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Post by Aba21 on May 19, 2004 11:01:13 GMT -5
"and it appears that the others were also thinking of themselves when they chose to go solo ..." I agree with that statement, Aba. On the other hand, they were at least willing to take the risk and rid themeselves of this situation. But just how big a risk was it Anna? Eddie, David and Paul could all revert to singing solo with no problems.........Eddie had a contract, David was solo before he joined and you know Paul could have............why is ther no blame cast on Melvin for the same reason.....he didn't vote to stand up either. |
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Post by ZeldaFScott on May 19, 2004 11:25:03 GMT -5
Aba, I think that Melvin's voice was not suited for a solo carreer. As pleasant and impressive as it was, there isn't much suitable material for such a voice to sing, in my opinion. He would have had better chances at singing opera parts than modern music. Again, that's my opinion.
And, at least for David, the prospects for a successful solo carreer were only superficially good. In reality, he was held back by a kind of "dark forces" in the business, I believe.
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Post by Aba21 on May 19, 2004 11:39:49 GMT -5
My point was that why is all the blame cast towards Otis.......he didn't have the final say......his vote wasn't the last vote..Melvin nines times out of ten sided with Otis, yet I don't hear a bad word about Melvin anywhere......he wasn't a solo performer, yes and he decided as did Otis not to take a chance and to stay put........how come he is not villified for his stand............See.I'm just really trying to get to the bottom of why it is all Otis fault for the demise of the C-5, that's all.......Who's to say that if he took the same stance as David and the others, Berry would have gotten scared and said, "Oh I better do something or I'm gonna lose these guys." That some BS. Berry was scared of no one back then....not even the Temps had any weight when it came to what went on at Motown............they sent groups and artists packing everyday for not "going with the program" Berry didn't get scared until he thought he was going to lose Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye...then he caved in....but not before that. By then though, all he had was the Jackson Five and the Commodores and both of those groups were having problems with Motown and among themselves as well.........
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Post by ZeldaFScott on May 19, 2004 11:45:14 GMT -5
Melvin just was smart enough not to badmouth the others -- at least not in the way Otis did. I dare say that Otis lacked the foresight to calculate the result of his behavior. He -- in my opinion -- exhibits a less pleasant personality than Melvin did.
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Post by Aba21 on May 19, 2004 11:59:53 GMT -5
Melvin just was smart enough not to badmouth the others -- at least not in the way Otis did. I dare say that Otis lacked the foresight to calculate the result of his behavior. He -- in my opinion -- exhibits a less pleasant personality than Melvin did. now you're surmising...that won't work......you can't say what either Otis or Melvin were thinking and for the record I have seen another side or two of Melvin Franklin myself.............but that is not the point.......personality has nothing to do with what went down at Motown.....if Berry ran his business on personality, then I can't imagine how they made it.......Why don't you admit that you just don't like the man and really have no real good reason for it except that in your mind he didn't do what *you* would have done............I say since you didn't walk in his shoes you don't know what you would have done.................I admit I don't like all he did.but I can't say I don't like him cause he's a Temptaion and I happen to like all of them, regardless of their personal life...........You have not changed your opinion of David for example in spite of all you know and whatever he did to himself *did* hurt the group contrary to popular opinion, cause when he didn't show up he hurt Eddie Paul Melvin and Otis.............. |
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Post by ZeldaFScott on May 19, 2004 12:04:15 GMT -5
I admit I don't like him after all I've heard about and by him. What I've heard and read by Melvin, on the other hand, made me admire him. He seems to be the more pleasant person to associate with. That's all. I can't help it. Otis' book, his interviews -- everything exudes an unpleasant personality, in my opinion.
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Post by Aba21 on May 19, 2004 12:11:30 GMT -5
I admit I don't like him after all I've heard about and by him. What I've heard and read by Melvin, on the other hand, made me admire him. He seems to be the more pleasant person to associate with. That's all. I can't help it. Otis' book, his interviews -- everything exudes an unpleasant personality, in my opinion. And I suppose that every unpleasant person you have ever read about or heard about rides in the same boat as Otis so that the only people you will associate with or talk to is a pleasant person. I have found that you can learn some important things from so called unpleasant people if you get past that part............ |
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Post by ZeldaFScott on May 19, 2004 12:17:33 GMT -5
Well, I understand your point, Aba, but I must admit that I would rather have avoided Otis -- let's say at a party, for example -- and talked to Melvin. Of course, I can only speak theoretically, but that's how I conduct my "social business" usually. Otis' public behavior left a unfavorable impression. So, I would not seek his company.
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Post by Aba21 on May 19, 2004 13:21:37 GMT -5
So let me get this straight.....if you were at a party in which Otis was present as the only TEmptation, you would not seek his company on any level........then I believe you would miss out because you don't know if he might say something to change your opinion of him or enlighten you on something you may think you know about the temps or about him..I never pass up a chance to learn............. ;D
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Post by ZeldaFScott on May 19, 2004 14:51:59 GMT -5
You are right about that. I'd rather miss an occasion to become more educated than force myself to socialize with people I don't like. With people like him one has to worry what is said about oneself afterwards. If you try an intelligent conversation they'll call you arrogant, if you try a superficial one, they'll call you stupid.
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Post by keres on May 19, 2004 14:56:29 GMT -5
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Post by kalisa2 on May 19, 2004 17:13:46 GMT -5
You are right about that. I'd rather miss an occasion to become more educated than force myself to socialize with people I don't like. With people like him one has to worry what is said about oneself afterwards. If you try an intelligent conversation they'll call you arrogant, if you try a superficial one, they'll call you stupid. PLEASE tell me what I'm missing, cuz the last posts on this thread are killing me. What I'm reading is that it is OK for Melvin to have done the exact thing Otis did, or at least backed what are perceived as Otis's 'bad actions', for the same reasons, because Melvin had a 'nicer personality'  . Even though Melvin had LESS excuse than Otis to be more worried about his job, (Melvin may not have been able to go solo, but he for SURE would have been picked up by another group and still had a career), if BG had said 'bye bye Tempts' instead of caving to their demands. We can't know for sure that Otis would have found another gig...but Melvin was covered no matter what. Yet he still backed Otis. But its OK, because 'he had a nicer personality'. That's what I'm gathering from these last few notes. smiling faces, smiling faces tell lies...PLEASE NOTE: I'm not saying that Melvin DIDN'T have a 'nicer personality' than Otis...so does a used car salesman. I'd rather have somebody be unpleasing to my face, its the 'backstabbers' with the smiles I worry about, myself. But that's just me I guess. NOTE AGAIN: I am not saying any of that applies to Melvin, I just can't understand why Melvin is absolved of any culpability of the perceived wrong-doing that Otis is accused of, when he backed the man more than not...and could have gone the other way with less consequence than Otis would have had if Otis were out of a job. |
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Post by MikeNYC on May 19, 2004 17:52:30 GMT -5
My point was that why is all the blame cast towards Otis.......he didn't have the final say......his vote wasn't the last vote..Melvin nines times out of ten sided with Otis, yet I don't hear a bad word about Melvin anywhere......he wasn't a solo performer, yes and he decided as did Otis not to take a chance and to stay put........how come he is not villified for his stand............See.I'm just really trying to get to the bottom of why it is all Otis fault for the demise of the C-5, that's all.......Who's to say that if he took the same stance as David and the others, Berry would have gotten scared and said, "Oh I better do something or I'm gonna lose these guys." That some BS. Berry was scared of no one back then....not even the Temps had any weight when it came to what went on at Motown............they sent groups and artists packing everyday for not "going with the program" Berry didn't get scared until he thought he was going to lose Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye...then he caved in....but not before that. By then though, all he had was the Jackson Five and the Commodores and both of those groups were having problems with Motown and among themselves as well......... Why? Well,let's start with agreeing to something that you know is right,only to flip the script when it counts. Otis,himself said that a few times in his book. Either he was afraid,or was paid extra to do what Gordy says. If you look at Motown around 67,68,very few people were happy,HDH,The Four Tops,Stevie Wonder,Marvin Gaye,The Spinners,Gladys & The Pips,but they stuck together. Not the Tempts. Truth be told,David,Eddie& Paul were GROUP MEN. David,for example, wouldn't go to Gordy to demand better treatment for just himself,but for the group too....Otis knew that.Hell, rumor has it that Obie & Levi didn't speak to each other for twenty years,but that didn't stop them from sticking together on business matters. The Tempts didn't and when Gordy saw he could use Otis,whose options were limited at best,he took advantage of Otis' shortcomings until Otis got enough heart to speak up and what happened? The group went to Atlantic Records. Otis had to fight for the name,but he didn't fight by himself. Melvin,Richard adn Glenn fought with him...only to be kicked out ,or in Glenn's cace forced out. We never heard Melvin's takeon a lot of things. We know he had enough class not to try to tell the others' story. Otis did not. That's the difference right there. Otis had NO RIGHT to tell the other's story. We know Melvin cared about the members more than Otis did.We know that Melvin felt that the group had been greatly exploited. What we don't know is when Otis and Melvin did not agree on something,who would win and why? Answer this,and maybe you will get the answer to YOUR question..."WHY ALL THE BLAME IS CAST ON OTIS?" The answer to that question lies in the answer to my question. |
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Post by ZeldaFScott on May 19, 2004 18:26:43 GMT -5
Kalisa, please note that I too am speaking hypothetically. Melvin did refrain from bashing his friends (whether he did so in private, I don't know). But the fact that Otis presented himself as he did in his book and some interviews makes him look like a backstabber, and most people (that I know) automatically blame a person with a personality perceived as little likable for any grievance surrounding such a person. That's all I am saying.
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Post by Aba21 on May 20, 2004 11:27:27 GMT -5
I'm trying to understand something..............Otis had no right to tell the other's story, I agree...........but what did he have the right to tell............if he was going to do a book or movie he could not base it on just his deeds cause he had none without the others and since the others didn't want to tell..............Otis should not have? Is that it?
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