Post by Ivory Fair on Apr 22, 2002 17:01:11 GMT -5
The Temptations Back on the Road With One Original Member
The Temptations still spend considerable time on the road, on the tour bus watching MTV to keep up with the latest boy band videos. Otis Williams, the only surviving original member, can be heard to mutter, "Man, I've seen it all before."
'N Sync has nothing on the Temptations. In dance moves, the Emperors of Soul were peerless. For hits, My Girl is likely to be remembered long after that Backstreet Boys hit is forgotten. Hey, what do you know, it's forgotten already. In style, fashion and cool, the Temptations were the tops - in the '60s. And where are they now? Still "riding the hair off that horse," as group member Terry Weeks puts it. "As long as people want to see it, we've got to give it to them to the best of our ability."
There's something touching about a once legendary group still performing with but one original member. Of course it's not the same, but tomorrow is as close as you're going to get, when version No. 19 of the Temptations brings sunshine on a cloudy day to the Jubilee Auditorium.
It scarcely matters that it's only one-fifth of the original group, or that while Otis has rights to the name, there are at least two other versions of the Temptations working today. Audiences are so delighted to hear these old tunes again that for a moment the sum really does seem bigger than its parts. "These songs will outlive all of us," Weeks says. Besides, unlike many other nostalgia acts still kicking around in one form or another, Otis's Tempts are still a vital recording unit, recently winning a Grammy for their latest album, Ear-Resistible. All the current members of the group get to wear the World Series ring, as it were.
"It was such a shock, and such a welcome for the new guys," says Weeks, who became a full-fledged member of the group five years ago. "Otis had realized this three times previously and he was so happy for us, that we could now put a Grammy on our mantel. I think he was more excited for us than himself."
As the youngest, if not the newest, member of the group, Weeks was two years old when My Girl hit No. 1. Weeks also didn't fit the height requirement. You had to stand at least six feet tall to be a member of the "tall, talented tempting Temptations." Weeks is five-foot-nine.
Otis, a "fair but firm" boss, rescinded the silly rule, but insisted that dancing skills remain a prerequisite. "I said, 'Well, sure, I can dance," Weeks recalls telling Otis when he was offered the gig.
"This was not something I would've pursued. I would've been happy being a fan of this group forever. I grew up listening to it. This is an opportunity to be with some guys who've been in the business forever. I can learn from them and see what happens with it. I've enjoyed every moment of it since that day."
As for the dancing, "Oh, my God. It's such a slick show that even my wife tells me, 'oh, I can do that.' And I say, you don't even know what goes into it. It looks easy because we're working so hard at it. It's all about angles and pyramids and stacking and lots of staging. A lot goes on."
Being a Temptation took some getting used to, he goes on. "Otis always corrects me when I say I don't see myself as a real Temptation. He says, 'God didn't make one of anything.' You'd think that nobody could replace the original group, but despite all that happened, despite all the lineup changes, this group's still thriving."
-Author unknown
The Temptations still spend considerable time on the road, on the tour bus watching MTV to keep up with the latest boy band videos. Otis Williams, the only surviving original member, can be heard to mutter, "Man, I've seen it all before."
'N Sync has nothing on the Temptations. In dance moves, the Emperors of Soul were peerless. For hits, My Girl is likely to be remembered long after that Backstreet Boys hit is forgotten. Hey, what do you know, it's forgotten already. In style, fashion and cool, the Temptations were the tops - in the '60s. And where are they now? Still "riding the hair off that horse," as group member Terry Weeks puts it. "As long as people want to see it, we've got to give it to them to the best of our ability."
There's something touching about a once legendary group still performing with but one original member. Of course it's not the same, but tomorrow is as close as you're going to get, when version No. 19 of the Temptations brings sunshine on a cloudy day to the Jubilee Auditorium.
It scarcely matters that it's only one-fifth of the original group, or that while Otis has rights to the name, there are at least two other versions of the Temptations working today. Audiences are so delighted to hear these old tunes again that for a moment the sum really does seem bigger than its parts. "These songs will outlive all of us," Weeks says. Besides, unlike many other nostalgia acts still kicking around in one form or another, Otis's Tempts are still a vital recording unit, recently winning a Grammy for their latest album, Ear-Resistible. All the current members of the group get to wear the World Series ring, as it were.
"It was such a shock, and such a welcome for the new guys," says Weeks, who became a full-fledged member of the group five years ago. "Otis had realized this three times previously and he was so happy for us, that we could now put a Grammy on our mantel. I think he was more excited for us than himself."
As the youngest, if not the newest, member of the group, Weeks was two years old when My Girl hit No. 1. Weeks also didn't fit the height requirement. You had to stand at least six feet tall to be a member of the "tall, talented tempting Temptations." Weeks is five-foot-nine.
Otis, a "fair but firm" boss, rescinded the silly rule, but insisted that dancing skills remain a prerequisite. "I said, 'Well, sure, I can dance," Weeks recalls telling Otis when he was offered the gig.
"This was not something I would've pursued. I would've been happy being a fan of this group forever. I grew up listening to it. This is an opportunity to be with some guys who've been in the business forever. I can learn from them and see what happens with it. I've enjoyed every moment of it since that day."
As for the dancing, "Oh, my God. It's such a slick show that even my wife tells me, 'oh, I can do that.' And I say, you don't even know what goes into it. It looks easy because we're working so hard at it. It's all about angles and pyramids and stacking and lots of staging. A lot goes on."
Being a Temptation took some getting used to, he goes on. "Otis always corrects me when I say I don't see myself as a real Temptation. He says, 'God didn't make one of anything.' You'd think that nobody could replace the original group, but despite all that happened, despite all the lineup changes, this group's still thriving."
-Author unknown