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Home , Barrett Strong, Check Yourself, Cholly Atkins, Damon Harris, Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks

ROCK AND RDLL HALL DF FAME

The Temptations

By Michael Hill

T h e TEMPTATIONS are the quintessential M otown vocal group. W ith tended w ith and . W illiams recounts run­ style to spare, drop-dead dance moves and voices that had been nurtured ning into Gordy in the men’s room directly afterward. “I like what you in the deep South and seasoned in the cities of the North, the Tempta- guys do onstage, and I like your record,” Gordy told him. “If you ever tions captured in their work the pleasures o f the street-comer serenade as leave where you are, come see me, because I’m starting my own label.” w ell as the flash o f the Sixties soul revue. W hether rendering Smokey He handed W illiams a card that simply read, TAMLA-. Robinson’s silky meditations on romance or executing the intricate vocal By the time Gordy again took interest in Otis W illiams and Melvin paces o f Norman W hitfield’s gritty , their voices suggested the story Franklin, the career o f the Distants had run its course. It was 1961, and o f the singers’ lives. the future o f the Primes was equally uncertain, prompting Eddie Ken­ Perhaps it all began in 1956, when , possessed o f a dricks and Paul W illiam s to get in touch with their former challengers. heartbreaker’s falsetto, and Paul W illiam s, a rich baritone, decided to W illiams, Kendricks, Franklin and W illiams formed , a combo leave their Birmingham, , home to seek their fortune up North that took its name from a brand o f wristwatch. Rounding out the group as rhythm 6? singers. The tw o ambitious seventeen-year-olds ar­ was Eldridge Bryant, formerly the Distants’ tenor. Gordy signed the El­ rived in via , where they had been spotted by a slick gins to the Miracle label, a M otown affiliate, whose rather ill-conceived Detroit manager named M ilton Jenkins. He convinced the pair that suc­ slogan was “If it’s a hit, it’s a Miracle.” cess awaited them in the M otor City, among the doo-wop groups scuf­ The group soon discovered that another band had already laid claim to fling around a lively, low-rent music scene. its moniker, so the band members settled on , a name red­ Jenkins was right, although their breakthrough was several years and a olent, they felt, o f the sex appeal they projected onstage. There were no couple o f managers away. In fact, Kendricks almost didn’t stick it out. He miracles for the Temptations on Miracle, however. The band’s tw o sin­ retreated to Birmingham during the leanest times, but W illiams finally gles, “Oh M other o f M ine” and “,” both released in 1961, persuaded him to return and rejoin the Primes, a trio they’d formed with fell short o f the charts. By 1962 the Temps had been moved to Gordy fellow Alabamian . The Primes enjoyed a modicum o f star­ Records and had become a part o f the hard-working M otown family. dom; they became well known enough to warrant a sister group, the Like their fellow groups, the early Temptations put in time as back­ Primettes (which included Diane Ross, and Mary W il­ ground singers for other artists’ sessions. They backed (lat­ son), as an opening act at their low-pay, sometimes no-pay, gigs. er part o f the Eddie Holland-Lamont Dozier- hitmaking The Primes were the toughest combo to beat in the vocal duels that team) on tour when he had his own successful single, and they made enlivened house parties and dances, something that Otis W illiams, an­ their debut backing Mary W ells. But a hit single eluded other baritone and future Temptation (but no relation to Paul W illiams), the Temptations, even as their reputations as live performers grew. learned the first time he set eyes - and ears - upon them. By 1963 the band’s rigorous schedule had taken its toll on Bryant, who Otis W illiams, who had come to Detroit from Texas with his family, often found himself at odds with his fellow singers. Before he could de­ was also an up-and-coming singer, first w ith a group called the Siberians, part or be dismissed, though, an obvious successor made his presence then w ith the Distants. In his recent memoirs, Temptations, W illiams re­ known in a rather unforgettable way. According to Otis W illiams, a gal­ called his initial encounter w ith the Primes: “Being proud and somewhat vanic local singer named , a former Mississippian w ith a gos­ competitive, my group would go up against anyone in these little group pel shouter’s intensity, “ leapt onstage” w ith the Temps during one gig. shoot-outs, but once w e heard the Primes, w e had to admit there was no “The minute Ruffin got up and did his thing,” W illiams remembers, contest. W e thought we were so hot doing our little doo-wop tunes . .. “with throwing his microphone up in the air, catching it and doing full but .it was kid stuff compared to what the Primes were doing. They were splits, plus singing like a man possessed, that was it” Ruffin had previous­ just a couple o f years older than w e were, but their three-part harmonies ly recorded for , alone and with the Voice Masters; by the were heavenly.” time he joined the Temptations, he had already created a buzz around M elvin Franklin, the future bass voice o f the Temptations, had first Detroit with a pair of songs, “M r. Bus Driver Hurry” and “Action impressed Otis W illiams as a member o f the Voice Masters, a group that Speaks Louder Than W ords.” had included David Ruffin and had recorded for Gwen Gordy’s label The Temptations finally became a priority after M otown’s annual De­ Anna. W hen the Distants were finally offered a chance to record, they troit Christmas show in 1963. According to Nelson George in W h er e found themselves w ithout a bass singer, so W illiam s hustled to find Did Our Love Go?, polled members o f the audience in the Franklin. W illiams proceeded to the Franklin household for a conference Fox Theater lobby after the show, asking which performers they enjoyed with M elvin’s mother. He tried to convince her that Franklin’s joining the most; by-far, the Temptations were audience favorites, beating out the group wouldn’t interfere with his studies. (Otis neglected to mention some o f the label’s best sellers. A month later, the Temptations had their that he had already dropped out to pursue music full time.) W ith his fam­ first Top Twenty hit with Smokey Robinson’s slyly sexy song “The W ay ily’s blessing and the offer o f a record deal to come, Franklin joined the You D o the Things You Do,” on which Kendricks sang lead. Distants. The group’s signature song, “Come On,” was released locally Although a -Eddie Holland follow-up, “Girl (W hy on Northern Records and nationally on the N ew York-based W arwick You W anna Make M e Blue),” put the Temps in the Top Thirty, they label; it wasn’t a success on vinyl, but it became a crowd pleaser at shows. didn’t surpass their initial hit until a year later, when Robinson tailored a According to Otis, Berry Gordy even caught the Distants perform­ song for the unique talents o f David Ruffin. “M y Girl” represented ing a spirited rendition o f the song at a community-center dance he at­ 17 Robinson at his most effortlessly lyrical and became a signature for the ROCK AND RDLL HALL DF FAME

The Temptations

Temptations. It also became their first Number One pop hit. hit with “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” a song that was part o f an al­ “M y Girl” established Ruffin as a vocalist o f extraordinary charac­ bum the tw o groups were working on together. A tandem appearance on ter. Ruffin testifies w ith religious fervor about the many wonders his prompted NBC to offer the tw o groups their own romance brings; his fellow Temptations harmonize grandiloquently be­ variety special, TCB (“taking care o f business”), a coup for these black hind him, echoing the song title hauntingly on the chorus. On the artists in the conservative climate o f television. It was a popular success strength o f “M y Girl,” the Temptations traveled to England with the and a memorable artistic achievement M otown Revue, which, predictably, caused a sensation there. They continued to be featured on the tunes that W hitfield were a featured act during one o f M urray the K’s summer spectaculars was then writing with , which constituted, in Otis W il­ at Brooklyn’s Fox Theater, and toward the end of 1965 they made liams’s words, the group’s “psychedelic phase”: “Runaway Child, Run­ their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Temptations re­ ning W ild,” “Don’t Let the Joneses Get You Down,” “I Can’t Get Next lied on Smokey Robinson’s material until the next year, when they re­ to You” (which showcased all five vocalists in rapid-fire, round-robin corded “Get Ready,” an atypically aggressive and very funky number fashion), “” and “Ball of Confusion (That’s W hat the from Robinson, highlighted by Kendricks’s teasing falsetto. W orld Is Today),” which featured deadpan delivery of tongue-twisting “Get Ready” reached Number One on the Rfe?B chart but barely lyrics cataloging modem ills over an insistent beat These tracks couldn’t brushed the pop Top Thirty. So for the Temps’ next single, M otown be contained in the compact structure o f singles; listeners w ho wanted to chose “A in’t Too Proud to Beg,” a side that had been cut at the same appreciate the full-length groove had to turn to Temptations like time as “Get Ready” but had been passed over in favor o f the hit-wor­ Cloud Inline, and P sychedelic Shac1{. thy Smokey tune. The song had been written by Norman W hitfield By 1971 the Temptations were facing the loss o f another member, Ed­ and Eddie Holland and produced by W hitfield, w ho was eager for an­ die Kendricks, who, like David Ruffin before him, yearned for solo suc­ other chance to work with the Temptations, having enjoyed his first cess. (W ithin a few years, Kendricks cut very contemporary and seduc­ major success w ith ’ “Too M any Fish in the Sea” (also tive tracks, like “Keep On Truckin’ ” and “,” which had written with Holland). “A in’t Too Proud to Beg” was another R6?B the trancelike qualities o f ’s work and foreshadowed smash, reaching Number Thirteen on Billboard’s pop chart. It also sig­ rhythms.) Before Kendricks left, though, he cut the lead vocal on a W hit­ naled a change in direction for the Temptations, away from Robin­ field-Strong number that remains a Temptations classic, on a par with son’s sleek pop soul, toward W hitfield’s more overt rhythm feP blu es "M y Girl” and “I W ish It W ould Rain”: “Just M y Imagination (R u n ­ sound, which made the most o f Ruffin’s gospel-inflected delivery. Sub­ ning A w ay with M e),” a gorgeous, bittersweet ballad featuring swirling sequent W hitfield productions, “ Beauty’s Only Skin Deep” and the strings and an utterly masterful performance from Kendricks. It proved a dramatic and oft-covered “(I Know) I’m Losing Yon,” were Top Ten graceful conclusion to Kendricks’s lengthy tenure w ith the group. pop smashes. Upon Kendricks’s departure, unfortunately, problems worsened for By this time, the Temptations were far removed from the combo that Paul W illiams, w ho had succumbed to a fast-lane lifestyle that would ul­ wowed the locals at clubs and dances; the steps that Paul W illiams had timately force him to leave the group late in 1971- A lth o u g h W illiam s devised had been replaced by the Temptations W alk, which was choreo­ worked behind the scenes with the Temps, supported by M otown, he graphed by M otow n’s dancer-in-residence, . Their never overcame his personal troubles. In August 1973, P au l W illia m s streetwise wardrobe and look had been replaced by slicker threads and a was found dead in a parked car only a short distance from M otown’s hipper style that would be equally acceptable at the and the Hitsville studio. Police ruled his death a suicide. Apollo. Even their microphone setup had changed: the four Temptations W hitfield’s tenure as writer-producer for the Temptations rlimaypd in w ho sang backup on any individual tune were grouped around a specially 1972 with the group’s last Number One pop hit, “Papa W as a Rollin’ designed four-pronged mike that allowed them the room to execute their Stone,” a durable piece o f lean funk that employed all the Temptations’ moves freely while they harmonized. vocal skills to bring to life a fresh-off-the-streets tale o f an abandoned fam­ During 1966 the quintet also began to team up w ith , ily. The song remains a striking example o f how far the Temptations- their old friends from the scuffling days, for concert and television appear­ W hitfield collaboration had evolved, musically and thematically. ances that emphasized the playful, familial side of M otown and under­ O n board were tw o new singers: , a former member of scored the heady status o f both groups in the company hierarchy. Otis W illiams’s Distants, who has been with the Temps ever since, and In December 1967, M otown released the Temptations’ “I W ish It , w ho put in a four-year stint Dennis Edwards twice part­ W ould Rain,” another Top Ten W hitfield production that would be the ed company with the group (the first time was in 1977, when the Temp­ last achingly romantic ballad the group would record for some time. A l­ tations left M otown for a brief stint with Atlantic). Throughout the Sev­ though its message was timeless, the song had a melancholy mood that enties, though, Otis W illiam s and M elvin Franklin kept alive the somehow suited the moment It was a period o f change and unrest - ra­ Temptations’ legacy, onstage and in the studio, taking their sound literal­ cial, political, musical. ly around th e w o rld . There were troubles within the Temptations as well: David Ruffin, In 1982 the original Temptations reassembled at M otown for the Re­ the group’s unofficial star, wanted to strike out on his own - or at least union , which featured “,” 'composed especial­ get preferential billing, which didn’t sit w ell w ith a band that had always ly for them by one o f the more ou tré members o f M otown’s new genera­ sold itself as “five lead vocalists.” By late 1968, Ruffin was gone; within a tion, . A major reunion tour followed. year he had resumed a solo career with M otown, scoring a Top Ten pop In M ay 1983, during M otow n’s twenty-fifth-anniversary television ex­ hit with “M y W hole W orld Ended (the Moment You Left M e).’a g travaganza, an inspired Dennis Edwards engaged o f the Four In the meantime, the Temptations, guided by the forward-thinking Tops in a vocal duel, in which they traded off classic bits o f each others’ W hitfield, had come up with “Cloud Nine,” a galvanizing ensemble tune hits. It was among the most exciting and spontaneous segments in the w ith a startlingly stripped-down arrangement and rather controversial show. For a moment, the Temps and the Tops harked back to their begin­ lyrics alluding to drug use. W hitfield had discarded the tried-and-true nings, when singers vied with each other to bring down the house, no M otown formula for a more expansive approach that favored repetitive, m atter h o w hum ble. short-on-frills dance rhythms under layers o f chanted vocals. The result The current Temptations - W illiams, Franklin, Edwards, Street and was as striking as — and owed a notable debt to — Sly and the Family Ron Tyson - renewed their contract with M otown in 1987; they imme­ Stone’s feverish dance tracks. “Cloud Nine” was also the debut o f vocal­ diately scored tw o Top Ten rhythm & blues hits, “I W onder W ho She’s ist Dennis Edwards, late of another M otown group, . Seeing Now,” featuring Stevie W onder on harmonica, and “Look W hat The old M otown showbiz style hadn’t entirely disappeared, how­ You’ve Started.” ever. In early 1969 the Temptations and the Supremes scored a major 18 The Temptations are still taking care o f business.