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The Temptations (also abbreviated as "The Tempts") are an American Motown singing group whose repertoire has included, at various periods during its long existence, doo-wop, soul, psychedelia, funk, disco, R&B, and adult contemporary. Formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1961, The Temptations has always featured five African-American male vocalists/dancers and known for their finely tuned choreography and harmonies.
Like its sister group The Supremes, the Temptations' lineup has changed frequently over the years; the group continues to perform and record to this day with only one original member, founder Otis Williams, in its lineup. The group's founders included members of two local Detroit singing groups: tenor Otis Williams, tenor Elbridge "Al" Bryant and bass Melvin Franklin from Otis Williams & The Distants; and tenor/falsetto Eddie Kendricks, and baritone Paul Williams (no relation to Otis) from The Primes. Among the most notable future Temptations were future lead singers David Ruffin and Dennis Edwards (both of whom became succesful Motown solo artists after leaving the group), Richard Street (also a former Distant), Ron Tyson, and Ali-Ollie Woodson.
The Temptations are the longest-lived act ever for Motown, and were the label's most successful male group during the 1960s. Over the course of their career, the Temptations have released four #1 pop hit singles, and 10 more #1 R&B hit singles. THeir material has earned themselves three Grammy Awards; two more awards were awarded to the songwriters and producers who crafted their seminal 1972 hit "Papa Was a Rolling Stone".
History
The Primes and The Distants
The Primes
Best friends Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams, along with singing partner Kel Osbourne, left their native Birmingham, Alabama in 1955 in order to break into the music business; after first moving to Cleveland, Ohio, they settled in Detroit. The Primes, as the doo-wop trio were called, were well-known around Detroit for their meticulous performances. Group manager Milton Jenkins even created a sister group for the Primes called The Primettes, recruiting junior high schoolers Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diane Ross, and Betty McGlown for the spin-off act.
Otis Williams & The Distants
Otis Williams had moved from Texarkana, Texas to Detroit as a young boy. By 1958 he was the leader of Otis Williams & The Siberians, a doo-wop group which included Williams, his friend Elbridge "Al" Bryant, James "Pee-Wee" Crawford, Vernard Plain, and Arthur Walton. This quintet recorded the single "Pecos Kid" backed with "All of My Life" for a label run by local dee-jay Senator Bristol Bryant.
The single never took off outside of the local Detroit market, and the Siberians switched to Northern Records, run by Jonnie Mae Matthews. At this time, more changes took place: Montgomery, Alabama native Melvin Franklin replaced Arthur Walton as the bass singer, Franklin's cousin Richard Street replaced Vernard Plain as lead singer, and the name of the group was changed to Otis Williams & The Distants. The Distants recorded two singles for Northern: "Come On" (1959, featuring additional background vocals by The Andantes) and "Open Your Heart" (1960); both singles had "Always" as a b-side. Between the releases of the two singles, Pee-Wee Crawford was replaced with Albert "Mooch" Harrell.
Forming the Elgins
The Distants were acquainted with The Primes as both groups made the same rounds to local record hops, talent shows, and concerts; the two groups considered themselves friendly rivals of each other. In late 1960, Mooch Harrell and Richard Street left the Distants and Kel Osbourne left the Primes and moved to California. Eddie Kendricks called Otis Williams, who offered Kendricks a place in The Distants; Kendricks agreed only if he could bring Paul Williams into the group with him.
The new lineup of Otis Williams, Franklin, Bryant, Kendricks, and Paul Williams took on the name The Elgins and pursued a deal with Berry Gordy's local Motown record label in March 1961. Gordy agreed to sign the group to his Miracle Records imprint, provided they change their name. Otis Williams and Miracle employee Billy Mitchell came up with the name The Temptations on the steps of Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. headquarters. During the same months, The Primes' former protégés The Primettes signed to Motown and Gordy had their name changed to The Supremes.
Early years
The Temptations released two singles on Miracle before it was closed and merged with the Gordy label (to avoid confusion with The Miracles singing group). Six of the Tempts' first seven singles, all released between 1961 and 1963, failed to make it onto the Billboard singles charts; "Dream Come True" (1962) made it to #22 on the R&B chart. Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks split most of the leads, with Al Bryant, Otis Williams, and Melvin Franklin occasionally singing lead. Bryant, who preferred his day job as a milkman to performing, became restless and uncooperative. After a performance at the 1963 Motown company Christmas party, Bryant was fired from the group. His replacement was David Ruffin, younger brother of Motown artist Jimmy Ruffin.
Many songwriter and producer teams had been trying to craft a hit for the Tempts, including Berry Gordy, Mickey Stevenson, Clarence Paul, and Norman Whitfield, but Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson had the best rapport with the group. In January 1964, Robinson co-wrote and produced "The Way You Do The Things You Do" with Kendricks on lead; the single became the Tempts' first Top 20 hit that April. While traveling as part of Motown's Motortown Revue later that year, Robinson and fellow Miracle Ronald White wrote a song for the emotive Ruffin to sing lead on, which the Tempts recorded in the fall of 1964. That song, "My Girl," became the Tempts first #1 pop hit in December, and is today their signature song. Ruffin also sung lead on the next three Tempts singles, "It's Growing", "Since I Lost My Baby" and "My Baby", all of which made it to the Top 20 in 1965.
Enter Norman Whitfield
In 1966, Norman Whitfield became the Temptations' new main producer ,after his "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" performed better than Smokey Robinson's "Get Ready" on the US pop charts.
Nearly all of the pre-1968 Whitfield-produced Tempts singles featured David Ruffin on lead vocals, including the R&B #1/pop Top 10 hits "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You". Other singles from this prolific period included "You're My Everything", on which Ruffin and Kendricks share lead vocals, and "All I Need", produced by Whitfield's protégé Frank Wilson. Whitfield's writing partners during this period included Roger Penzabene, Cornelius Grant, and Edward Holland, Jr.. Barrett Strong, the singer on Motown's first hit "Money (That's What I Want)", began his long songwriting partnership with Whitfield with the December 1967 release "I Wish It Would Rain".
The 1968 photograph used for this greatest-hits cover features then-new Temptations lead singer Dennis Edwards (third from left in back row). Exit David Ruffin
Between 1964 and 1968, The Temptations went from unknown hopefuls to international stars. The group appeared frequently on television shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show, and catered to middle America with a pop standards album (The Temptations In A Mellow Mood, 1967) and performances at the Copacabana in New York City and other such supper clubs. David Ruffin felt that he was almost single-handedly responsible for the group's success, and fame went to his head. He missed a number of rehearsals, concerts, and group meetings, began regularly taking cocaine, and demanded special treatment and top-billing (i.e. "David Ruffin & The Temptations"). It became obvious to the Tempts that Ruffin needed to be replaced, and in summer 1968, Dennis Edwards, formerly of The Contours, was brought in as the new lead singer. Edwards and Ruffin were good friends, and Ruffin at first went along with the changing-of-the-guard cordially. Shortly afterwards, however, Ruffin began turning up at the Tempts' shows, jumping onstage and stealing the spotlight. The audiences were delighted, but the Tempts and Motown were frustrated and embarrassed. Extra security guards were hired to prevent Ruffin from attending the Tempts' performances. Ruffin sued Motown in 1969; Motown settled with Ruffin by offering him a solo recording contract.
Beginning in 1968, Berry Gordy commissioned a number of collaborations for the Tempts with their old colleagues, Diana Ross & The Supremes, including a joint tour, two studio albums (Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations and Together), and two NBC television specials, TCB (aired December 9, 1968) and G.I.T. On Broadway (aired in 1969).
Psychedelic soul
In late-1968, Norman Whitfield began producing psychedelic-based material for the Temptations, based on the sound of rock band Sly & The Family Stone. This new style, which debuted with "Cloud Nine" in fall 1968, was a marked departure from the David Ruffin-era love ballads: the instrumentation was funkier, the beat was driven harder, and all five Tempts traded led vocals ala the Family Stone. "Cloud Nine", which was 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 Performance of 1968. 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 & The Supremes ("Reflections", "Love Child"), Marvin Gaye ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine"), The Fifth Dimension, and War. More Temptations "psychedelic soul" singles would follow over the next two years, including "Runaway Child, Running Wild", the #1 pop hit "I Can't Get Next to You", and "Psychedelic Shack" in 1969); and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)" and "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)" in 1970.
Exit Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams
When first David Ruffin and later Dennis Edwards took over the bulk of the lead vocals for the group, Paul Williams felt pushed aside and turned to alcohol for solace. Williams had sickle-cell anemia, which already kept him frequently in poor health; with the addition of alcohol, it became hard for him to continue with the group. At some Temptations performances, former Distant Richard Street was called upon to sing Williams' parts from offstage, while an inebriated Williams danced and lip-synced onstage.
Consideration was given to having Street replace Williams, but Eddie Kendricks refused to perform with the group if Williams was replaced. Kendricks was also uncomfortable with the psychedelic soul material the group was now performing--he preferred the material from the earlier days. Kendricks began a kinship with David Ruffin, who convinced him to quit the Temptations and go solo. Kendricks' final lead on a Temptations single was the #1 pop hit "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)", a lush ballad recorded in late 1970 and released in early 1971. Kendricks quit the group in-between shows at a 1971 Copacabana engagement; he was replaced with Ricky Owens, who was almost immediately replaced by Damon Harris.
Later the same year, Richard Street officially replaced Paul Williams. After Williams had recovered enough to perform again, Motown made plans for a Paul Williams solo career, but Williams committed suicide on August 17, 1973 at the age of 34.
The Temptations in the early 1970s
Otis Williams, Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street, and Damon Harris continued recording and performing, and Norman Whitfield continued producing hits for the group, including the Top 40 hits "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)" (1971), a message from the Tempts to the estranged David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, and "Take A Look Around" (1972).
1972 saw the release of Norman Whitfield's magnum opus, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". Originally a record Whitfield had written and produced for The Undisputed Truth, Whitfield took the somber tune and created a sprawling, dramatic fourteen-minute version for the Temptations. An edited seven-minute version was released as a single in September 1972, hitting #1 on the pop charts and #5 on the R&B charts. In 1973, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" won the Tempts their second Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Group; Whitfield and arranger/conductor Paul Riser won for Best R&B Instrumental Performance with the instrumental version of "Papa" on the single's b-side, and Whitfield and Barret Strong won the songwriters' Best R&B Song Award.
The success of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" led Whitfield, who at this time stopped working with Barrett Strong and began writing and arranging the Temptations material on his own, to create more elongated, operatic pieces, including the Top 40 hit "Masterpiece" (1973) and the tracks on the same-named album it anchored. Whitfield gradually became arrogant and difficult to work with, and his productions began to emphasize his talents over those of the Tempts. 1973 saw the release of the final two Whitfield-produced albums, Zoom and 1990, which included the Top 30 single "Let Your Hair Down". The Temptations complained about Whitfield to Berry Gordy, who intervened and reassigned them to producer Jeffery Bowen. Whitfield left Motown shortly afterwards, and in 1975 established Whitfield Records, bringing The Undisputed Truth, and Rose Royce, who performed the instrumental track for "Let Your Hair Down", with him.
Dry spell
Bowen's first and only LP with the Temptations was 1975's A Song For You, which included a cover of the Leon Russell tune (popularized with soul audiences by Donny Hathaway, along with the Top 40 hits "Shakey Ground" (featuring instrumentation by P-Funk members) and "Glasshouse". A number of producers, including Brian Holland, James Carmichael, and the Tempts themselves tried producing hits for the next three LP's, Wings of Love, House Party, and The Temptations Do The Temptations, but each single performed worse than the next.
Damon Harris left the group between House Party and The Temptations Do The Temptations and was replaced by Glenn Leonard. Dennis Edwards left the Tempts when the group, citing the label's inattention as the reason for their declining sales and popularity, departed Motown for Atlantic Records in 1977. The Atlantic Temptations releases, with Louis Price as the main lead vocalist in Edwards' place, did no better than their Motown releases, and Berry Gordy fought to re-sign the Tempts to Motown, finally succeeding in 1980.
Return to Motown and Reunion
Upon the return to Motown, Price departed from the group, and Dennis Edwards returned to the lineup. Berry Gordy co-wrote and produced the Tempts' first single under the new contract, "Power", which missed the Top 40 but hit #11 on the R&B charts. Two years of underperforming singles and albums followed until, in 1982, Motown began making plans for a Temptations reunion tour.
Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin, whose solo careers had by now run dry, agreed to re-join the Temptations for the Reunion album and tour. Motown funk star Rick James, who had used the Tempts as backup vocalists on his 1981 hit "Super Freak", wrote, produced, and guest starred on the album's lead single, "Standing On The Top". The song, which featured Ruffin, and Kendricks, and Dennis Edwards on lead, went to #6 on the R&B charts. The Reunion tour with all seven Tempts (Ruffin, Kendricks, Edwards, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street, and Glenn Leonard) was only partially successful; Kendricks' voice had weakened after decades of chain smoking, and Ruffin, still addicted to cocaine, missed a number of the performances. At the conclusion of the Reunion tour, Ruffin and Kendricks departed and began touring and performing together as a duo, and Glenn Leonard left and was replaced by Ron Tyson.
The cover to The Temptations' 1998 album Phoenix Rising. From the 1980s to the 1990s
By this time, the Temptations' releases were no longer performing well on the pop charts, though they sometimes performed well on the R&B charts, with "Love On My Mind Tonight" making it to #17, and "Sail Away", produced by a returning Norman Whitfield, making it to #13. In 1984, Edwards left the group for a solo career, and was replaced with Ali-Ollie Woodson, who sung lead on the #2 R&B hit "Treat her Like A Lady", co-written by Otis Williams and himself. Woodson remained with the Temptations until 1987, when he was replaced by a returning (for the second time) Dennis Edwards.
Dennis Edwards left the Temptations for the third and final time in 1988, with Ali-Ollie Woodson re-joining the lineup. The same year, Otis Williams published his autobiography, Temptations, which he co-authored with Patricia Romanowski. The book chronicled the careers of the Temptations from the Primes/Distants days to the present, focusing on the lives of Williams and his best friend Melvin Franklin. An updated version of the book was published in 2002.
In 1989, the Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, honoring Edwards, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendrick, and, posthumously, Paul Williams. After reuniting at the induction ceremony, Edwards, Ruffin, and Kendricks made plans to tour and record as "Ruffin/Kendrick/Edwards, Former Leads of The Temptations". The tour was carried through with, much to the chagrin of Otis Williams and Motown, but production on the album was cut short when Ruffin, age 50, died on June 1, 1991 after overdosing on cocaine. Kendrick was diagnosed with lung cancer and retired; he died on October 5, 1992 at the age of 52 in his native Birmingham.
Richard Street left the Temptations in 1992 after a twenty-year association with the group; Theo Peoples took his place. Two years later, Melvin Franklin was forced to leave the group because of poor health; he died on February 23, 1995 at age 52 after suffering a brain seizure. Ray Davis from Parliament - Funkadelic assumed the bass role for the 1995 pop standards album For Lovers Only, and Harry McGilberry became the permanent bass.
In 1998, the Temptations released Phoenix Rising, their first million-selling album in over twenty years. The album was anchored by the single "Stay", a #1 hit on the adult contemporary charts that features a sample from the Tempts' "My Girl". By this time, Ali-Ollie Woodson and Theo Peoples had departed the group, replaced with Barrington "Bo" Henderson and Terry Weeks, respectively.
The Temptations mini-series
1998 also saw the debut of The Temptations, a four-hour television miniseries broadcast in two-hour halves on NBC on November 1 and November 2, 1998. Produced by former Motown executive Suzanne de Passe and based upon Otis Williams' Temptations autobiography, the miniseries starred Charles Malik Whitfield as Otis Williams, Leon as David Ruffin, D.B. Woodside as Melvin Franklin, Terron Brooks as Eddie Kendricks, and Christian Payton as Paul Williams. Also featured were Vanessa Bell Calloway as Jonnie Mae Matthews and Mel Jackson as Norman Whitfield. The miniseries was a ratings success, and was subsequently rerun on the VH-1 cable television network and released to VHS and DVD.
Some of the people portrayed in the film, including Jonnie Mae Matthews, Otis Williams' ex-wife Josephine, Melvin Franklin's mother Rose Franklin, and David Ruffin's mother, filed suit against Williams, Motown, DePasse Entertainment, and NBC for defamation of character, alledging that the miniseries mis-portrayed them and twisted facts. The judges ruled in favor of the defendants.
From the 1990s to the present day
The Temptations were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. The next year, their latest album, Ear-Resistable, won the group its third Grammy, this one for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
The current Temptations lineup of Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, new lead singer G.C. Cameron from The Spinners, and bass Joe Herndon continue to record for Motown Records and perform on tour. Their latest album, Legacy, was released in 2004.
Personnel
For a listing of personnel, see: Temptations chronology.
Discography
For listing of albums and singles, see: Temptations discography.
See Also
Further Reading
External link
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