Post by Jonel on May 26, 2002 21:04:16 GMT -5
Singer cherishes 50 years of songs by Temptations
Web posted Friday, April 26, 2002
Have a thought? Go to the Forums or Chat.
In concert
By Steven Uhles
Staff Writer
It's an iconic image. Five figures, all clad in tight, matching suits, stroll confidently with lockstep precision onstage. Like a single organism they begin to bop and sway, moving in synchronization to the finger-popped tempo.
Then they begin to sing.
The song is a simple paean to young love, a boy's musical ode to the girl he loves - My Girl. But the suits and steps and sweet, soaring harmonies tell another story, the story of the Temptations.
For Otis Williams, the sole surviving member of the Motown super group responsible for hits such as My Girl, Ain't too Proud to Beg, Ball of Confusion and Papa Was a Rolling Stone, that's a history worth preserving.
Mr. Williams continues to tour under the Temptations banner, keeping the memories of a simpler time alive.
Otis Williams (second from left) is the only surviving member of the original Temptations. The current group will perform Sunday at Bell Auditorium.
SPECIAL
"I think when you look at television or read the newspaper or listen to the radio and see all the craziness in the world, hear these horrid stories, people need something to remind them of a time when things were good," he said during a recent telephone interview.
"That's what we want to do. A Temptations show should be like a breath of fresh air."
Although he has performed Temptations tunes for nearly half a century, Mr. Williams said he never tires of singing the songs. He said the Temptations' music is more than pleasant tunes on an oldies station, they are the group's living legacy to a legion of Motown music fans.
"It's our responsibility," he said. "We have to live up to that legacy. We have become so ingrained in the psyche of those people that it leaves us with that responsibility to entertain. And I'll tell you, any performer who has a legacy of songs like the Temptations that takes the attitude of not wanting to perform them shouldn't be in this business. Those are more than songs, they are memories. Any artist who doesn't believe that should have never picked up a microphone."
IN CONCERT
WHAT: The Temptations
WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Bell Auditorium, 712 Telfair St.
ADMISSION: $28.50-$49.50, available at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center box office, 601 Seventh St., or charge by phone at 821-8323.
www.augustachronicle.com/stories/042602/app_temptations.shtml
Web posted Friday, April 26, 2002
Have a thought? Go to the Forums or Chat.
In concert
By Steven Uhles
Staff Writer
It's an iconic image. Five figures, all clad in tight, matching suits, stroll confidently with lockstep precision onstage. Like a single organism they begin to bop and sway, moving in synchronization to the finger-popped tempo.
Then they begin to sing.
The song is a simple paean to young love, a boy's musical ode to the girl he loves - My Girl. But the suits and steps and sweet, soaring harmonies tell another story, the story of the Temptations.
For Otis Williams, the sole surviving member of the Motown super group responsible for hits such as My Girl, Ain't too Proud to Beg, Ball of Confusion and Papa Was a Rolling Stone, that's a history worth preserving.
Mr. Williams continues to tour under the Temptations banner, keeping the memories of a simpler time alive.
Otis Williams (second from left) is the only surviving member of the original Temptations. The current group will perform Sunday at Bell Auditorium.
SPECIAL
"I think when you look at television or read the newspaper or listen to the radio and see all the craziness in the world, hear these horrid stories, people need something to remind them of a time when things were good," he said during a recent telephone interview.
"That's what we want to do. A Temptations show should be like a breath of fresh air."
Although he has performed Temptations tunes for nearly half a century, Mr. Williams said he never tires of singing the songs. He said the Temptations' music is more than pleasant tunes on an oldies station, they are the group's living legacy to a legion of Motown music fans.
"It's our responsibility," he said. "We have to live up to that legacy. We have become so ingrained in the psyche of those people that it leaves us with that responsibility to entertain. And I'll tell you, any performer who has a legacy of songs like the Temptations that takes the attitude of not wanting to perform them shouldn't be in this business. Those are more than songs, they are memories. Any artist who doesn't believe that should have never picked up a microphone."
IN CONCERT
WHAT: The Temptations
WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Bell Auditorium, 712 Telfair St.
ADMISSION: $28.50-$49.50, available at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center box office, 601 Seventh St., or charge by phone at 821-8323.
www.augustachronicle.com/stories/042602/app_temptations.shtml
