Post by tempfan on Apr 22, 2007 15:10:02 GMT -5
THE TEMPTATIONS STILL ROCKIN' AFTER 46 YEARS
By ROBERT LOPEZ , The Beaumont Enterprise
As a member of the Temptations, Otis Williams provided the soundtrack to countless prom dates and lovers lane rendezvous.
Today his baritone is the only voice left of the original five who created Motown classics such as "My Girl," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "Get Ready."
But the 65-year-old Williams remains a rolling stone and continues performing with a new incarnation of the Temptations, who will take the stage April 28 at the Jefferson Theatre in Beaumont.
"It's just a labor of love," the Texarkana-native said in a telephone interview. "I carry on because I love it. When you enjoy what you're doing, why retire?"
As Williams explained, though its heyday is long past, the group never really went away. The Temptations have existed for more than four decades and are still turning out new albums. Their rendition of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," featured on their latest CD "Reflections," received a Grammy nomination this year for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
Formed in 1961, the group was made up of Williams, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin and Paul Williams (no relation to Otis). Together they recorded some of the most memorable tunes in the formidable Motown canon, including "My Girl," "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You."
Other hits include "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)," 'I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and the Grammy-winning "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone."
"All the time I get people telling me they got their first piece of loving on 'Ain't Too Proud to Beg,'" Williams said. "James Avery, who was in 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' he told me that. People tell me that a relative of theirs said, 'The last thing you do, put a Temptations' album in my coffin.' They want to take our music to their final resting place.
"I had a guy tell me he was over in Vietnam. And I told him, 'Well, I never did make it to Vietnam.' But he said, 'Yes you did. Your music helped us make it through.'"
But behind the scenes, the music wasn't so sweet. Lead singer Ruffin was fired in 1968 for his increasingly erratic behavior and ego issues. He died of a drug overdose in 1991. Paul Williams suffered from alcoholism and committed suicide in 1973. Kendricks, who left the group in 1971, died of lung cancer in 1992. Melvin Franklin followed three years later, felled by a brain seizure.
Williams said he has many regrets about what transpired in the 1960s but doesn't dwell on the ugliness much and said he misses the other four. "You deal with their loss like you would a family member," he said. "But that's just part of life. We were born to die."
The current line-up has been together for four years and in addition to Williams is made up of lead singers Terry Weeks and Ron Tyson, bass singer Joe Herndon and former Spinners singer G.C. Cameron.
They continue drawing a broad demographic, black and white, original fans and their kids and grandkids. Though different voices are now at the mics, Williams insists that what audiences hear now isn't much different from what they heard on the group's vinyl classics.
"We don't step out of character and try to be something that we're not," he said. "Our fan base would get mad at us if we tried to come out with the hip-hop and the rap flavoring. We might dabble a little in that, but we just stay true to what the world has come to know and love of the Tempts."
By ROBERT LOPEZ , The Beaumont Enterprise
As a member of the Temptations, Otis Williams provided the soundtrack to countless prom dates and lovers lane rendezvous.
Today his baritone is the only voice left of the original five who created Motown classics such as "My Girl," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "Get Ready."
But the 65-year-old Williams remains a rolling stone and continues performing with a new incarnation of the Temptations, who will take the stage April 28 at the Jefferson Theatre in Beaumont.
"It's just a labor of love," the Texarkana-native said in a telephone interview. "I carry on because I love it. When you enjoy what you're doing, why retire?"
As Williams explained, though its heyday is long past, the group never really went away. The Temptations have existed for more than four decades and are still turning out new albums. Their rendition of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," featured on their latest CD "Reflections," received a Grammy nomination this year for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
Formed in 1961, the group was made up of Williams, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin and Paul Williams (no relation to Otis). Together they recorded some of the most memorable tunes in the formidable Motown canon, including "My Girl," "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You."
Other hits include "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)," 'I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and the Grammy-winning "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone."
"All the time I get people telling me they got their first piece of loving on 'Ain't Too Proud to Beg,'" Williams said. "James Avery, who was in 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' he told me that. People tell me that a relative of theirs said, 'The last thing you do, put a Temptations' album in my coffin.' They want to take our music to their final resting place.
"I had a guy tell me he was over in Vietnam. And I told him, 'Well, I never did make it to Vietnam.' But he said, 'Yes you did. Your music helped us make it through.'"
But behind the scenes, the music wasn't so sweet. Lead singer Ruffin was fired in 1968 for his increasingly erratic behavior and ego issues. He died of a drug overdose in 1991. Paul Williams suffered from alcoholism and committed suicide in 1973. Kendricks, who left the group in 1971, died of lung cancer in 1992. Melvin Franklin followed three years later, felled by a brain seizure.
Williams said he has many regrets about what transpired in the 1960s but doesn't dwell on the ugliness much and said he misses the other four. "You deal with their loss like you would a family member," he said. "But that's just part of life. We were born to die."
The current line-up has been together for four years and in addition to Williams is made up of lead singers Terry Weeks and Ron Tyson, bass singer Joe Herndon and former Spinners singer G.C. Cameron.
They continue drawing a broad demographic, black and white, original fans and their kids and grandkids. Though different voices are now at the mics, Williams insists that what audiences hear now isn't much different from what they heard on the group's vinyl classics.
"We don't step out of character and try to be something that we're not," he said. "Our fan base would get mad at us if we tried to come out with the hip-hop and the rap flavoring. We might dabble a little in that, but we just stay true to what the world has come to know and love of the Tempts."
I especially like the part where he says that fans will get upset if they try to duplicate that "Rap Crap" (as I like to call it. ;D)