful — like a foghorn on the Queen Mary. He was so loud. My children grew up loving the Temptations, and we tried to see them every time they came to town. They would always pick me out of the audience with a spotlight, trying to get me up to the stage. But I never did. I’m too frightened.”
Fellow Founder:
Melvin Franklin,
still in Otis’s thoughts
“Melvin and myself had known each other since we were 16 or 17. We were kids. I lost my friend when he was 52, and still miss him today.”
God willing, you hit 75 later this year. Playing devil’s advocate, why keep going? It can’t be about money.
“I still love what I do. When I stop and think about God blessing me to do what I do, we bring happiness to a lot of people. That’s priceless, y’know. You’re right, it’s not about money. If I feel good, I do good, and just plan on continuing to ride the horse.”
You’ve always been surrounded by talent, not least in the Hitsville USA era. I believe you heard Aretha Franklin long before her big break, while walking her older sister, future singer-songwriter Carolyn Franklin, home from school.
“I used to stay about a block and half from Aretha. I dated her younger sister. I was crazy about Carolyn, and we were in a room talking one day when Aretha walked in. I was like a little boy, saying, ‘Oh my God – Aretha Franklin!’
“Even then her name meant something. Detroit would sit down when she sang every Sunday night. Her father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin, had her sing in church, and the city would shut down listening to Aretha.”
What gave you the drive to emerge as The Temptations’ group leader?
“That was happenstance! I don’t know where it came from, but I was a stickler for time, and one day Johnnie Mae Matthews called a rehearsal – before we came to Motown – and I got there about half an hour before anybody. She said. ‘Otis, you’re never late!’ I told her my reason and she said, ‘Hold it – you be the group leader!’ Little did I know what that would encompass years later.
“When we left Johnnie, disenchanted, Mr Gordy had given me a card and said, ‘Come see me!’, so I called and met Mickey Stevens, the A&R man, who said, ‘If you wanna make Mr Gordy mad – be late!’
“I was already priding myself on being on time. Entertainers, people think, are always late, come with attitude and think the world should stop and revolve around them. We wanted to way-lay all that. Once you lose time, you can never get that back!”
Taking the man they call ‘Big Daddy’ back to his Texas roots, where do you think your musical inclination came from? And did it take your move to Detroit to stir all that up?
“My grandparents. My grandmother was a singer down in Texas. I’d go and see her sing in the choir. I was into doo-wop when we moved to Detroit when I was 12, and the birth of rock’n’roll was really taking shape.
“I’d go see those wonderful rock’n’roll shows at the Fox Theatre. I was amazed what people were doing on stage, at a venue known as the second largest indoor theatre in America (after Radio City). Seeing 5,000-plus people going crazy at what five guys were doing on stage – wow!”
All these years on, you’ve sold tens of millions of records – a staggering amount. I have a particular love for so many, not least the better-known singles like My Girl through to those four great 45s from ’66 (Get Ready, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, Beauty is Only Skin Deep and (I Know) I’m Losing You), ’68’s I Wish It Would Rain, ’71’s Just My Imagination (Running Away From Me) and ’72’s Papa Was A Rolling Stone. But which songs are Otis most proud of?
“I’m equally proud of them all, but must say the standout will always be My Girl. When we finished it and Mr Paul Riser put the strings on that, I told Smokey (Robinson, who co-wrote the song) in the control room, ‘I don’t know how big a record this will be, but I think we got something!’
“That was December 1964, and February ‘65 we were at the Apollo Theatre, Mr Gordy saying there’s a telegram congratulating us on a No.1 record. Also, The Beatles sent a telegram to the Theatre congratulating us!”
That US No.1 arrived five long years after the more local success of Come On by The Distants, and at one stage you were dubbed ‘The Hitless Temptations’. Was there ever doubt in your mind it would all come together?
“Well, you know, we were hopeful. Come On did fairly well and gave us a name. But when we came to Motown in ’61 we had about seven singles released by Mr Gordy before the first big one, The Way You Do the Things You Do.”
At that point, unfortunately, the line is briefly muted and Otis comes back to tell me he has another call coming in. That ruled out – at least this time around – questions about the band’s later years and their psychedelic soul phase, more about the Motortown Revues and sheer wealth of talent on board, later moments of high dramas when David Ruffin refused to be ousted from the band and was known to sneak into shows and wrestle the mic. off his replacement Dennis Edwards on Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, his thoughts on Richard Street’s Ball of Confusion: My Life as a Temptin’ Temptation (2014, written with Gary Flanigan), and so much more.
But if you want to read up further on Otis and his group, there’s always his 1988 autobiography Temptations (co-written with Patricia Romanowski), an inspiration behind the NBC miniseries dramatisation of The Temptations story a few years ago. More to the point, Otis himself is still out there, putting on live shows with the current line-up of The Temptations. And then there’s the music, and that will never be taken away from us.
http://www.kennedy-center.org/Artist/A19242
The Kennedy Center
The Temptations
Biography
For more than 40 years, The Temptations have prospered, propelling popular music with a series of smash hits and sold-out performances throughout the world.
The history of The Temptations is the history of contemporary American pop. An essential component of the original Motown machine, that amazing engine invented by Berry Gordy, The Temps began their musical life in Detroit in the early 60s. It wasn't until 1964, however, that the Smokey Robinson written-and-produced "The Way You Do, The Things You Do" turned the guys into stars.
An avalanche of hits followed, many of which, "My Girl," for instance, attained immortality. "It's Growing," "Since I Lost My Baby," "Get Ready," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Beauty Is only Skin Deep," "I Wish It Would Rain." The hits kept coming.
The classic lineup was Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin. Beyond the fabulous singing, The Temps became known for smooth stepping and flawless presentations. The Temptations Walk became a staple of American style. Flair, flash and class. Millions of fans saw the Temptations as cultural heroes.
When the 60s and 70s turned political, The Temps got serious. They changed their tone, dress and music. Producer Norman Whitfield led the way. His Temptations hits, many featuring Dennis Edwards who had replaced David Ruffin, burned with intensity. "Runaway Child," "Cloud Nine," "I Can't Get Next to You," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," and "Psychedelic Shack" still smolder.
Other stellar singers, Richard Street and Ali-Ollie Woodson joined adding their luster to the group's growing fame. No matter the change in personnel, The Temptations remained true to their tradition. They survived the whims of fashion, whether disco or techno, and stuck to their guns. "Great singing," says Otis, "will always prevail."
In the 80s, The Temps prevailed with smashes like the Otis Williams' penned "Treat Her Like A Lady." Then in the 90s, another Temptation explosion: It began with their appearance on Motown 25 in 1983; it continued with the NBC mini-series that chronicled the group's history, a ratings triumph over two nights in prime time. An Emmy Award followed.
Then came a series of acclaimed records: For Lovers Only, a collection of love standards, termed an instant classic by critics, remains among the most cherished of all Temptations recordings. Phoenix Rising went through the roof, a platinum-plus mega-hit featuring "Stay," the Narada Michael Walden produced song that topped the charts. Ear Resistible nailed a Grammy and a legion of new fans. Awesome, released in 2001 is The Temptations at their freshest, strongest, and most appealing.
The current Temptations lineup consists of: Otis Williams, Terry Weeks, G. C. Cameron, Ron Tyson, and Joe Herndon.
"The more we change," says veteran Ron Tyson, "the more we stay true to ourselves. We're about singing straight-up soul. It's a style that will live on forever."
"The Temps have always been known for great lead singers", says Williams. "Today we have three of the greatest leads in the proud history of the group."
The soaring voice of Ron Tyson is perhaps the best high tenor in the business.
Terry Weeks, who grew up in Alabama and spent eight years in the Air Force before his makeshift audition for Otis on a Hollywood street corner, has smooth textures and tones that express an extraordinary full range of feelings.
Newest member G.C. Cameron's discography spans three decades and reflects the influences of his musical mentors, Sam Cooke and Curtis Mayfield. His musical roots can be traced to rural Mississippi, where he was born and raised. The front man for the Motown group, The Spinners for many years, and later a Motown solo artist, he brings an artistry of creativity to the group.
"Our challenge," says Williams, "is to live in the present while respecting the past. Our past is filled with riches only a fool would discard. At the same time, we thrive on competition. As a Motowner, I grew up in the most competitive musical atmosphere imaginable. But we also understand that for a group with history, no matter how glorious that history might be, reinvention is the name of the game." "When I tell people we are God's group," says Otis, a remarkable modest man, "I don't mean it arrogantly. It's just that we have been tested time and again and keep coming back. We have suffered the death of so many legendary singers...Paul Williams, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin. Other's like Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, Ali-Ollie Woodson and Theo Peoples have left, and yet our unity is tighter, our sound brighter and our popularity greater. Someone has watched over this group. Someone has protected our integrity. Someone has said...just go on singing and it'll get better."
And so the Temptations go on...and on.....and on.
http://classic.motown.com/artist/the-temptations/
The Temptations
The Emperors of Soul. Recognizable to a man, this
unique blend of voices and blade-sharp choreography (“The Temptation
Walk”!) is one of the defining legacies of Motown Records. The group has
thirty-seven Top 40 hits to their credit, including fifteen Top 10
tunes and a quartet which soared to No. 1. On the R&B charts? They
have fifteen No. 1 singles, and seventeen No. 1 albums. The titles alone
summon memories beyond measure: “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” “My
Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” “I Wish It Would Rain,” “Cloud Nine,”
“Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” “Papa Was A Rollin’
Stone.” For always, the Temptations are sunshine on a cloudy day.
FAST FACTS:
FAST FACTS:
- First hit: “The Way You Do The Things You Do”
- Biggest hit: “My Girl”
- Top album: All Directions
- Career highlight: A vocal-group “brand” and reputation which has lasted for more than half a century…and counting.
- The Temptations are born in the late 1950s out of two Detroit-based vocal harmony combines: the Primes, a trio which includes Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams, and the Distants, a quintet whose members include Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin and Elbridge “Al” Bryant. Soon, these five come together as the Temptations, signing with Motown Records in 1961. Their debut release, with Eddie on lead, is written and produced by Berry Gordy: “Dream Come True,” which is also the first release on the Gordy label, touches the R&B charts, momentarily.
- The famous five’s career ignites in a flash of radio, television, concert and chart ubiquity, underpinned by hits such as “Get Ready,” “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” “(I Know) I’m Losing You” and “I Wish It Would Rain,” and albums like Gettin’ Ready, With A Lot O’ Soul, Wish It Would Rain and In A Mellow Mood.
The Temptations: London, 1965
- In 1991, the Temptations’ triumphs are signified by Rod Stewart’s Top 10 hit, “The Motown Song” (they sing along with the British star), and by the return of “My Girl” as the title tune of a $60 million Hollywood hit movie. In Britain, a reissue of the record hits No. 2. To close out the century, the Temptations’ extraordinary story becomes an NBC-TV mini-series.
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The Temptations are an American vocal group who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Their work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music.[1] The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.[2][3][4]
Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group formed in 1960 in Detroit, Michigan under the name The Elgins. The founding members came from two rival Detroit vocal groups: Otis Williams, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and Melvin Franklin of Otis Williams & the Distants, and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffin, who was the lead vocalist on a number of the group's biggest hits, including "My Girl" (1964), "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (1966), and "I Wish It Would Rain" (1967). Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as "Cloud Nine" (1969) and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (1970). The group's lineup has changed frequently since the departures of Kendricks and Paul Williams from the act in 1971. Later members of the group have included singers such as Richard Street, Damon Harris, Ron Tyson, and Ali-Ollie Woodson, with whom the group scored a late-period hit in 1984 with "Treat Her Like a Lady".
Over the course of their career, the Temptations released four Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and fourteen R&B number-one singles. Their music has earned three Grammy Awards. The Temptations were the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award - for "Cloud Nine" in 1969[5] - and in 2013 received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Six of the Temptations (Edwards, Franklin, Kendricks, Ruffin, Otis Williams and Paul Williams) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Three classic Temptations songs, "My Girl", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The Temptations were ranked at number 68 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all time.
As of 2017, the Temptations continue to perform with founder Otis Williams in the lineup (Williams owns rights to the Temptations name).
After Waller left the group in 1957, the remaining trio left Birmingham to break into the music business. The group settled in Detroit where they changed their name to the Primes under the direction of Milton Jenkins. The Primes soon became well known around the Detroit area for their meticulous performances.[7] Jenkins later created a sister group, The Primettes, later known as the Supremes. Kendricks was already seen as a "matinee idol" in the Detroit area while Williams was well received for his baritone vocals.[6] Texas teenager Otis Williams moved to Detroit as a youngster to be with his mother.
By 1958, Williams was the leader of a vocal group named Otis Williams and the Siberians. The group included Elbridge "Al" Bryant, James "Pee-Wee" Crawford, Vernard Plain and Arthur Walton. The group recorded a song, "Pecos Kid" for a label run by radio deejay Senator Bristol Bryant.[8] Shortly after its release, the group changed its name to The El Domingoes. Following this, Montgomery native Melvin Franklin replaced Arthur Walton as bass vocalist and Detroit-born Richard Street (claimed by Melvin Franklin to be his cousin)[9] replaced Vernard Plain as lead singer. Signing with Johnnie Mae Matthews' Northern Records, the group had their name changed again to The Distants.
The group recorded two Northern singles including "Come On" (1959) and "Alright" (1960).[10] Between these releases, Albert "Mooch" Harrell replaced Pee-Wee Crawford. "Come On" became a local hit and the Warwick Records label picked the record up for national distribution.[10] Following the release of "Alright", Matthews appointed Williams the group leader, and the group's name was changed to Otis Williams & The Distants.[11] During this period, both the Primes and Distants were influenced by other vocal groups including the Miracles.[12] Other inspirations included the Cadillacs, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, the Drifters, and the Isley Brothers.[13] Though "Come On" was a local hit in the Detroit area, the Distants never saw much record sales and "Alright" was not as successful. After receiving an offer from Berry Gordy to sign with Motown Records, the Distants got out of their contract with Northern Records. However, Mooch Harrell and Richard Street shortly departed from the group and the remaining members lost use of the Distants name. Richard Street later formed another Distants group who recorded for the Thelma label in the early 1960s.[citation needed]
Members of the Distants were acquainted with the Primes as both groups participated in the same talent shows and performed at the same public venues. Friendly rivals, the Primes were considered to be the more polished and vocally stronger group of the two. The Primes disbanded in 1960 after Kell Osborne moved to California. Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams returned to Alabama following the band's dissolution. While visiting relatives in Detroit, Kendricks called Otis Williams, who desperately needed two more members for an audition for Gordy's label and offered Kendricks a lead singer place in his new group. Kendricks agreed on the condition he bring Paul Williams with him. Otis Williams happily agreed and Kendricks and Paul Williams moved back to Detroit to join the new group.
The original name for the new lineup of Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams was the Elgins. Under that name, the group auditioned for Motown in March 1961. Already impressed with some of the members after hearing session work, Berry Gordy agreed to sign the group to the Motown imprint, Miracle. However, before signing, Gordy discovered another group was using the name of Elgins. The group began tossing about ideas for a new name on the steps of the Hitsville U.S.A. studio. On a suggestion from Miracle Records employee Billy Mitchell, songwriter Mickey Stevenson, and group members Otis Williams and Paul Williams, the Temptations became the group's new moniker. The "Elgins" name re-surfaced at Motown in 1965, when Gordy renamed a quartet called the Downbeats as the Elgins.
The Temptations' first two singles, "Oh Mother of Mine" and "Check Yourself", with Paul Williams on lead, were released on Miracle before Gordy closed the label down and reassigned the band to his latest imprint, Gordy Records. On the Gordy imprint, Eddie Kendricks sang lead on the Temptations' first charted single, "(You're My) Dream Come True", which peaked at number 22 on the R&B chart in 1962. Later that year, the Temptations began touring as part of the Motortown Revue. The group would issue eight recordings between 1961-63 without much success.
Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks split the leads during this early period, with Al Bryant, Otis Williams, and Melvin Franklin occasionally singing lead, as they would on a song titled "Isn't She Pretty". For a brief time, the group almost had their name changed to The Pirates, and recorded the songs "Mind Over Matter" and "I'll Love You Till I Die" under that name. Eventually the label and the group decided against it. One hit song, "Do You Love Me", was originally to be recorded by the Temptations. When he couldn't get a hold of the group, Gordy produced a version for the Contours. In 1963, the Temptations began working with Smokey Robinson as producer and writer. Robinson's first work with the group was the Paul Williams-led "I Want a Love I Can See". While the song failed to chart, it did eventually become a popular live performance spot for the group and particularly for Paul Williams in general. Some called the group "The Hitless Temptations" due to their lack of hits.
During this time, David Ruffin began following the group around as he aspired to join them. During a local Detroit performance, Ruffin joined the group onstage and impressed the group with his vocal talent and dancing skills.[14] Following that same time, Al Bryant had grown frustrated with the group's lack of success and became restless and uncooperative, preferring the mundane routine of his day job as a milkman over the rigors of rehearsal and performing. After a second altercation onstage at a Christmas performance, having struck Paul with a beer bottle during a heated quarrel at an earlier gig in the middle of the year, Bryant was summarily fired from the group. As a result, David Ruffin was brought in as his replacement in January 1964.[15] Though Ruffin's brother, Jimmy was also considered for the slot, David was selected following his performance with them in 1963.
Bryant continued to perform in a number of other local groups, and died at the age of 36 in Flagler County, Florida, of liver cirrhosis on October 26, 1975.[16]
Shortly afterward, "The Way You Do The Things You Do" and several pre-David Ruffin singles were compiled into the group's first album, Meet the Temptations, released in early 1964. The next two Temptations singles in 1964, "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" along with "I'll Be in Trouble" and its B-side "The Girl's Alright with Me", all featured Kendricks on lead (although Franklin sang one line in "I'll Be in Trouble"). However, producer Smokey Robinson saw potential in the "mellow yet gruff" voice of David Ruffin, and thought that if he could write the perfect song for his lead, then the group could have a Top 10 hit.[17]
While traveling as part of Motown's Motortown Revue later that year, Robinson and fellow Miracles member Ronnie White wrote "My Girl", which the Temptations recorded in the fall of 1964 with Ruffin singing his first lead vocal for the group. Released as a single on December 21, 1964, the song became the Temptations' first number-one pop hit in March 1965. Over 50 years and multiple chart topping songs later, it is still their signature song to this day.
After the success of "My Girl", Ruffin sang lead on the next three singles: "It's Growing", "Since I Lost My Baby", and "My Baby", which all made it to the Top 20 in 1965. The B-side to "My Baby", "Don’t Look Back", featured a stirring lead from Paul Williams, and was a sleeper hit on the R&B charts and a standard for vocal group playlists.
Norman Whitfield had requested the opportunity to write for the group and in 1966, Berry Gordy promised him that if Robinson's "Get Ready", with Eddie Kendricks on lead, failed to chart in the Top 20, Whitfield would be allowed to produce the next song. "Get Ready" subsequently missed its mark, and Gordy issued the Whitfield-produced "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", with David Ruffin on lead, as the next single. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" outperformed "Get Ready" on the Billboard charts, and Whitfield became the Temptations' new main producer. He began pulling the group away from the ballad-based productions espoused by Robinson, toward a harder-edged and brass-heavy soul sound reminiscent of James Brown.
Nearly all singles Whitfield produced prior to 1968 featured David Ruffin on lead, including the R&B number-one/pop Top 10 hits "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", "(I Know) I'm Losing You"[18] and the early 1967 hit "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need". Other important singles from this period include "All I Need", produced by Frank Wilson, a Whitfield protégé, and the "You're My Everything", on which Kendricks and Ruffin share lead. Studio albums during the "Classic Five" period apart from Meet the Temptations include The Temptations Sing Smokey (1965), The Temptin' Temptations (1965), Gettin' Ready (1966), The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul (1967), and The Temptations Wish It Would Rain (1968).
During this period, the various songwriting partners of Norman Whitfield included Roger Penzabene, Edward Holland, Jr., and Temptations road show manager and guitarist Cornelius Grant. Subsequently, Barrett Strong, who sang the very first hit at Motown in 1959, "Money (That's What I Want)", began working with Whitfield and Penzabene on Temptations material after Eddie Holland left Motown with the rest of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting/production team in 1967. Two of the Whitfield-Strong-Penzabene collaborations, "I Wish It Would Rain" and "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)", became hits in early 1968 after the suicide of Roger Penzabene in December 1967. Subsequently, Barrett Strong became the sole collaborator of Norman Whitfield.
From early 1964 to mid 1968, the Temptations went from unknown hopefuls to international stars and as a result, appeared frequently on television shows such as American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Hollywood Palace. At the same time, the group began to achieve a crossover success, catering to middle America with a pop standards album (The Temptations in a Mellow Mood, 1967), the success of which resulted in performances at the famous Copacabana in New York City along with dates at other similar supper clubs. Outside of music, the Temptations were made honorary members of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
Some of this behavior was attributed to the fact that by this time Ruffin had begun using cocaine regularly, building further tension within the group and causing him to miss a number of group meetings, rehearsals, and concerts. There was a consensus among the rest of the group that Ruffin needed to be replaced. When Ruffin missed a June 1968 engagement at a Cleveland supper club in order to attend a show by his new girlfriend, Barbara Gail Martin (daughter of Dean Martin),[20] the group decided that he had crossed the line. The other four Temptations drew up legal documentation, officially firing Ruffin on June 27, 1968.[21] The next day, Dennis Edwards, a singer formerly of the Contours that Eddie Kendricks and Otis Williams already had pegged as a potential Ruffin replacement,[22] was hired to take Ruffin's place.
Edwards and Ruffin were good friends, and at first, Ruffin went along with the changing of the guard and encouraged Edwards. However, at Edwards' official debut with the Temptations in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on July 7, Ruffin came to the show and jumped onstage, taking the microphone from Edwards, singing lead on "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," and disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.[23] Ruffin repeated this stunt several times throughout the group's July tour run. Despite the group hiring extra security to keep Ruffin out, he continued to find ways to sneak into the venue and jump onstage when the group performed one of the songs he had once sung lead on.[23]
In a story recounted several times by Dennis Edwards,[22] (rebutted by Otis Williams and Temptations road manager Don Foster),[24] after several of these stunts, the positive audience reactions and a remorseful Ruffin's pleas to be let back into the act convinced the other Temptations to do so. Otis Williams informed the then still-new Edwards that the group would lay him off and rehire Ruffin while in Gaithersburg, Maryland. However, when Ruffin failed to show up on time the next night for his "return" engagement, the group kept Edwards on and ceased to entertain the prospect of rehiring Ruffin.[22][24]
After Gaithersburg, Ruffin stopped attempting to disrupt the Temptations' concerts and instead turned his attention to the Motown offices back in Detroit. He sued Motown in October 1968, seeking a release from the label, but Motown countersued to keep the singer from leaving and the case was eventually settled out of court.[25] The settlement required Ruffin to remain with Motown as a solo artist to finish out his contract.[25]
Edwards' first album with the Temptations was Live at the Copa, recorded at the group's return to the Copacabana nightclub. The year 1968 also saw the debut of the first of a number of collaborations for the Temptations with Diana Ross & the Supremes. The results included two studio albums: 1968's Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations, which featured Edwards's first studio recordings with the group and the number-two hit single "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and "Together". There was also a joint tour and two NBC television specials, TCB (aired December 9, 1968) and G.I.T. on Broadway (aired November 12, 1969).
The Temptations
The Temptations are an American vocal group who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Their work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music.[1] The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.[2][3][4]
Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group formed in 1960 in Detroit, Michigan under the name The Elgins. The founding members came from two rival Detroit vocal groups: Otis Williams, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and Melvin Franklin of Otis Williams & the Distants, and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffin, who was the lead vocalist on a number of the group's biggest hits, including "My Girl" (1964), "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (1966), and "I Wish It Would Rain" (1967). Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as "Cloud Nine" (1969) and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (1970). The group's lineup has changed frequently since the departures of Kendricks and Paul Williams from the act in 1971. Later members of the group have included singers such as Richard Street, Damon Harris, Ron Tyson, and Ali-Ollie Woodson, with whom the group scored a late-period hit in 1984 with "Treat Her Like a Lady".
Over the course of their career, the Temptations released four Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and fourteen R&B number-one singles. Their music has earned three Grammy Awards. The Temptations were the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award - for "Cloud Nine" in 1969[5] - and in 2013 received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Six of the Temptations (Edwards, Franklin, Kendricks, Ruffin, Otis Williams and Paul Williams) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Three classic Temptations songs, "My Girl", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The Temptations were ranked at number 68 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all time.
As of 2017, the Temptations continue to perform with founder Otis Williams in the lineup (Williams owns rights to the Temptations name).
Origins
Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams started singing together in church as children. By their teenage years, they formed a doo-wop quartet in 1955 with Kell Osborne and Wiley Waller, naming themselves the Cavaliers.[6]
After Waller left the group in 1957, the remaining trio left Birmingham to break into the music business. The group settled in Detroit where they changed their name to the Primes under the direction of Milton Jenkins. The Primes soon became well known around the Detroit area for their meticulous performances.[7] Jenkins later created a sister group, The Primettes, later known as the Supremes. Kendricks was already seen as a "matinee idol" in the Detroit area while Williams was well received for his baritone vocals.[6] Texas teenager Otis Williams moved to Detroit as a youngster to be with his mother.
By 1958, Williams was the leader of a vocal group named Otis Williams and the Siberians. The group included Elbridge "Al" Bryant, James "Pee-Wee" Crawford, Vernard Plain and Arthur Walton. The group recorded a song, "Pecos Kid" for a label run by radio deejay Senator Bristol Bryant.[8] Shortly after its release, the group changed its name to The El Domingoes. Following this, Montgomery native Melvin Franklin replaced Arthur Walton as bass vocalist and Detroit-born Richard Street (claimed by Melvin Franklin to be his cousin)[9] replaced Vernard Plain as lead singer. Signing with Johnnie Mae Matthews' Northern Records, the group had their name changed again to The Distants.
The group recorded two Northern singles including "Come On" (1959) and "Alright" (1960).[10] Between these releases, Albert "Mooch" Harrell replaced Pee-Wee Crawford. "Come On" became a local hit and the Warwick Records label picked the record up for national distribution.[10] Following the release of "Alright", Matthews appointed Williams the group leader, and the group's name was changed to Otis Williams & The Distants.[11] During this period, both the Primes and Distants were influenced by other vocal groups including the Miracles.[12] Other inspirations included the Cadillacs, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, the Drifters, and the Isley Brothers.[13] Though "Come On" was a local hit in the Detroit area, the Distants never saw much record sales and "Alright" was not as successful. After receiving an offer from Berry Gordy to sign with Motown Records, the Distants got out of their contract with Northern Records. However, Mooch Harrell and Richard Street shortly departed from the group and the remaining members lost use of the Distants name. Richard Street later formed another Distants group who recorded for the Thelma label in the early 1960s.[citation needed]
Early years
Members of the Distants were acquainted with the Primes as both groups participated in the same talent shows and performed at the same public venues. Friendly rivals, the Primes were considered to be the more polished and vocally stronger group of the two. The Primes disbanded in 1960 after Kell Osborne moved to California. Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams returned to Alabama following the band's dissolution. While visiting relatives in Detroit, Kendricks called Otis Williams, who desperately needed two more members for an audition for Gordy's label and offered Kendricks a lead singer place in his new group. Kendricks agreed on the condition he bring Paul Williams with him. Otis Williams happily agreed and Kendricks and Paul Williams moved back to Detroit to join the new group.
The original name for the new lineup of Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams was the Elgins. Under that name, the group auditioned for Motown in March 1961. Already impressed with some of the members after hearing session work, Berry Gordy agreed to sign the group to the Motown imprint, Miracle. However, before signing, Gordy discovered another group was using the name of Elgins. The group began tossing about ideas for a new name on the steps of the Hitsville U.S.A. studio. On a suggestion from Miracle Records employee Billy Mitchell, songwriter Mickey Stevenson, and group members Otis Williams and Paul Williams, the Temptations became the group's new moniker. The "Elgins" name re-surfaced at Motown in 1965, when Gordy renamed a quartet called the Downbeats as the Elgins.
The Temptations' first two singles, "Oh Mother of Mine" and "Check Yourself", with Paul Williams on lead, were released on Miracle before Gordy closed the label down and reassigned the band to his latest imprint, Gordy Records. On the Gordy imprint, Eddie Kendricks sang lead on the Temptations' first charted single, "(You're My) Dream Come True", which peaked at number 22 on the R&B chart in 1962. Later that year, the Temptations began touring as part of the Motortown Revue. The group would issue eight recordings between 1961-63 without much success.
Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks split the leads during this early period, with Al Bryant, Otis Williams, and Melvin Franklin occasionally singing lead, as they would on a song titled "Isn't She Pretty". For a brief time, the group almost had their name changed to The Pirates, and recorded the songs "Mind Over Matter" and "I'll Love You Till I Die" under that name. Eventually the label and the group decided against it. One hit song, "Do You Love Me", was originally to be recorded by the Temptations. When he couldn't get a hold of the group, Gordy produced a version for the Contours. In 1963, the Temptations began working with Smokey Robinson as producer and writer. Robinson's first work with the group was the Paul Williams-led "I Want a Love I Can See". While the song failed to chart, it did eventually become a popular live performance spot for the group and particularly for Paul Williams in general. Some called the group "The Hitless Temptations" due to their lack of hits.
During this time, David Ruffin began following the group around as he aspired to join them. During a local Detroit performance, Ruffin joined the group onstage and impressed the group with his vocal talent and dancing skills.[14] Following that same time, Al Bryant had grown frustrated with the group's lack of success and became restless and uncooperative, preferring the mundane routine of his day job as a milkman over the rigors of rehearsal and performing. After a second altercation onstage at a Christmas performance, having struck Paul with a beer bottle during a heated quarrel at an earlier gig in the middle of the year, Bryant was summarily fired from the group. As a result, David Ruffin was brought in as his replacement in January 1964.[15] Though Ruffin's brother, Jimmy was also considered for the slot, David was selected following his performance with them in 1963.
Bryant continued to perform in a number of other local groups, and died at the age of 36 in Flagler County, Florida, of liver cirrhosis on October 26, 1975.[16]
"Classic Five" Era
The Temptations would now consist of Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and David Ruffin; the success that would follow the group would result in what would, in later years, be frequently referred to as the "Classic Five" lineup. In January 1964, Smokey Robinson and Miracles bandmate Bobby Rogers co-wrote and produced "The Way You Do the Things You Do" with Eddie Kendricks on lead and the single became the Temptations' first Top 20 hit that April.
Shortly afterward, "The Way You Do The Things You Do" and several pre-David Ruffin singles were compiled into the group's first album, Meet the Temptations, released in early 1964. The next two Temptations singles in 1964, "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" along with "I'll Be in Trouble" and its B-side "The Girl's Alright with Me", all featured Kendricks on lead (although Franklin sang one line in "I'll Be in Trouble"). However, producer Smokey Robinson saw potential in the "mellow yet gruff" voice of David Ruffin, and thought that if he could write the perfect song for his lead, then the group could have a Top 10 hit.[17]
While traveling as part of Motown's Motortown Revue later that year, Robinson and fellow Miracles member Ronnie White wrote "My Girl", which the Temptations recorded in the fall of 1964 with Ruffin singing his first lead vocal for the group. Released as a single on December 21, 1964, the song became the Temptations' first number-one pop hit in March 1965. Over 50 years and multiple chart topping songs later, it is still their signature song to this day.
After the success of "My Girl", Ruffin sang lead on the next three singles: "It's Growing", "Since I Lost My Baby", and "My Baby", which all made it to the Top 20 in 1965. The B-side to "My Baby", "Don’t Look Back", featured a stirring lead from Paul Williams, and was a sleeper hit on the R&B charts and a standard for vocal group playlists.
Norman Whitfield had requested the opportunity to write for the group and in 1966, Berry Gordy promised him that if Robinson's "Get Ready", with Eddie Kendricks on lead, failed to chart in the Top 20, Whitfield would be allowed to produce the next song. "Get Ready" subsequently missed its mark, and Gordy issued the Whitfield-produced "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", with David Ruffin on lead, as the next single. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" outperformed "Get Ready" on the Billboard charts, and Whitfield became the Temptations' new main producer. He began pulling the group away from the ballad-based productions espoused by Robinson, toward a harder-edged and brass-heavy soul sound reminiscent of James Brown.
Nearly all singles Whitfield produced prior to 1968 featured David Ruffin on lead, including the R&B number-one/pop Top 10 hits "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", "(I Know) I'm Losing You"[18] and the early 1967 hit "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need". Other important singles from this period include "All I Need", produced by Frank Wilson, a Whitfield protégé, and the "You're My Everything", on which Kendricks and Ruffin share lead. Studio albums during the "Classic Five" period apart from Meet the Temptations include The Temptations Sing Smokey (1965), The Temptin' Temptations (1965), Gettin' Ready (1966), The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul (1967), and The Temptations Wish It Would Rain (1968).
During this period, the various songwriting partners of Norman Whitfield included Roger Penzabene, Edward Holland, Jr., and Temptations road show manager and guitarist Cornelius Grant. Subsequently, Barrett Strong, who sang the very first hit at Motown in 1959, "Money (That's What I Want)", began working with Whitfield and Penzabene on Temptations material after Eddie Holland left Motown with the rest of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting/production team in 1967. Two of the Whitfield-Strong-Penzabene collaborations, "I Wish It Would Rain" and "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)", became hits in early 1968 after the suicide of Roger Penzabene in December 1967. Subsequently, Barrett Strong became the sole collaborator of Norman Whitfield.
From early 1964 to mid 1968, the Temptations went from unknown hopefuls to international stars and as a result, appeared frequently on television shows such as American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Hollywood Palace. At the same time, the group began to achieve a crossover success, catering to middle America with a pop standards album (The Temptations in a Mellow Mood, 1967), the success of which resulted in performances at the famous Copacabana in New York City along with dates at other similar supper clubs. Outside of music, the Temptations were made honorary members of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
David Ruffin's departure and Dennis Edwards' arrival
By 1967, David Ruffin had begun demanding special treatment as lead singer, riding to and from gigs in a private mink-lined limousine with his then-girlfriend, Motown singer Tammi Terrell, instead of in the group limousine used by the other four Temptations. The other members slowly became irritated and annoyed with Ruffin's behavior. Following Motown's decision to rechristen the Supremes as Diana Ross & the Supremes, Ruffin felt entitled to the same treatment and demanded that his group be renamed as well, to David Ruffin & the Temptations. Ruffin was also causing friction with Berry Gordy by demanding an accounting of the group's earnings;[19] Motown partially acquiesced by allowing the Temptations to retain an outside accounting firm, but the firm did not have full access to the books from the Temptations' manager, International Talent Management, Inc. - a subsidiary of Motown.[19]
Some of this behavior was attributed to the fact that by this time Ruffin had begun using cocaine regularly, building further tension within the group and causing him to miss a number of group meetings, rehearsals, and concerts. There was a consensus among the rest of the group that Ruffin needed to be replaced. When Ruffin missed a June 1968 engagement at a Cleveland supper club in order to attend a show by his new girlfriend, Barbara Gail Martin (daughter of Dean Martin),[20] the group decided that he had crossed the line. The other four Temptations drew up legal documentation, officially firing Ruffin on June 27, 1968.[21] The next day, Dennis Edwards, a singer formerly of the Contours that Eddie Kendricks and Otis Williams already had pegged as a potential Ruffin replacement,[22] was hired to take Ruffin's place.
Edwards and Ruffin were good friends, and at first, Ruffin went along with the changing of the guard and encouraged Edwards. However, at Edwards' official debut with the Temptations in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on July 7, Ruffin came to the show and jumped onstage, taking the microphone from Edwards, singing lead on "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," and disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.[23] Ruffin repeated this stunt several times throughout the group's July tour run. Despite the group hiring extra security to keep Ruffin out, he continued to find ways to sneak into the venue and jump onstage when the group performed one of the songs he had once sung lead on.[23]
In a story recounted several times by Dennis Edwards,[22] (rebutted by Otis Williams and Temptations road manager Don Foster),[24] after several of these stunts, the positive audience reactions and a remorseful Ruffin's pleas to be let back into the act convinced the other Temptations to do so. Otis Williams informed the then still-new Edwards that the group would lay him off and rehire Ruffin while in Gaithersburg, Maryland. However, when Ruffin failed to show up on time the next night for his "return" engagement, the group kept Edwards on and ceased to entertain the prospect of rehiring Ruffin.[22][24]
After Gaithersburg, Ruffin stopped attempting to disrupt the Temptations' concerts and instead turned his attention to the Motown offices back in Detroit. He sued Motown in October 1968, seeking a release from the label, but Motown countersued to keep the singer from leaving and the case was eventually settled out of court.[25] The settlement required Ruffin to remain with Motown as a solo artist to finish out his contract.[25]
Edwards' first album with the Temptations was Live at the Copa, recorded at the group's return to the Copacabana nightclub. The year 1968 also saw the debut of the first of a number of collaborations for the Temptations with Diana Ross & the Supremes. The results included two studio albums: 1968's Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations, which featured Edwards's first studio recordings with the group and the number-two hit single "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and "Together". There was also a joint tour and two NBC television specials, TCB (aired December 9, 1968) and G.I.T. on Broadway (aired November 12, 1969).
Psychedelic soul
The addition of Dennis Edwards to the Temptations coincided with the
adoption of a new sound for the group by producer Norman Whitfield, and
in the fall of 1968, Whitfield began producing psychedelic-based material for the Temptations, derived primarily from the sound of funk band Sly & the Family Stone. This new style, which debuted with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine"[18] in October 1968, was a marked departure from the David Ruffin-era ballads. The instrumentation was funkier,
the beat was hard-driving, and all five Temptations traded lead vocals,
similar to Sly & the Family Stone. "Cloud Nine", the centerpiece of
the group's landmark Cloud Nine LP, was a Top 10 hit and won Motown its first Grammy Award, for Best R&B Vocal Group Performance of 1969.
The blending of the Motown sound and psychedelic rock sound resulted in a new subgenre of music called psychedelic soul, also evident in the work of Diana Ross and the Supremes ("Reflections", "Love Child"), Marvin Gaye's version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", and music of the 5th Dimension, the Undisputed Truth, and the Friends of Distinction. More Temptations psychedelic soul singles followed in 1969 and 1970—among them "Runaway Child, Running Wild" (a number-one R&B hit), "I Can't Get Next to You" (a number-one pop hit), "Psychedelic Shack", and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", but the formula began to wear thin when "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)", only went to number 33 Pop in the fall of 1970. The group's other important albums from this period included Puzzle People (1969) and Psychedelic Shack (1970). Psychedelic Shack includes the original version of "War", later made famous by Edwin Starr.
In late 1969, Richard Street, lead singer of Motown act the Monitors and a former Distant, was hired by Otis Williams to tour with the group as a backup replacement for Williams.[26][28] For most shows, save for his solo numbers, Williams would dance and lip-sync on stage to parts sung live by Street into an offstage mic behind a curtain. At other shows, and during most of the second half of 1970, Street substituted for Williams on stage when he was too sick to go on.[29]
Eddie Kendricks became detached from the group after David Ruffin's firing and as the health of Paul Williams continued to fail. He regularly picked fights with Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin, which often became violent, and in addition, he preferred the ballad material from the earlier days and was uncomfortable with the psychedelic soul material the group was now performing. Kendricks rekindled his friendship with Ruffin, who persuaded him to go solo. He no longer felt he had a say in Otis Williams's handling of the group and was also convinced Motown's handling of the Temptations' finances was cheating the group out of money.[30] Kendricks, being the only member to continue an alliance with Ruffin, also repeatedly suggested that Ruffin should be allowed back into the group, despite the other members' strong objections.
Kendricks lobbied strongly in 1970 to have the Temptations go on "strike" - no performances, no recordings - until Berry Gordy and the Motown staff would be willing to go over all group finances with independent accountants.[30] Otis Williams and Franklin strongly opposed this idea, and regular group infighting between Kendricks, Otis Williams, and Franklin grew from this disagreement.[30] After a November 1970 Copacabana engagement, one final confrontation between the three caused Kendricks to walk out in-between shows and not return. Both Kendricks and Williams then agreed that Kendricks would be leaving the group.[30] Kendricks later stated that he actually considered leaving as early as 1965, but remained with the Temptations and unsuccessfully attempted to get permission to record a solo album without leaving the group.[31]
Before Kendricks officially left the Temptations, he and Paul Williams recorded the lead vocals for "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", a ballad that became Kendricks' final single with the group. Included on the Sky's the Limit LP along with the original album version of "Smiling Faces Sometimes", "Just My Imagination" was released as a single in January 1971, and the song began steadily climbing the US pop singles chart, peaking at number 1 two months later. By the time "Just My Imagination" topped the charts, Kendricks had negotiated his release from the group and signed a solo deal with Motown's Tamla label.
The Temptations originally hired Ricky Owens, from the Los Angeles-based vocal group the Vibrations, to replace Kendricks. However, Owens only played two dates with the group before he was fired for forgetting the words to his solo numbers due to nervousness.[32] For several weeks of the spring of 1971, the Temptations were without a fifth member. Owens meanwhile returned to the Vibrations and died in Los Angeles, California on December 6, 1996, at the age of 57.
Whitfield took the remaining Temptations quartet and re-recorded "It's Summer", the B-side to "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", as a replacement single. "Smiling Faces Sometimes" was released as a single for the Undisputed Truth instead, becoming a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971. Meanwhile, "It's Summer" peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Temptations single to miss the Top 40 since "Farewell My Love" eight years earlier.
After his doctor declared a few weeks later that he was unable to continue performing due to medical reasons, Paul Williams quit the Temptations in May.[33] Richard Street officially took Williams' place, although Williams continued to be paid his customary one-fifth of group revenue (Street was paid on salary for the first eighteen months of his tenure),[34] and worked when he could with the group as an adviser and choreographer. After Williams had recovered enough to record again, he recorded two sides in 1973 for a debut solo single. However, on August 17, 1973, Williams died in Detroit at the age of 34 from a gunshot wound, his death ruled a suicide by the Wayne County coroner.
Late 1972 saw the release of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", a magnum opus written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield. Originally a three-minute record written and produced for the Undisputed Truth, Whitfield took the somber tune and created a sprawling, dramatic twelve-minute version for the Temptations—a forerunner of the extended single, soon to become popular in clubs and discothèques. An edited seven-minute version was released as a single and became one of the longest hit singles in music history: it hit number 1 on the pop charts and number 5 on the R&B charts. In 1973, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" won the Temptations their second Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Group. Whitfield and arranger/conductor Paul Riser won the award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for the instrumental version on the B-side, and Whitfield and Barrett Strong won the songwriting Grammy for Best R&B Song.
After "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", Whitfield stopped working with Barrett Strong, and began writing the Temptations' material on his own. The success of "Papa" led Whitfield to create more elongated, operatic pieces, including the Top 10 hit "Masterpiece" (1973) and several of the tracks on the resulting Masterpiece album. Tensions developed between Whitfield and the group, who found Whitfield arrogant and difficult to work with, and the group citing his habitual tardiness, his emphasis of the instrumental tracks at the expense of their vocals on many of his productions, and the declining singles and albums sales as other sources of conflict, sought to change producers.[35] Otis Williams complained about Whitfield's actions and the Temptations' stagnant sales to Berry Gordy; as a result, the group was reassigned to Jeffrey Bowen, co-producer of the 1967 In a Mellow Mood album.[35]
The final Norman Whitfield-produced Temptations album, 1990, was released in December 1973, and included the Top 30 single "Let Your Hair Down". Shortly afterwards, Whitfield left Motown, and in 1975 established Whitfield Records, taking the Undisputed Truth and Willie Hutch with him, along with Rose Royce---who performed an instrumental track for "Let Your Hair Down" before recording their 1976 smash "Car Wash."
A number of producers, including Bowen, Brian Holland, James Anthony Carmichael, and even the Temptations themselves tried producing hits for the next three LPs, House Party (November 1975), Wings of Love (March 1976), and The Temptations Do the Temptations (August 1976). None of these recordings were as commercially successful as A Song for You however, and none of their associated singles entered the Billboard charts.[38]
As time progressed, Bowen pushed Dennis Edwards further to the front of the group. This was evident on Wings of Love, where several tracks featured Edwards' vocal more prominently than the other Temptations' backing vocals.[39] Otis Williams felt that this was hurting the group, accused Motown of inattention, and cited this as the reason for the group's declining sales and popularity. After The Temptations Do the Temptations was recorded in 1976, Edwards was fired from the group,[40] and with new lead Louis Price on board, they left Motown for Atlantic Records.[41]
Success continued to elude the group at Atlantic, however. Their two releases on Atlantic – Hear to Tempt You (1977), and Bare Back (1978), along with their associated singles, had failed to perform any better at Atlantic than their last handful of singles had at Motown. As a result, in 1979, Atlantic released the group from its contract,[39] and shortly afterwards, the Temptations met once again with Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy, who re-signed the group to Motown in 1980.[42]
Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin agreed to rejoin the group for the new album, aptly titled Reunion, and its subsequent promotional tour. Rick James, the Motown funk star who had previously used the Temptations as backup vocalists on his 1981 hit "Super Freak" and whom Franklin claimed as his nephew,[9] wrote, produced, and guested on the Reunion album's lead single, "Standing on the Top". The single went to number-six on the R&B charts and featured Ruffin, Kendricks and Edwards trading back and forth on lead.
While the ensuing Reunion tour with all seven Temptations (Ruffin, Kendricks, Otis Williams, Franklin, Edwards, Richard Street, and Glenn Leonard) was financially successful, it ended up being a stressful venture: Kendricks' voice had weakened after decades of chain smoking, Ruffin (still addicted to drugs) missed a number of the performances due to being incapacitated, and current group members Dennis Edwards and Glenn Leonard were causing problems. At the conclusion of the Reunion tour, Ruffin and Kendricks were dismissed, and they began touring and performing together as a duo.
One more album, Surface Thrills, released in 1983, featured a sharp departure in the group's sound by incorporating elements of then-current rock. Following its release, Glenn Leonard was let go and replaced by Ron Tyson, who was with the Philadelphia groups the Ethics and Love Committee. Tyson had been a staff songwriter at Atlantic during the Temptations' tenure at that label, and co-wrote several songs on the album Hear to Tempt You.
The lineup of Franklin, Williams, Street, Tyson, and Edwards proved to be short-lived. The five performed on Motown 25 and released the direct to video The Temptations: Live in Concert (filmed at Harrah's Atlantic City). The album Back to Basics, released later in 1983, was the first album featuring Ron Tyson on lead. "Sail Away," produced by a returning Norman Whitfield and featuring Ron Tyson's first lead vocal, peaked at number 13 on the US R&B chart.
In addition, a then-relatively unknown singer/musician, Ali-Ollie Woodson was featured on one track, "Stop the World Right Here (I Wanna Get Off)." Woodson was a Detroit native who had been a potential candidate to replace Dennis Edwards back in 1977. Meanwhile, Edwards (who also had his share of lead vocals on the Back to Basics album) was again fired in 1984, for missing rehearsals or showing up hungover. He then attempted a second solo career, scoring a hit with the 1984 single "Don't Look Any Further", a duet with Siedah Garrett.
At this point, Woodson officially joined the group, taking Edwards' place. Woodson's first lead on a single was 1984's "Treat Her Like a Lady", co-written by himself and Otis Williams, and co-produced by former Earth, Wind & Fire members Al McKay and Ralph Johnson. The single became their biggest success on R&B radio since 1975, reaching number-two on the R&B charts, and just missing the Pop Top 40 at number 48. The group enjoyed further successes with 1985's "Do You Really Love Your Baby," a number 14 R&B hit co-written by soul star Luther Vandross, and 1986's "Lady Soul," the group's third and final Top 10 R&B hit of the decade.
Ali Woodson remained with the Temptations until 1987, when he was fired for consistent lateness. He was replaced by the again-returning Dennis Edwards. The group recorded one album during Edwards's third tenure, Together Again, released in late 1987. The following year, Otis Williams published his autobiography, Temptations, co-written with Patricia Romanowski, chronicling the careers of the group from the Primes/Distants days and focusing on the lives of Williams and Melvin Franklin. (An updated version of the book was published in 2002.)
Edwards was fired from the group for the third and final time in late 1988, with Woodson re-joining the lineup. On January 18, 1989, the Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The event honored Edwards, Franklin, Otis Williams, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks (now performing as "Eddie Kendrick"), and, posthumously, Paul Williams. Most of the Temptations, present and former, showed no ill feelings towards one another, although Otis Williams reported that Kendricks would not speak to him during the ceremony.[42] The Temptations ended their induction ceremony with a performance of Paul Williams' signature song, Don't Look Back, dedicated to his memory.
After reuniting at the induction ceremony, and much to the chagrin of Otis Williams and Motown, Edwards, Ruffin, and Kendrick made plans to tour and record as Ruffin, Kendricks and Edwards, Former Leads of The Temptations. The tour was in fact carried out, but production on the album was canceled when 50-year-old David Ruffin died in Philadelphia after a cocaine overdose on June 1, 1991. Kendricks was diagnosed with lung cancer soon after; he continued to perform until his death on October 5, 1992, in his native Birmingham.
By the early 1990s, bass Melvin Franklin began missing performances due to failing health and Ray Davis, former bass man of Parliament-Funkadelic, began touring as a fill-in during 1993.[43] Franklin died after suffering a brain seizure at the age of 52 on February 23, 1995, and Davis was named his official replacement. The group subsequently finished production on For Lovers Only, an album of pop standards featuring two tracks recorded with Melvin Franklin prior to his death.
This lineup would not last, however, as Davis was diagnosed with lung cancer[43] and left shortly after completing the album. Davis died in New Brunswick, New Jersey of respiratory problems and complications of lung cancer on the evening of Tuesday July 5, 2005.
The group continued as a quartet for a short time before recruiting bass Harry McGilberry, a former member of the Futures. For Lovers Only would also be the last contribution for lead Ali-Ollie Woodson; he was released from the group shortly after McGilberry's hiring[44] due to health problems:[45] he suffered two bouts of throat cancer in a short time. He was replaced by new member Terry Weeks, who had served as his sub.[citation needed]
The Temptations' new lineup, consisting of Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Theo Peoples, and newcomers Harry McGilberry and Terry Weeks, toured throughout 1997, and was featured in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXII in early 1998, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of Motown. Later that year, the Temptations released Phoenix Rising, vocally arranged by 1980s producer Narada Michael Walden, Isaias Gamboa, Claytoven Richardson, Theo Peoples, Tony Lindsey and Skyler Jett, which became their first million-selling album in more than 20 years. The album was anchored by "Stay," a single featuring Theo Peoples on lead and including a sample from "My Girl," which became a number-one hit on the adult contemporary charts.[citation needed]
Peoples was fired from the group before the release of Phoenix Rising because of issues with drug addiction,[46] and was replaced by Barrington "Bo" Henderson. Henderson lip-synched to Peoples's vocals in the "Stay" music video, and the completed album features lead vocals on different tracks by both Henderson and Peoples. Peoples would go on to join the Four Tops the following year.[citation needed]
Otis Williams' former wife Josephine Miles, Melvin Franklin's mother Rose Franklin, David Ruffin's family, and Johnnie Mae Matthews filed lawsuits against Williams, Motown, de Passe and de Passe Entertainment, Hallmark, and NBC for a number of charges, including defamation.[49]
The lawsuits were consolidated, and the judges ruled in favor of the defendants, and the ruling was upheld when the plaintiffs appealed in 2001.[50] Williams later claimed that, although his book was used as the source material for the film, he did not have a great deal of control over how the material was presented.[48]
His replacement was former Spinners lead G. C. Cameron. The lineup of Cameron, Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Harry McGilberry, and Terry Weeks recorded for a short time before McGilberry was dismissed;[52] his replacement was former Spaniels bass Joe Herndon. McGilberry died on April 3, 2006, at the age of 56.
The group's final Motown album, Legacy, was released in 2004. Later that year, the Temptations asked to be released from their Motown contract, and moved to another Universal label, New Door Records. Their sole album with this lineup, Reflections, was released on January 31, 2006, and contains covers of several popular Motown songs, including Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Reflections", the Miracles' "Ooo Baby Baby", Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There."[53]
G.C. Cameron left the group in June 2007 to focus on his solo career.[54] He was replaced by new member Bruce Williamson. The new lineup recorded another album of soul covers, Back to Front,[55] released in October 2007. Former member Ali-Ollie Woodson died on May 30, 2010, after a long battle with leukemia.[citation needed]
On May 4, 2010, the group released their Still Here album. The first single from Still Here, "First Kiss", was criticized for having instances of using Auto-Tune technology.[56]
The Temptations received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on February 9, 2013.[57] Otis Williams, Dennis Edwards, and the children of David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Melvin Franklin attended the ceremony to accept the six Grammys given to the group for the occasion.[58]
Former member Damon Harris died on February 18, 2013, from prostate cancer at a Baltimore hospital.[59] Nine days later, former member Richard Street died of pulmonary embolism in Las Vegas, Nevada.[60] At the time of his death, Street was in the process of writing a book regarding his time with the Temptations entitled Ball of Confusion: My Life as a Temptin' Temptation. Completed by his co-author, Gary Flanigan, the book was published in 2014; it is the second autobiography regarding the group.[citation needed]
In late 2015 both Bruce Williamson and Joe Herndon announced their departures from the group.[61] Williamson's replacement, Larry Braggs, was lead singer of Tower of Power from 2000-13[62][63] Herndon's replacement on bass is Willie Green, who had previously toured with former Temptations Richard Street and Ali-Ollie Woodson.[64] Dennis Edwards died in a Chicago hospital on February 1, 2018, two days before his 75th birthday. He had been battling with meningitis before his death
On May 4, 2018, the Temptations released All the Time, their first album since 2010's Still Here, as well as their first for Universal's UMe Direct imprint.[65]
In 1966, Norman Whitfield changed the group's dynamic, moving them away from the previous one lead singer model and adding elements derived from the rougher soul of artists such as James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and the performers at Stax Records. Whitfield and his lyricists crafted Temptations songs with shifts of dynamics, syncopated horn stabs, and more intricate harmony arrangements which spotlighted each singer's unique vocal range. Onstage, this change was reflected in the group's use of a custom-made four-headed microphone stand, invented by David Ruffin.
Tracks such as the album version of "Run Away Child, Running Wild" from Cloud Nine, "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind" from Psychedelic Shack, and "Smiling Faces Sometimes" from Sky's the Limit, all run at least eight minutes. At Whitfield's insistence, a large portion of the additional running time for each song consisted of instrumental passages without vocals. For example, the hit version of their smash 1972 single "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" was nearly seven minutes, featuring an instrumental intro that was almost two minutes, a rarity for songs of that era.
"Psychedelic soul" soon gave way to "cinematic soul"—highlighting a further series of lengthy recordings featuring detailed orchestration, extended instrumental introductions and bridging passages. Often focusing on lyrics about the ghettos and inner cities of black America, these songs were heavily influenced by the work of singer-songwriters Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield.
Unlike Hayes and Mayfield however, the Temptations had no creative control over their recordings, and were in no way fond of the 12- and 13-minute-long songs being forced upon them by Whitfield, whose contributions were the focal point of Temptations albums such as Solid Rock, All Directions, and particularly Masterpiece.
Temptations recordings of the mid 1970s focused significantly on the influences of funk music from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone, and members of both acts contributed significantly to material recorded by the group during this period. Their signature ballad sound, reduced to filler material during much of the Whitfield period, was restored to the lush, full productions of the earlier hits produced by Smokey Robinson. After a brief diversion into disco in the late-1970s, the Temptations settled into a form of an adult contemporary-rooted type of R&B, a style in which they continue to record.
Like other similar independent companies of the period, Motown was not a member of the Recording Industry of America, preferring to stay independent and handling their own widely varied distribution through thousands of "Mom & Pop" record stores and small radio stations. As such, hit singles by Motown artists such as the Temptations never achieved official "gold" or "platinum" RIAA certification until after Motown joined the RIAA in 1977.
During the 1960s and 1970s, a number of soul groups showed significant influence from the Temptations, among them the Delfonics, the Chi-Lites, Parliaments, featuring George Clinton, the Dramatics, Daryl Hall & John Oates (from 1965–67, one of Daryl Hall's earliest bands was named the Temptones), and Motown labelmates the Jackson 5 and the Undisputed Truth. These acts and others, showed the influence of the Temptations in both their vocal performances and their onstage choreography.
The Temptations' songs have been covered by scores of musicians, from R&B singers such as Luther Vandross ("Since I Lost My Baby"), to pop vocalists such as Bette Midler ("Just My Imagination"), to rock bands such as Rare Earth ("Get Ready"), Anthrax, Love and Rockets, Duran Duran ("Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" and the Rolling Stones ("My Girl", "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", "Just My Imagination") and Mick Jagger's collaboration with reggae artist Peter Tosh on ("Don't Look Back"). British rock singer Rod Stewart released a cover of "I'm Losing You" in 1971, and, in 1991, collaborated with the Temptations on the single "The Motown Song".
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Temptations number 67 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[66] The Temptations were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2005.[67] They received the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2013. On Saturday August 17, 2013, the Temptations were officially inducted into the R&B Music Hall of Fame at the inaugural ceremony held at the Waetejen Auditorium on the campus of Cleveland State University.[citation needed]
For a detailed listing of the various versions of the Temptations (and a timeline), see: List of the Temptations band members.
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The blending of the Motown sound and psychedelic rock sound resulted in a new subgenre of music called psychedelic soul, also evident in the work of Diana Ross and the Supremes ("Reflections", "Love Child"), Marvin Gaye's version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", and music of the 5th Dimension, the Undisputed Truth, and the Friends of Distinction. More Temptations psychedelic soul singles followed in 1969 and 1970—among them "Runaway Child, Running Wild" (a number-one R&B hit), "I Can't Get Next to You" (a number-one pop hit), "Psychedelic Shack", and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", but the formula began to wear thin when "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)", only went to number 33 Pop in the fall of 1970. The group's other important albums from this period included Puzzle People (1969) and Psychedelic Shack (1970). Psychedelic Shack includes the original version of "War", later made famous by Edwin Starr.
Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams' departures
Paul Williams, who suffered from sickle-cell disease, fell into depression because of the stress of touring and personal issues. By the late 1960s, he had developed a serious case of alcoholism. Having never previously consumed anything stronger than milk, he began to drink quite heavily, and it was hard to take, according to Otis Williams.[26][27] As his physical and mental health began to decline sharply, it made performing increasingly difficult. Williams began traveling with oxygen tanks,[26] and the other four Temptations made valiant efforts to raid and drain his alcohol stashes.[26]
In late 1969, Richard Street, lead singer of Motown act the Monitors and a former Distant, was hired by Otis Williams to tour with the group as a backup replacement for Williams.[26][28] For most shows, save for his solo numbers, Williams would dance and lip-sync on stage to parts sung live by Street into an offstage mic behind a curtain. At other shows, and during most of the second half of 1970, Street substituted for Williams on stage when he was too sick to go on.[29]
Eddie Kendricks became detached from the group after David Ruffin's firing and as the health of Paul Williams continued to fail. He regularly picked fights with Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin, which often became violent, and in addition, he preferred the ballad material from the earlier days and was uncomfortable with the psychedelic soul material the group was now performing. Kendricks rekindled his friendship with Ruffin, who persuaded him to go solo. He no longer felt he had a say in Otis Williams's handling of the group and was also convinced Motown's handling of the Temptations' finances was cheating the group out of money.[30] Kendricks, being the only member to continue an alliance with Ruffin, also repeatedly suggested that Ruffin should be allowed back into the group, despite the other members' strong objections.
Kendricks lobbied strongly in 1970 to have the Temptations go on "strike" - no performances, no recordings - until Berry Gordy and the Motown staff would be willing to go over all group finances with independent accountants.[30] Otis Williams and Franklin strongly opposed this idea, and regular group infighting between Kendricks, Otis Williams, and Franklin grew from this disagreement.[30] After a November 1970 Copacabana engagement, one final confrontation between the three caused Kendricks to walk out in-between shows and not return. Both Kendricks and Williams then agreed that Kendricks would be leaving the group.[30] Kendricks later stated that he actually considered leaving as early as 1965, but remained with the Temptations and unsuccessfully attempted to get permission to record a solo album without leaving the group.[31]
Before Kendricks officially left the Temptations, he and Paul Williams recorded the lead vocals for "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", a ballad that became Kendricks' final single with the group. Included on the Sky's the Limit LP along with the original album version of "Smiling Faces Sometimes", "Just My Imagination" was released as a single in January 1971, and the song began steadily climbing the US pop singles chart, peaking at number 1 two months later. By the time "Just My Imagination" topped the charts, Kendricks had negotiated his release from the group and signed a solo deal with Motown's Tamla label.
The Temptations originally hired Ricky Owens, from the Los Angeles-based vocal group the Vibrations, to replace Kendricks. However, Owens only played two dates with the group before he was fired for forgetting the words to his solo numbers due to nervousness.[32] For several weeks of the spring of 1971, the Temptations were without a fifth member. Owens meanwhile returned to the Vibrations and died in Los Angeles, California on December 6, 1996, at the age of 57.
Whitfield took the remaining Temptations quartet and re-recorded "It's Summer", the B-side to "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", as a replacement single. "Smiling Faces Sometimes" was released as a single for the Undisputed Truth instead, becoming a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971. Meanwhile, "It's Summer" peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Temptations single to miss the Top 40 since "Farewell My Love" eight years earlier.
After his doctor declared a few weeks later that he was unable to continue performing due to medical reasons, Paul Williams quit the Temptations in May.[33] Richard Street officially took Williams' place, although Williams continued to be paid his customary one-fifth of group revenue (Street was paid on salary for the first eighteen months of his tenure),[34] and worked when he could with the group as an adviser and choreographer. After Williams had recovered enough to record again, he recorded two sides in 1973 for a debut solo single. However, on August 17, 1973, Williams died in Detroit at the age of 34 from a gunshot wound, his death ruled a suicide by the Wayne County coroner.
Early 1970s
In May 1971, the Temptations finally found a permanent replacement for the first tenor position in twenty-year-old Baltimore native Damon Harris. Otis Williams, Edwards, Franklin, Street, and Harris continued recording and performing, and Norman Whitfield continued producing hits for them. There were Top 40 hits such as "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)" (1971), a message from the Temptations to David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, and "Take a Look Around" (1972). During this period, the group toured with Quiet Elegance as their back-up singers. Quiet Elegance featured Lois Reeves, the sister of Martha Reeves, alongside Frankie Gearing and Millie Vaney-Scott.
Late 1972 saw the release of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", a magnum opus written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield. Originally a three-minute record written and produced for the Undisputed Truth, Whitfield took the somber tune and created a sprawling, dramatic twelve-minute version for the Temptations—a forerunner of the extended single, soon to become popular in clubs and discothèques. An edited seven-minute version was released as a single and became one of the longest hit singles in music history: it hit number 1 on the pop charts and number 5 on the R&B charts. In 1973, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" won the Temptations their second Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Group. Whitfield and arranger/conductor Paul Riser won the award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for the instrumental version on the B-side, and Whitfield and Barrett Strong won the songwriting Grammy for Best R&B Song.
After "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", Whitfield stopped working with Barrett Strong, and began writing the Temptations' material on his own. The success of "Papa" led Whitfield to create more elongated, operatic pieces, including the Top 10 hit "Masterpiece" (1973) and several of the tracks on the resulting Masterpiece album. Tensions developed between Whitfield and the group, who found Whitfield arrogant and difficult to work with, and the group citing his habitual tardiness, his emphasis of the instrumental tracks at the expense of their vocals on many of his productions, and the declining singles and albums sales as other sources of conflict, sought to change producers.[35] Otis Williams complained about Whitfield's actions and the Temptations' stagnant sales to Berry Gordy; as a result, the group was reassigned to Jeffrey Bowen, co-producer of the 1967 In a Mellow Mood album.[35]
The final Norman Whitfield-produced Temptations album, 1990, was released in December 1973, and included the Top 30 single "Let Your Hair Down". Shortly afterwards, Whitfield left Motown, and in 1975 established Whitfield Records, taking the Undisputed Truth and Willie Hutch with him, along with Rose Royce---who performed an instrumental track for "Let Your Hair Down" before recording their 1976 smash "Car Wash."
Dry spell
Bowen's first LP with the Temptations was January 1975's A Song for You, which included a cover of the titular Leon Russell tune (popularized with soul audiences by Donny Hathaway), along with the pop Top 40/R&B number-one hits "Happy People" (featuring the Commodores as the instrumentalists) and "Shakey Ground" (featuring instrumentation by Parliament-Funkadelic's Eddie Hazel along with Billy Bass Nelson). "Glasshouse", the group's final Top 40 Pop hit was also included. Damon Harris was fired from the group during the recording of A Song for You, as his behavior and work ethic were deemed unprofessional,[36] and his replacement was Washington, D.C. native Glenn Leonard, formerly of the Unifics.[37]
A number of producers, including Bowen, Brian Holland, James Anthony Carmichael, and even the Temptations themselves tried producing hits for the next three LPs, House Party (November 1975), Wings of Love (March 1976), and The Temptations Do the Temptations (August 1976). None of these recordings were as commercially successful as A Song for You however, and none of their associated singles entered the Billboard charts.[38]
As time progressed, Bowen pushed Dennis Edwards further to the front of the group. This was evident on Wings of Love, where several tracks featured Edwards' vocal more prominently than the other Temptations' backing vocals.[39] Otis Williams felt that this was hurting the group, accused Motown of inattention, and cited this as the reason for the group's declining sales and popularity. After The Temptations Do the Temptations was recorded in 1976, Edwards was fired from the group,[40] and with new lead Louis Price on board, they left Motown for Atlantic Records.[41]
Success continued to elude the group at Atlantic, however. Their two releases on Atlantic – Hear to Tempt You (1977), and Bare Back (1978), along with their associated singles, had failed to perform any better at Atlantic than their last handful of singles had at Motown. As a result, in 1979, Atlantic released the group from its contract,[39] and shortly afterwards, the Temptations met once again with Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy, who re-signed the group to Motown in 1980.[42]
Return to Motown and Reunion
Upon the return to Motown several lineup changes occurred. Louis Price departed from the group and joined the Drifters. Dennis Edwards—who had made an unsuccessful attempt at developing a solo career during his three-year exit from the group—returned to the lineup. Berry Gordy co-wrote and produced "Power", the Temptations' first single under the new contract. "Power", from the album of the same name, hit number 11 on the R&B charts but failed to chart in the Top 40. Two years of under-performing singles and albums followed, including an eponymous album] with Philadelphia-based producer Thom Bell, until Motown began planning a Temptations reunion tour in 1982.
Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin agreed to rejoin the group for the new album, aptly titled Reunion, and its subsequent promotional tour. Rick James, the Motown funk star who had previously used the Temptations as backup vocalists on his 1981 hit "Super Freak" and whom Franklin claimed as his nephew,[9] wrote, produced, and guested on the Reunion album's lead single, "Standing on the Top". The single went to number-six on the R&B charts and featured Ruffin, Kendricks and Edwards trading back and forth on lead.
While the ensuing Reunion tour with all seven Temptations (Ruffin, Kendricks, Otis Williams, Franklin, Edwards, Richard Street, and Glenn Leonard) was financially successful, it ended up being a stressful venture: Kendricks' voice had weakened after decades of chain smoking, Ruffin (still addicted to drugs) missed a number of the performances due to being incapacitated, and current group members Dennis Edwards and Glenn Leonard were causing problems. At the conclusion of the Reunion tour, Ruffin and Kendricks were dismissed, and they began touring and performing together as a duo.
One more album, Surface Thrills, released in 1983, featured a sharp departure in the group's sound by incorporating elements of then-current rock. Following its release, Glenn Leonard was let go and replaced by Ron Tyson, who was with the Philadelphia groups the Ethics and Love Committee. Tyson had been a staff songwriter at Atlantic during the Temptations' tenure at that label, and co-wrote several songs on the album Hear to Tempt You.
From the 1980s to the 1990s
By this time, the Temptations' releases were no longer performing well on the pop charts, though some singles still made the R&B Top 20. "Love on My Mind Tonight," a single from Surface Thrills, charted at number 17.
The lineup of Franklin, Williams, Street, Tyson, and Edwards proved to be short-lived. The five performed on Motown 25 and released the direct to video The Temptations: Live in Concert (filmed at Harrah's Atlantic City). The album Back to Basics, released later in 1983, was the first album featuring Ron Tyson on lead. "Sail Away," produced by a returning Norman Whitfield and featuring Ron Tyson's first lead vocal, peaked at number 13 on the US R&B chart.
In addition, a then-relatively unknown singer/musician, Ali-Ollie Woodson was featured on one track, "Stop the World Right Here (I Wanna Get Off)." Woodson was a Detroit native who had been a potential candidate to replace Dennis Edwards back in 1977. Meanwhile, Edwards (who also had his share of lead vocals on the Back to Basics album) was again fired in 1984, for missing rehearsals or showing up hungover. He then attempted a second solo career, scoring a hit with the 1984 single "Don't Look Any Further", a duet with Siedah Garrett.
At this point, Woodson officially joined the group, taking Edwards' place. Woodson's first lead on a single was 1984's "Treat Her Like a Lady", co-written by himself and Otis Williams, and co-produced by former Earth, Wind & Fire members Al McKay and Ralph Johnson. The single became their biggest success on R&B radio since 1975, reaching number-two on the R&B charts, and just missing the Pop Top 40 at number 48. The group enjoyed further successes with 1985's "Do You Really Love Your Baby," a number 14 R&B hit co-written by soul star Luther Vandross, and 1986's "Lady Soul," the group's third and final Top 10 R&B hit of the decade.
Ali Woodson remained with the Temptations until 1987, when he was fired for consistent lateness. He was replaced by the again-returning Dennis Edwards. The group recorded one album during Edwards's third tenure, Together Again, released in late 1987. The following year, Otis Williams published his autobiography, Temptations, co-written with Patricia Romanowski, chronicling the careers of the group from the Primes/Distants days and focusing on the lives of Williams and Melvin Franklin. (An updated version of the book was published in 2002.)
Edwards was fired from the group for the third and final time in late 1988, with Woodson re-joining the lineup. On January 18, 1989, the Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The event honored Edwards, Franklin, Otis Williams, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks (now performing as "Eddie Kendrick"), and, posthumously, Paul Williams. Most of the Temptations, present and former, showed no ill feelings towards one another, although Otis Williams reported that Kendricks would not speak to him during the ceremony.[42] The Temptations ended their induction ceremony with a performance of Paul Williams' signature song, Don't Look Back, dedicated to his memory.
After reuniting at the induction ceremony, and much to the chagrin of Otis Williams and Motown, Edwards, Ruffin, and Kendrick made plans to tour and record as Ruffin, Kendricks and Edwards, Former Leads of The Temptations. The tour was in fact carried out, but production on the album was canceled when 50-year-old David Ruffin died in Philadelphia after a cocaine overdose on June 1, 1991. Kendricks was diagnosed with lung cancer soon after; he continued to perform until his death on October 5, 1992, in his native Birmingham.
1990s
Richard Street missed a performance in 1992 after undergoing emergency surgery to remove kidneystones. Otis Williams, completely unaware of Street's surgery, called him angrily about his absence. Street felt Williams was unsympathetic, and as a result, he left the group in 1993 after twenty-two years. His replacement was St. Louis native Theo Peoples.
By the early 1990s, bass Melvin Franklin began missing performances due to failing health and Ray Davis, former bass man of Parliament-Funkadelic, began touring as a fill-in during 1993.[43] Franklin died after suffering a brain seizure at the age of 52 on February 23, 1995, and Davis was named his official replacement. The group subsequently finished production on For Lovers Only, an album of pop standards featuring two tracks recorded with Melvin Franklin prior to his death.
This lineup would not last, however, as Davis was diagnosed with lung cancer[43] and left shortly after completing the album. Davis died in New Brunswick, New Jersey of respiratory problems and complications of lung cancer on the evening of Tuesday July 5, 2005.
The group continued as a quartet for a short time before recruiting bass Harry McGilberry, a former member of the Futures. For Lovers Only would also be the last contribution for lead Ali-Ollie Woodson; he was released from the group shortly after McGilberry's hiring[44] due to health problems:[45] he suffered two bouts of throat cancer in a short time. He was replaced by new member Terry Weeks, who had served as his sub.[citation needed]
The Temptations' new lineup, consisting of Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Theo Peoples, and newcomers Harry McGilberry and Terry Weeks, toured throughout 1997, and was featured in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXII in early 1998, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of Motown. Later that year, the Temptations released Phoenix Rising, vocally arranged by 1980s producer Narada Michael Walden, Isaias Gamboa, Claytoven Richardson, Theo Peoples, Tony Lindsey and Skyler Jett, which became their first million-selling album in more than 20 years. The album was anchored by "Stay," a single featuring Theo Peoples on lead and including a sample from "My Girl," which became a number-one hit on the adult contemporary charts.[citation needed]
Peoples was fired from the group before the release of Phoenix Rising because of issues with drug addiction,[46] and was replaced by Barrington "Bo" Henderson. Henderson lip-synched to Peoples's vocals in the "Stay" music video, and the completed album features lead vocals on different tracks by both Henderson and Peoples. Peoples would go on to join the Four Tops the following year.[citation needed]
TV miniseries
Also in 1998, de Passe Entertainment (run by former Motown vice-president Suzanne de Passe) and Hallmark Entertainment produced The Temptations, a four-hour television miniseries based on Otis Williams' Temptations autobiography. The miniseries was broadcast in two parts on NBC on November 1 and November 2, 1998, with the first part covering the group's history from 1958 to 1968, and the second part the years from 1968 to 1995.[47] The miniseries was a ratings success and was nominated for five Emmy Awards, with Allan Arkush winning for Best Direction;[48] it was subsequently rerun on the VH-1 cable television network and released to VHS and DVD.
Otis Williams' former wife Josephine Miles, Melvin Franklin's mother Rose Franklin, David Ruffin's family, and Johnnie Mae Matthews filed lawsuits against Williams, Motown, de Passe and de Passe Entertainment, Hallmark, and NBC for a number of charges, including defamation.[49]
The lawsuits were consolidated, and the judges ruled in favor of the defendants, and the ruling was upheld when the plaintiffs appealed in 2001.[50] Williams later claimed that, although his book was used as the source material for the film, he did not have a great deal of control over how the material was presented.[48]
From 2000 to present
The Temptations were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2001, their 2000 album Ear-Resistible won the group its third Grammy, this one for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. Bo Henderson was fired from the group in 2003, prompting a wrongful termination lawsuit.[51]
His replacement was former Spinners lead G. C. Cameron. The lineup of Cameron, Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Harry McGilberry, and Terry Weeks recorded for a short time before McGilberry was dismissed;[52] his replacement was former Spaniels bass Joe Herndon. McGilberry died on April 3, 2006, at the age of 56.
The group's final Motown album, Legacy, was released in 2004. Later that year, the Temptations asked to be released from their Motown contract, and moved to another Universal label, New Door Records. Their sole album with this lineup, Reflections, was released on January 31, 2006, and contains covers of several popular Motown songs, including Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Reflections", the Miracles' "Ooo Baby Baby", Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There."[53]
G.C. Cameron left the group in June 2007 to focus on his solo career.[54] He was replaced by new member Bruce Williamson. The new lineup recorded another album of soul covers, Back to Front,[55] released in October 2007. Former member Ali-Ollie Woodson died on May 30, 2010, after a long battle with leukemia.[citation needed]
On May 4, 2010, the group released their Still Here album. The first single from Still Here, "First Kiss", was criticized for having instances of using Auto-Tune technology.[56]
The Temptations received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on February 9, 2013.[57] Otis Williams, Dennis Edwards, and the children of David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Melvin Franklin attended the ceremony to accept the six Grammys given to the group for the occasion.[58]
Former member Damon Harris died on February 18, 2013, from prostate cancer at a Baltimore hospital.[59] Nine days later, former member Richard Street died of pulmonary embolism in Las Vegas, Nevada.[60] At the time of his death, Street was in the process of writing a book regarding his time with the Temptations entitled Ball of Confusion: My Life as a Temptin' Temptation. Completed by his co-author, Gary Flanigan, the book was published in 2014; it is the second autobiography regarding the group.[citation needed]
In late 2015 both Bruce Williamson and Joe Herndon announced their departures from the group.[61] Williamson's replacement, Larry Braggs, was lead singer of Tower of Power from 2000-13[62][63] Herndon's replacement on bass is Willie Green, who had previously toured with former Temptations Richard Street and Ali-Ollie Woodson.[64] Dennis Edwards died in a Chicago hospital on February 1, 2018, two days before his 75th birthday. He had been battling with meningitis before his death
On May 4, 2018, the Temptations released All the Time, their first album since 2010's Still Here, as well as their first for Universal's UMe Direct imprint.[65]
Motown Sound (1961–68)
Following their first Motown hit, the group would alter their style several times over the ensuing years, adapting to the popular styles of the day while retaining their signature visual and vocal styles. The earliest Temptations recordings backed by Motown's stalwart studio band, the Funk Brothers, reflect the influence of producers Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, and featured a cohesive blend of black rhythm and blues along with elements of white pop music that later came to be known as the Motown Sound. Recordings made prior to 1966, such as "My Girl", were built around songs with simple, direct lyrics supported by an R&B rhythm section with orchestral strings and horns added for pop appeal. During this period, each recording usually featured only one lead singer, usually David Ruffin or Eddie Kendricks, although Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams each had solo numbers of their own at various times during this period.
In 1966, Norman Whitfield changed the group's dynamic, moving them away from the previous one lead singer model and adding elements derived from the rougher soul of artists such as James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and the performers at Stax Records. Whitfield and his lyricists crafted Temptations songs with shifts of dynamics, syncopated horn stabs, and more intricate harmony arrangements which spotlighted each singer's unique vocal range. Onstage, this change was reflected in the group's use of a custom-made four-headed microphone stand, invented by David Ruffin.
Psychedelic and cinematic soul (1968–73)
When Ruffin was replaced by Dennis Edwards, and Sly and the Family Stone became popular, Whitfield again restructured the Temptations' sound, this time driving the group almost completely into a "psychedelic soul"-type sound. However, ballads in the traditional style of the group were still being recorded as B-sides and album fillers, with the lone exception being "Just My Imagination".
Tracks such as the album version of "Run Away Child, Running Wild" from Cloud Nine, "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind" from Psychedelic Shack, and "Smiling Faces Sometimes" from Sky's the Limit, all run at least eight minutes. At Whitfield's insistence, a large portion of the additional running time for each song consisted of instrumental passages without vocals. For example, the hit version of their smash 1972 single "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" was nearly seven minutes, featuring an instrumental intro that was almost two minutes, a rarity for songs of that era.
"Psychedelic soul" soon gave way to "cinematic soul"—highlighting a further series of lengthy recordings featuring detailed orchestration, extended instrumental introductions and bridging passages. Often focusing on lyrics about the ghettos and inner cities of black America, these songs were heavily influenced by the work of singer-songwriters Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield.
Unlike Hayes and Mayfield however, the Temptations had no creative control over their recordings, and were in no way fond of the 12- and 13-minute-long songs being forced upon them by Whitfield, whose contributions were the focal point of Temptations albums such as Solid Rock, All Directions, and particularly Masterpiece.
From funk to disco to adult contemporary (1974 to present)
In 1974, after Whitfield was dismissed as the producer for the Temptations, the group altered its sound to accommodate a balance of both up-tempo dance material as well as ballads. The vocal arrangements began to again focus primarily on one lead singer per track, although some leads were still being shared periodically. In addition, the Temptations themselves, after fighting Motown and Berry Gordy for creative control, began to write and produce some of their own material. From this point on, the Temptations focused almost exclusively on songs about romance. However, songs about social issues similar to the recordings made during Whitfield's tenure were periodically produced as well.
Temptations recordings of the mid 1970s focused significantly on the influences of funk music from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone, and members of both acts contributed significantly to material recorded by the group during this period. Their signature ballad sound, reduced to filler material during much of the Whitfield period, was restored to the lush, full productions of the earlier hits produced by Smokey Robinson. After a brief diversion into disco in the late-1970s, the Temptations settled into a form of an adult contemporary-rooted type of R&B, a style in which they continue to record.
Legacy and influence
Berry Gordy insisted that all his acts be equally appealing to both white as well as black audiences, and employed an extensive creative team to help tailor Motown talent for the crossover success he desired. Motown choreographer Cholly Atkins, along with Paul Williams, created the trademark precise and energetic, yet refined, dance steps used by the Temptations onstage. The most famous of these, the Temptation Walk, or Temptation Strut, was adapted from similar moves by the Flamingos and the Vibrations, from those two sources, Atkins and Williams crafted the resulting signature dance routine.
Like other similar independent companies of the period, Motown was not a member of the Recording Industry of America, preferring to stay independent and handling their own widely varied distribution through thousands of "Mom & Pop" record stores and small radio stations. As such, hit singles by Motown artists such as the Temptations never achieved official "gold" or "platinum" RIAA certification until after Motown joined the RIAA in 1977.
During the 1960s and 1970s, a number of soul groups showed significant influence from the Temptations, among them the Delfonics, the Chi-Lites, Parliaments, featuring George Clinton, the Dramatics, Daryl Hall & John Oates (from 1965–67, one of Daryl Hall's earliest bands was named the Temptones), and Motown labelmates the Jackson 5 and the Undisputed Truth. These acts and others, showed the influence of the Temptations in both their vocal performances and their onstage choreography.
The Temptations' songs have been covered by scores of musicians, from R&B singers such as Luther Vandross ("Since I Lost My Baby"), to pop vocalists such as Bette Midler ("Just My Imagination"), to rock bands such as Rare Earth ("Get Ready"), Anthrax, Love and Rockets, Duran Duran ("Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" and the Rolling Stones ("My Girl", "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", "Just My Imagination") and Mick Jagger's collaboration with reggae artist Peter Tosh on ("Don't Look Back"). British rock singer Rod Stewart released a cover of "I'm Losing You" in 1971, and, in 1991, collaborated with the Temptations on the single "The Motown Song".
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Temptations number 67 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[66] The Temptations were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2005.[67] They received the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2013. On Saturday August 17, 2013, the Temptations were officially inducted into the R&B Music Hall of Fame at the inaugural ceremony held at the Waetejen Auditorium on the campus of Cleveland State University.[citation needed]
Band members
For a detailed listing of the various versions of the Temptations (and a timeline), see: List of the Temptations band members.
- For a detailed listing of the various versions of the Temptations (and a timeline), see: List of the Temptations band members.
The Primes
aka The Cavaliers
- Paul Williams (1955–60)
- Eddie Kendricks (1955–60)
- Kell Osborne (1955–60)
- Wiley Waller (1955–57)
The Distants
aka Otis Williams & the Distants, Otis Williams & the Siberians
- Otis Williams (1958–60)
- Elbridge "Al" Bryant (1958–60)
- James "Pee-Wee" Crawford (1958–59)
- Vernard Plain (1958–59)
- Arthur Walton (1958–59)
- Melvin Franklin (1959–60)
- Richard Street (1959–60)
- Albert "Mooch" Harrell (1959–60)
The Temptations
aka The Elgins- Otis Williams (1960–present)
- Elbridge "Al" Bryant (1960–63)
- Melvin Franklin (1960–95)
- Eddie Kendricks (1960–71, 1982 reunion)
- Paul Williams (1960–71)
- David Ruffin (1964–68, 1982 reunion)
- Dennis Edwards (1968–77, 1980–84, 1987–89)
- Ricky Owens (1971)
- Richard Street (1971–92)
- Damon Harris (1971–75)
- Glenn Leonard (1975–83)
- Louis Price (1977–80)
- Ron Tyson (1983–present)
- Ali-Ollie Woodson (1984–87, 1989–97, 2002)
- Theo Peoples (1992–98)
- Ray Davis (1994–95)
- Harry McGilberry (1995–2003)
- Terry Weeks (1997–present)
- Barrington "Bo" Henderson (1998–2003)
- G. C. Cameron (2003–07)
- Joe Herndon (2003–15)
- Bruce Williamson (2007–15)
- Larry Braggs (2016–present)
- Willie Green (2016–present)
Discography
Top Ten Albums
The following albums reached the Top Ten on either the United States Pop or R&B Albums Chart.
- 1965: The Temptations Sing Smokey (R&B #1) (US #35)
- 1965: The Temptin' Temptations (R&B #1) (US #11)
- 1966: Gettin' Ready (R&B #1) (US #12)
- 1966: Greatest Hits (R&B #1) (US #5)
- 1967: Temptations Live! (R&B #1) (US #10)
- 1967: The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul (R&B #1) (US #7)
- 1967: The Temptations in a Mellow Mood (R&B #1) (US #13)
- 1968: The Temptations Wish It Would Rain (R&B #1) (US #13)
- 1968: The Temptations Show (R&B #2) (US #24)
- 1968: Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations (with Diana Ross & the Supremes) (R&B #1) (US #2)
- 1968: TCB (with Diana Ross & The Supremes) (R&B #1) (US #1)
- 1968: Live at the Copa (R&B #2) (US #15)
- 1969: Cloud Nine (R&B #1) (US #4)
- 1969: Puzzle People (R&B #1) (US #5)
- 1969: Together (R&B #6) (US #28)
- 1969: On Broadway (R&B #4) (US #38)
- 1970: Psychedelic Shack (R&B #1) (US #9)
- 1970: Live at London's Talk of the Town (R&B #5) (US #21)
- 1970: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (R&B #2) (US #15)
- 1971: Sky's the Limit (R&B #2) (US #16)
- 1972: Solid Rock (R&B #1) (US #24)
- 1972: All Directions (R&B #1) (US #2)
- 1973: Masterpiece (R&B #1) (US #7)
- 1973: Anthology (R&B #5) (US #65)
- 1973: 1990 (R&B #2) (US #19)
- 1975: A Song for You (R&B #1) (US #13)
- 1975: Wings of Love (R&B #3) (US #29)
- 1976: The Temptations Do the Temptations (R&B #10) (US #53)
- 1982: Reunion (R&B #2) (US #37)
- 1984: Truly for You (R&B #3) (US #55)
- 1986: To Be Continued (R&B #4) (US #74)
- 1998: Phoenix Rising (R&B #8) (US #44)
Filmography
- 1973: Save the Children
- 1987: Happy New Year
- 1989: Who's Harry Crumb?
- 2007: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Television work
- 1985: The Fall Guy (TV episode Rockabye Baby, February 13, 1985)
- 1985: The Love Boat (TV episode Your Money or Your Wife/Joint Custody/The Temptations, October 5, 1985)
- 1986: Moonlighting (TV episode Symphony in Knocked Flat, October 21, 1986)
- 1986: 227 (TV episode Temptations, November 15, 1986)
- 1990: Murphy Brown (TV episode Goin' to the Chapel, Part 2, May 21, 1990)
- 1990: performed CBS network's 1990–91 version of their "Get Ready" campaign with an updated version of Get Ready.
- 1993: Getting By (TV episode Reach for the Stars, November 23, 1993)
- 1996: New York Undercover (TV episode Deep Cover, May 2, 1996)
- 2008: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV appearance), March 7, 2008
- 2012: Dancing with the Stars (TV appearance), April 23, 2012 – Motown Week
Video and DVD releases
- 1991: The Temptations – Live in Concert
- 2004: 20th Century Masters – The Best of the Temptations
- 2006: Get Ready: The Definitive Performances - 1965–1972
- 2007: The Temptations – Live In London (1987)
References
Bibliography
- George, Nelson. "Cool as They Wanna Be". The Temptations: Emperors of Soul [CD Box Set]. New York: Motown Record Co., L.P.
- Posner, Gerald (2002). Motown : Music, Money, Sex, and Power. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50062-6.
- Weinger, Harry (1994). "Sunshine on a Cloudy Day". The Temptations: Emperors of Soul [CD Box Set]. New York: Motown Record Co., L.P.
- Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. ISBN 0-8154-1218-5.
- George, Nelson (1985, rev. 2003). Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9511-7.
- Ribowsky, Mark (2010). Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.ISBN 978-0-470-26117-0.
External links
- Official website
- The Temptations at AllMusic
- The Temptations on IMDb
- The Temptations at the Internet Broadway Database
- Otis Williams' official website (includes current tour schedule)
- Ron Tyson's official website
- Official homepage for Glenn Leonard
- Classic Temptations page at Classic Motown website
- "The Temptations" Vocal Group Hall of Fame page
- "The Temptations". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
