Post by tempfan on Jul 25, 2006 22:00:48 GMT -5
THE LEGENDARY LEAD SINGERS OF THE TEMPTATIONS HIT TORONTO'S OLD MILL INN AND SPA JULY 27TH & 28TH
Dine & Dance to your favourite hits from the 60's & 70's with The Legendary Lead Singers of The Temptations
Legendary Lead Singers You Say? Well, what is the legend and how come I never heard about it? After all, legends are the stuff that are the defining moment in an artist’s career. They can be both good and bad. What follows is a story about a good legend, but unlike most entertainment industry legends, it remained, until now, a big secret.
First, some history. It has been over 40 years since American popular music moved from the juvenile teenager in love phase to with amazing speed an art form that defined the world’s cultural taste at the same level as American literature and American film. It was the combination of three elements, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and Motown that made American sound the musical voice of all the great causes from Civil Rights to the fight against world hunger. Yet, as important as music became to American culture and as important as certain artists became within the music world in general, only two performing groups managed to span the entire 40 plus years by creating hit records then and now and continuing to sell out major concert venues.
Need I say the Rolling Stones are one, but how many people realize The Temptations are the other? From their first hit record in 1962 to their triple platinum sales for the album Phoenix Rising in 1998, they constitute an unparalleled longevity in the music world. But the Rolling Stones are simply explained by two words, Mick Jagger. What makes the Temptations totally unique in the world of performing artists is that, unlike almost every other major act; they were not a group with only one or two standout personalities.
Most groups who are built around one star attraction have only two likely alternate paths in their future. The individual performer who goes on his own leaving the group soon thereafter (i.e. Lionel Ritchie and the Commodores) or in some rare instances, they find another lead singer of equal star value and carry on (i.e. Genesis – from Phil Collins to Peter Gabriel). But the Temptations realized from the start that they had five super creative equally talented potential solo stars among them. It was clear from the start that whatever the group did to forward its own credentials, there had to be a contingent plan when the call of stardom reached out to its individual members.
First David Ruffin then Eddie Kendricks, defined the role that the Temptations’ members reached in the music business. The Temptations embraced their departure. After all, their whole future was based on a plan to maintain the quality of the group over a long period of time by bringing in equally talented performers. “Equally talented” with two giants like Eddie and David was not easy to do, but it was done and the Temptations never skipped a beat. In fact, you have to devote enormous amounts of time and creative effort in finding these equals, but it can be done and time and again it was.
When you say that the Temptations first embraced the departure of Eddie and David and their myriad hit records, remember the high point of the Temptations career was the reunion concert that toured and toured and toured. But while the high quality standards prevailed and the expectation of defections continued as the individual super talented members and replacement members found niches in the various creative aspects of the business, all of a sudden the relationship between the Temptations and its former members was no longer considered a plus.
Suddenly the value in the marketplace of such high quality ex-Temptations like Dennis Edwards was deemed unwanted competition. And so the Motown Media Machine was torn between two forces; lauding the quality of each new Temptations group member to raise the group’s value and at the same time, expecting that such elevated status will warrant an ultimate competing solo artist after their anticipated departure. After developing the most creative and successful business plan to dominate the music industry, they found themselves contributing to their own potential demise. In fact, they went so far as to create contractual restrictions with certain of their former members, restricting their reference to even being a former member of the Temptations, an unheard of denial of their own history.
Over the last forty years, approximately twenty members embraced the group and even though some of their careers never even overlapped each other, these former Temptations remain a fraternity even to this day. Whatever they’re doing (and almost all of them have gone to do great things in the entertainment business), they share the bond of populating one of the most successful and talented groups of all time. It’s almost like the feeling that one gets from the New York Yankees players past and present.
Then a few years ago, Glenn Leonard one of the more prominent Ex-Temptations had a brainstorm. Why not reunite some of these great talents with a shared history and give the history of the Temptations back to their fans. Starting with a huge three day run at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City followed by three months at the Lady Luck Casino in Las Vegas and three more months overseas, what started as a break in their careers has sent many former Temptations back to the future. Leonard starting with Damon Harris (original lead singer on Papa was a Rolling Stone) and now with Barrington Henderson (lead singer on their most recent Grammy Award) Glenn has, from time to time, added many former Temptations including Ray Davis, Ali Woodson, Richard Street and Harry Berry to his performing group. The cast of members rotates but on most dates, Glenn tries to have as many as three former Temptations showcasing their talents as part of the five man ensemble.
As a tribute to the super talented supporting cast he uses, supplemented bass singer Walter Joe Herndon so impressed the Temptations that they made him their newest member. Clearly the two acts complement each other one giving an historic perspective of the greatness of the individual Temptations over forty years and one, showing their current superstar status is well deserved.
Although unlike most legends, Motown decided to stifle the flow of information about these individual members, their legendary status may have been delayed, but you can expect to be hearing a lot about this act very soon. Find out the greatness of this current ensemble when they hit the Old Mill this week.