Post by tempfan on Jun 4, 2006 1:36:54 GMT -5
HIGH BRINGS TEMPTATIONS REVIEW TO LANCASTER
By Laura Knowles
Lancaster Sunday News
You probably know the voice: the deep, gritty strains of Dennis Edwards singing the Temptations hit “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.”
Edwards will be bringing his distinctive voice to Lancaster to perform with his Temptations Review as part of the High Companies’ 75th anniversary celebration at 7 p.m. Saturday at Greenfield Corporate Center.
While “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” may be one of the Edwards’ best-known hits, he said the song about a roaming father is hardly autobiographical.
“My own dad was always there for me and for his family. He was more of a rock than a rolling stone,” Edwards said in a telephone interview from his home in St. Louis.
Edwards gained a lot from the good relationship he had with his father. Later in life, Edwards tried to emulate his father by being there for his own six children. Even after a divorce, he endeavored to stay close to his son and five daughters.
“Nothing matters more than family,” Edwards said. “I grew up with a good, strong family, with a good dad and a momma who always told me how much she loved me.”
For Edwards, that sense of family existed in his relationship with the Temptations. He was initiated into the famous Motown group in 1968, when he took the place of the troubled David Ruffin.
As Edwards recalls, it was Ruffin who initially came to him late one night and told him the Temptations were going to ask him to be his replacement. Edwards was surprised and hesitant. But Ruffin convinced him that if he was to be replaced, he wanted that person to be Edwards. In the end, his run with the Temptations was “a dream” and an “emotional, proud ride” that could sometimes be a little hard to handle.
“You got to understand that with the Temptations, there were a lot of very different personalities. We had the show part of show business down, but the business part — that was tough. We had our ups and downs,” Edwards said.
It was a wild ride. Ultimately, Edwards left and rejoined the group three times, performing for a total of 33 years. He has sung many of the groups megahits including “I Can’t Get Next to You,” “Cloud Nine,” “Ball of Confusion,” “Psychedelic Shack,” “Runaway Child, Runnin’ Wild” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” which won three Grammy Awards. Over the years, the Temptations have put out 14 gold albums and won five Grammys.
It was a different world when Edwards performed with the Temptations in the early days. They dressed in matching outfits, spoke respectfully and didn’t use the four-letter words that are so prevalent in today’s music.
“We choreographed every move. And our audience knew those Temptations moves,” Edwards said.
They sang about love, loss and relationships. At times they made political statements, protesting war, but the songs that seem to touch people most are the songs about “the love between a man and woman,” Edwards said.
The Temptations were inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame on Jan. 18, 1989, with Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin and Edwards. That’s when Edwards teamed up with Kendricks and Ruffin for a U.S. tour.
In 1991, Ruffin died of a cocaine overdose. A year later, Eddie Kendricks died of lung cancer, leaving Edwards on his own. Edwards formed a new group called the Temptations Review, which has since toured the globe, bringing the Temptations’ music to Russia, the Middle East, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Europe and South America.
The High Companies’ free 75th anniversary concert, to be held at Greenfield Corporate Center at William Penn Way and Old Homestead Lane, is open to the public and will be followed by fireworks. Food vendors will be on-site at 5:30 p.m. Those who attend are asked to bring lawn chairs or blankets.