The Temptations

The Temptations
The "Classic 5" lineup of the Temptations in 1967. Clockwise from top: David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams.
The "Classic 5" lineup of the Temptations in 1967. Clockwise from top: David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams.
Background information
Also known asThe Elgins, The Pirates
OriginDetroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres
Years active1960–present
Labels
MembersOtis Williams
Ron Tyson
Terry Weeks
Tony Grant
Jawan M. Jackson
Past membersMelvin Franklin
Eddie Kendricks
Paul Williams
Elbridge "Al" Bryant
David Ruffin
Dennis Edwards
Ricky Owens
Richard Street
Damon Harris
Glenn Leonard
Louis Price
Ali-Ollie Woodson
Theo Peoples
Ray Davis
Harry McGilberry
Barrington "Bo" Henderson
G. C. Cameron
Joe Herndon
Bruce Williamson
Larry Braggs
Willie Greene
Mario Corbino
Websitewww.temptationsofficial.com

The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s to mid 1970s. The group's 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.[2] 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.[3][4][5]

Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group formed in 1960 in Detroit 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).[6] Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as "Cloud Nine" (1968), "I Can't Get Next to You" (1969), and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (1970). Kendricks and Paul Williams both left the group in 1971, with subsequent members including Richard Street, Damon Harris, Glenn Leonard, Ron Tyson, and Ali-Ollie Woodson, the last of whom was the lead singer on late-period hit "Treat Her Like a Lady" in 1984 and the theme song for the children's movement program Kids in Motion in 1987.

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 four Grammy Awards. The Temptations were the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award – for "Cloud Nine" in 1969[7] – 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. They were the first Motown artist to receive a Grammy Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award (which they gained in 2014).[8]

In 2023, the Temptations were ranked as the #1 artist on the Top 100 Greatest R&B/Hip-Hop Artists Of All Time according to Billboard magazine.[9]

As of 2024, the Temptations continue to perform with founder Otis Williams in the lineup (Williams owns the rights to the Temptations name).

  1. ^ All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul 2003. Backbeat Books. 2003. p. 566. ISBN 9780879307448. progressive soul of The Temptations
  2. ^ Graff, Gary (August 29, 1988). "The Temptations: Otis tells the group's tale", Detroit Free Press. Online version available from Internet Archive at [1]
  3. ^ (2005). "The Temptations Archived 2005-03-20 at the Wayback Machine". Memorabletv.com. Retrieved November 5, 2005.
  4. ^ (2003). "The Temptations Archived 2005-03-05 at the Wayback Machine". ClassicMotown.com. Retrieved November 5, 2005.
  5. ^ (2005) Ankeny, Jason. "The Temptations". AllMusic. Retrieved November 5, 2005.
  6. ^ Ribowsky, Mark (2010). Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations, Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 85–95, ISBN 978-0-470-26117-0.
  7. ^ Ribowsky (2010), p. 197.
  8. ^ "Five Things To Know: The Temptations and The Four Tops – Hanover Theatre and Conservatory". thehanovertheatre.org. October 23, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  9. ^ "Greatest of All Time Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists". Billboard.

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