Post by tempfan on Apr 20, 2006 17:55:42 GMT -5
EDWARDS GROUP VENTURES INTO GOSPEL MUSIC
By Kevin C. Johnson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/20/2006
Dennis Edwards is well known for replacing David Ruffin in the Temptations, singing lead on Grammy-winning songs such as "Cloud Nine" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," and going solo with the hit "Don't Look Any Further." But Florissant resident Edwards, who fronts the Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards these days, has a new factoid to his storied career.
His group has just released a gospel CD, "Look What the Lord Has Done." Though it's Edwards' first-ever foray into gospel music, don't accuse him of being one of the many R&B stars who resort to gospel after their R&B lights shine a little less brightly.
"Look What the Lord Has Done" is a project of love for Edwards, who decided to record the CD after his mother requested that he do so.
"My mom was somebody special, and I promised her I was going to do a religious album," Edwards says. His mother died two years ago. "She always wanted me in gospel, and I feel like her dream came true."
Edwards, a former choir director whose father was a minister, says "Look What the Lord Has Done" is bringing him professional satisfaction as well: "When we were doing the project we didn't know how it would sound, but it came out great," he says of the disc, produced by the Rev. Joe Mines of Modesto, California and written by Mines' wife Rosetta. "I'm really proud of the guys because it was completely different for us."
Now that his gospel CD is out there, he's busy figuring out how to best present it, Temptations-style. TV gospel show host Bobby Jones wants him on his show, and Edwards is figuring out how to make it work, since recording a gospel CD and carrying it off in front of an audience are two different things. But he's not too worried.
"Do we wear flashy suits or black tuxedos?" he wonders. But seriously, "The Temptations have been a top group for years, and can handle any music. But with gospel, you've got to really concentrate. There are so many words and meanings. It's different, and you feel something different."