Post by Jonel on Jan 23, 2004 11:49:01 GMT -5
Motown group's national tour makes stop Saturday at JCC
Thursday, January 22, 2004
By Larry O'Connor
Staff Writer
In their Jackson appearance, The Temptations' Otis Williams and his mates will be thankful for the wood beneath their feet.
The oak stage in Jackson Community College's Sheffer Music Hall should be a comfort for the venerable Motown act.
"The stages made of concrete or metal have no give," said Williams, 62, whose group's dexterous dance moves nearly rival their rich harmonies. "When you bounce on them, the shock waves go back up through your body.
"The wooden stages have some give."
The Motown contingent's hallmark twists, pivots and other choreographed moves can wreak havoc on joints, especially during a grueling, 40-week touring schedule.
Temptations member Ron Tyson, known for his soaring high tenor, underwent knee surgery before embarking on this latest national tour.
While the medical anecdote may remind members they themselves are not timeless, The Temptations' music remains refreshingly so.
The group's indelible hits "My Girl," "Cloud Nine" and "I Can't Get Next You," like other chestnuts of the Motown groups, transcend generations, genres and geography.
Williams, a founding member of The Temptations, has found himself as procurer as well as performer through the years.
Though an integral part of the lore, the singer speaks of Motown in the detachment reserved for witnesses of a comet or other natural marvel.
"They made songs that are universal," Williams said. "Songs like 'My Girl,' I mean one time or another every guy thinks about his first girl.
"They had great lyrics that were not offensive and melodies that always stuck in your mind."
People who savor the Motown sound do so not necessarily out of nostalgia but reverence for a musical phenomenon likely never to be repeated.
The Temptations' role in the Berry Gordy-created Motown legacy is well documented in print and TV.
In 1964, the original crew of Eldridge Bryant, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams and Otis Williams struck gold with the Smokey Robinson-penned "The Way You Do the Things You Do."
The cavalcade of wistful hits like "My Girl," "It's Growing" and "Since I Lost My Baby," melded into edgier fare like "I Can't Get Next to You" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," which reflected the 1970s politically charged era.
Members of The Temptations came and went, including Paul Williams (no relation to Otis) and David Ruffin, who later succumbed to their individual demons.
Of the five original members, only Otis Williams is still alive.
Under his guidance, the group more than survived in the 1980s and '90s, earning a Grammy for "Ear Resistible" and enjoying a renaissance thanks in part to the airing of an NBC mini-series on their tumultuous founding.
In 1975, Otis Williams gained ownership of The Temptations moniker from Gordy, apparently to thwart others from capitalizing on the nostalgia.
However, it didn't prevent Kendricks, Ruffin and Dennis Edwards (who replaced Ruffin in 1968 when the latter failed to turn up for a performance) from touring as "Tribute to the Temptations" in the 1990s.
Through loopholes, other Motown acts continue to tour with new members under the original banner.
"I can't sing their praises," Williams said. "Business is cold and calculating. It's unfortunate to the acts who have built the name.
"It's a constant battle."
-- Reach reporter Larry
O'Connor at 768-4926 or
loconnor@citpat.com.
www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1074791224318880.xml
© 2004 Jackson Citizen Patriot.
www.jccmi.edu/marketing/News/PressReleases/pr11204.htm
Thursday, January 22, 2004
By Larry O'Connor
Staff Writer
In their Jackson appearance, The Temptations' Otis Williams and his mates will be thankful for the wood beneath their feet.
The oak stage in Jackson Community College's Sheffer Music Hall should be a comfort for the venerable Motown act.
"The stages made of concrete or metal have no give," said Williams, 62, whose group's dexterous dance moves nearly rival their rich harmonies. "When you bounce on them, the shock waves go back up through your body.
"The wooden stages have some give."
The Motown contingent's hallmark twists, pivots and other choreographed moves can wreak havoc on joints, especially during a grueling, 40-week touring schedule.
Temptations member Ron Tyson, known for his soaring high tenor, underwent knee surgery before embarking on this latest national tour.
While the medical anecdote may remind members they themselves are not timeless, The Temptations' music remains refreshingly so.
The group's indelible hits "My Girl," "Cloud Nine" and "I Can't Get Next You," like other chestnuts of the Motown groups, transcend generations, genres and geography.
Williams, a founding member of The Temptations, has found himself as procurer as well as performer through the years.
Though an integral part of the lore, the singer speaks of Motown in the detachment reserved for witnesses of a comet or other natural marvel.
"They made songs that are universal," Williams said. "Songs like 'My Girl,' I mean one time or another every guy thinks about his first girl.
"They had great lyrics that were not offensive and melodies that always stuck in your mind."
People who savor the Motown sound do so not necessarily out of nostalgia but reverence for a musical phenomenon likely never to be repeated.
The Temptations' role in the Berry Gordy-created Motown legacy is well documented in print and TV.
In 1964, the original crew of Eldridge Bryant, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams and Otis Williams struck gold with the Smokey Robinson-penned "The Way You Do the Things You Do."
The cavalcade of wistful hits like "My Girl," "It's Growing" and "Since I Lost My Baby," melded into edgier fare like "I Can't Get Next to You" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," which reflected the 1970s politically charged era.
Members of The Temptations came and went, including Paul Williams (no relation to Otis) and David Ruffin, who later succumbed to their individual demons.
Of the five original members, only Otis Williams is still alive.
Under his guidance, the group more than survived in the 1980s and '90s, earning a Grammy for "Ear Resistible" and enjoying a renaissance thanks in part to the airing of an NBC mini-series on their tumultuous founding.
In 1975, Otis Williams gained ownership of The Temptations moniker from Gordy, apparently to thwart others from capitalizing on the nostalgia.
However, it didn't prevent Kendricks, Ruffin and Dennis Edwards (who replaced Ruffin in 1968 when the latter failed to turn up for a performance) from touring as "Tribute to the Temptations" in the 1990s.
Through loopholes, other Motown acts continue to tour with new members under the original banner.
"I can't sing their praises," Williams said. "Business is cold and calculating. It's unfortunate to the acts who have built the name.
"It's a constant battle."
-- Reach reporter Larry
O'Connor at 768-4926 or
loconnor@citpat.com.
www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1074791224318880.xml
© 2004 Jackson Citizen Patriot.
www.jccmi.edu/marketing/News/PressReleases/pr11204.htm
