Post by Jonel on Feb 26, 2004 10:13:19 GMT -5
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Return to Motown's heyday with Leonard's Temptations
BY SARAH D'ESTI MILLER
Press & Sun-Bulletin
From 1975 to 1983, Glenn Leonard was living out his boyhood dream: He was a Temptation, singing lead vocals on such songs as Open Their Eyes and Ever Ready Love. This weekend for three shows, he will be bringing his Motown stylings, not to mention training, to the Endicott Performing Arts Center in Legendary Lead Singers of the Temptations featuring Glenn Leonard.
"One of the things they had at Motown that made it really wonderful is they had something called artist development, where you were trained how to handle the stage, trained how to reach your audience, trained how to walk, to talk, stage presence and all those things which nobody does anymore," he said.
In 1986, Leonard became a minister, and his return to the stage was unexpected. In 1997 when fellow former Temptation Damon Harris had been diagnosed with cancer, Leonard called him, and the two spoke for several hours, catching up. Harris has since recovered.
"I could hear he was still interested in (performing)," Leonard said. "He called me back some months later and asked if I would be interested in making some cameo appearances.
"I couldn't see where I had the time to commit to that. One thing led to another, and we got together on stage and we did a little medley of songs together, and the response shocked me. I really wasn't quite ready for it. I didn't know that there was a market for a spin-off Temptations but there obviously is."
Leonard is also very in tune with what his audience wants to hear -- Tempts tunes not only from Leonard's time, but the Smokey Robinson-penned hits of the '60s (My Girl, The Way You Do the Things You Do and Get Ready).
"We lean more toward the earlier songs. My goal is to give the people what they really want, and they love that era, the old Motown hits, so we stay closely to that vein," Leonard said. "We cover a lot of ground, but the majority of the songs we do are the earlier songs.
"I have four guys We do the choreography, we do everything that, particularly, the original Temptations did."
Leonard enjoys sharing the Motown legacy with audiences, but he has no intention of leaving his ministry. He performs only when his preaching schedule allows it.
"I have had a career," he said. "I am really not interested in just beating the bushes trying to compete with the young kids. This is their era; this is their time. We are just looking to give the fans what they enjoy and what we enjoy doing."
WHAT: "Legendary Lead Singers of the Temptations" featuring Glenn Leonard, Kareem Ali, Darnel Carter, Walter Joe Herndon and Freddy Black
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Endicott Performing Arts Center, 102 Washington Ave., Endicott
TICKETS: First five rows, $30; rest of theater, $25. Call 785-9120 or 785-8903 or at Music City, 7 Main St., Binghamton.
MORE INFORMATION: Call 785-9120 or 785-8903.
Courtesy of the Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY
www.pressconnects.com/entertainment/stories/022604s71013.shtml
temptfan 4life, I'm confused by your comment. Both Glenn Leonard and Damon Harris are Temptations. 
thanks Aba! I thought I was seeing double. Maybe there wasn't time to correct the info or maybe they didn't know who Joe's replacement would be. 