The Temptations
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The Temptations were the most versatile of Motown's vocal
groups, and one of the most successful soul acts of the 1960s. The
Temptations epitomized classic soul at its most urbane and graceful.
Stop-on-a-dime choreography and classy elegance made the group a hit on
stage; in the studio, their harmonies benefited from Motown's best
songwriters and producers. The presence of several talented lead vocalists
with distinct styles meant that they could play it both smooth and sweaty,
and enabled them to adapt to progressive funk and rock trends better than
most 60s soul stars. However, time and too many personnel changes have
reduced them to what is basically a nostalgia act for the last twenty
years. The original quintet of Temptations - Eldridge Bryant, Eddie
Kendricks, Otis Williams, Paul Williams and Melvin Franklin formed in the
early 60s as a merger of sorts between Detroit groups The Distants and The
Primes. Signed to Motown in 1961, they recorded seven singles that made
barely any noise. In early 1964, two factors helped them break from the
pack:
The Temptations’ The recruitment of David Ruffin to replace Bryant, and
the concentrated attention of Smokey Robinson
. Robinson wrote and produced
most of their mid-60s hits, starting with 1964's "The Way You Do The
Things You Do", on which the Temps' harmonies jelled with state-of-the-art
soul production for the first time. It was "My Girl", however, that
established The Temptations as household names. This 1965 single, which
made #1 on both the US R&B and pop charts, was one of Smokey's most
lyrically evocative compositions. With its swooping strings and
unforgettable vocal trade-offs on the chorus, it remains one of Motown's
signature tunes.
The Temptations are usually remembered as one of Motown's more romantic
and pop-oriented acts, an image reinforced by such lush ballads as "I Wish
It Would Rain", "Since I Lost My Baby", "You're My Everything" and "I'm
Gonna Make You Love Me" (the last of which was a collaboration with The
Supremes). Actually, these were balanced by a fairly equal number of dance
floor-fillers like "Get Ready" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg". Wide appeal,
and a certain diversity, were ensured by the splitting of lead vocal
chores between David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks on the early hits (Paul
Williams occasionally took lead as well, but not on the big singles).
The Temptations’ Kendricks had the high, gliding tenor that almost went
into falsetto; Ruffin had the coarser, more emotive style. Ruffin would
give the group's most passioned, even angst-ridden, performance on "(I
Know) I'm Losing You"; his delivery was closely studied by Rod Stewart
(who covered that classic) and, most likely, Mick Jagger, who would
eventually cover "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" with The Stones.
Starting in 1966, Norman Whitfield gradually poached Temptations
production duties from Smokey Robinson
. Whitfield was probably the first
of the Motown principals to assimilate late 60s trends from the rock and
funk worlds into the label's hit machine. The 1968 single "Cloud Nine" was
a landmark for both Motown and soul, introducing a high degree of social
consciousness into the lyrics and psychedelic guitar riffage into the
arrangement. For The Temptations themselves, it was a different landmark
of sorts: it was their first big hit after the departure of Ruffin, who
was replaced by Dennis Edwards. (Ruffin had an intermittently successful
but generally disappointing solo career.)
The Temptations rarely wrote their own material, and in the late 60s and
early 70s they became mouthpieces of sorts for Whitfield. With Barrett
Strong (who had recorded the original version of "Money" in the early
60s), Whitfield penned message songs to reflect the complexity and
confusion of the times, dressed up in arrangements heavily influenced by
the rock-soul-psychedelic fusion of Sly & The Family Stone. "Cloud Nine",
"Psychedelic Shack", "Runaway Child, Running Wild" and "Ball Of Confusion"
were galvanizing hits, if a bit self-conscious in their lyrical
references. The group never turned their backs on good old-fashioned
romance, either, as the huge hits "I Can't Get Next To You" and "Just My
Imagination" demonstrated. But, although "Just My Imagination" made US #1
in early 1971, all wasn't well in the group. Paul Williams left due to
health and alcohol problems, in 1973. The same year, Eddie Kendricks left
to start a solo career, which started brilliantly (his "Keep On Truckin'"
making #1 in 1973) and steadily dissipated. That left only Otis Williams
and bass singer Melvin Franklin from the mid-60s quintet. Whitfield would
continue to work with The Temptations through the mid-70s. Indeed, the
1972 US #1 single "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" was a triumph for him, the
group and Motown. With its throbbing, slow-burning rhythms and
hard-hearted depiction of urban rootlessness, soul rarely sounded so
foreboding and compelling. But The Temptations' funk, once futuristic,
started to sound repetitive on follow-up singles. 1973's "Masterpiece" was
their final US Top 10 pop hit; they remained reliable R&B hit-makers for a
few years, but, with the loss of Whitfield and a general lack of direction
at Motown, they were unable to continue adapting to the commercial and
artistic trends of the day. By 1977, they'd left Motown (though they would
return in a few years), and Edwards was gone as well (he would return for
spells in the 80s).
The Temptations’ Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin continued to tour and
record with new members, but to all intents and purposes they were (and
are) now just another urban contemporary vocal group, with few audible
echoes of their glory days. In 1973. Paul Williams, was discovered dead
from a self-inflected gunshot on August 17, 1973 at the age of 34. Tragedy
continued for the Temptations: David 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 Melvin Franklin passed away after suffering a brain seizure.
With the death of Franklin, Otis Williams is their sole link to their
illustrious past. The Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1989. They still rock ass and aren't to proud to beg!
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