Post by Aba21 on Apr 11, 2004 0:16:47 GMT -5
A Scott Galloway is a music lover and jounalist based in Los Angles who specializes in Liner notes writing and has long held the position of music editor for the radio and retail publication, Urban Network. Please find below some of his notes on this two cd set:
Paul Williams:
The man who became the first lead singer of the Temptations was a schoolboy buddy of Eddie Kendricks. Along with Kell Osbourne and Eddie formed a trio named the Primes. They regularly competed against a group known as Otis Willams and the Distants. They were a few years older than Otis group and showed them a few things about harmony....all due to the shrewd imaging of Paul Williams, who had learned a few things about choreography from the great vaudville dancer Peg Leg Bates. Months later when Otis was looking to fill a couple of slots in a group he wanted to present to Berry Gordy, Eddie called him out of the blue and put in a good word for Paul. Early on Paul fronted the group but as Berry took over creative control he was squeezed out by the falsetto of Eddie. Though he continued to excel on the B-side and lp cuts, his spirit began to to slip away, drowning in self-pity and alcohol. As horrifying as this was for the Temps to see, the continued to let him perform but hired old friend Richard Street, at first to shadow Paul's vocal parts and eventually to take over all together.
It was Eddie who reached out to Paul, producing and co-writing a solo song for him titled Feel Like Giving Up that was slated to be a single in 1973. Any thoughts of releasing that song came to a screeching halt, however with Paul's appparent suicide on August 17, sitting in his car only a few blocks from Hitsville.
Eddie Kendrick:
Eddie Kendricks was nobody's fool. The Union Springs Alabama Native stayed with the Temptations for a decade, 1961-1971. Before departing for a solo career, though he had threatened to quit a couple of times before, most memorabley by missing the first night of a Two Week stand at London's Talk Of The Town in January 1970. When he left, he pointed to the direction the group was headed in with Norman Whitfield and the sounds the Temps were making. He said before he left, " I just don;t dig those weird freaky sounds. I like the old sounds we used to record....sounds with good melodies."
More to come: Dennis and David
Paul Williams:
The man who became the first lead singer of the Temptations was a schoolboy buddy of Eddie Kendricks. Along with Kell Osbourne and Eddie formed a trio named the Primes. They regularly competed against a group known as Otis Willams and the Distants. They were a few years older than Otis group and showed them a few things about harmony....all due to the shrewd imaging of Paul Williams, who had learned a few things about choreography from the great vaudville dancer Peg Leg Bates. Months later when Otis was looking to fill a couple of slots in a group he wanted to present to Berry Gordy, Eddie called him out of the blue and put in a good word for Paul. Early on Paul fronted the group but as Berry took over creative control he was squeezed out by the falsetto of Eddie. Though he continued to excel on the B-side and lp cuts, his spirit began to to slip away, drowning in self-pity and alcohol. As horrifying as this was for the Temps to see, the continued to let him perform but hired old friend Richard Street, at first to shadow Paul's vocal parts and eventually to take over all together.
It was Eddie who reached out to Paul, producing and co-writing a solo song for him titled Feel Like Giving Up that was slated to be a single in 1973. Any thoughts of releasing that song came to a screeching halt, however with Paul's appparent suicide on August 17, sitting in his car only a few blocks from Hitsville.
Eddie Kendrick:
Eddie Kendricks was nobody's fool. The Union Springs Alabama Native stayed with the Temptations for a decade, 1961-1971. Before departing for a solo career, though he had threatened to quit a couple of times before, most memorabley by missing the first night of a Two Week stand at London's Talk Of The Town in January 1970. When he left, he pointed to the direction the group was headed in with Norman Whitfield and the sounds the Temps were making. He said before he left, " I just don;t dig those weird freaky sounds. I like the old sounds we used to record....sounds with good melodies."
More to come: Dennis and David
