Their name later changed from The Questions to The Distants under which they recorded local singles with Street as lead singer.
Friendly rivals around town, The Distants and the more polished Primes continued to cross paths. This group auditioned for Berry Gordy in March Impressed, he signed them to his then fledgling Motown company imprint, Miracle Records.
The quintet recorded several early singles, first on the Miracle label then on the freshly minted Gordy imprint, usually with Eddie or Paul leading. They even recorded two sides under the name The Pirates before deciding against going with that moniker. In , The Temptations were paired with William "Smokey" Robinson, lead singer of The Miracles and a proven songwriter in his own right. His first shot with the group was "I Want a Love I Can See" featuring Paul which, while not a major charter, became a fixture in their live set.
Impatient that the group hadn't made it yet, Elbridge Bryant left the group. Enter David Ruffin from Whynot, Mississippi, who was signed to Motown as a solo artist but had his eye on joining The Temptations from the moment he first encountered them. It was Robinson's next single attempt that relieved the group of its 'No Hits Temptations' nickname and broke them wide open as a national sensation: "The Way You Do The Things You Do," with matinee idol Eddie's soaring falsetto as the lead voice.
Ruffin's attitude and inflated ego forced The Temptations to terminate his membership. Among that crew was Smokey Robinson, the young singer-songwriter who penned a track that would help rocket the group to superstardom. But then everywhere we went, we heard My Girl. As the musical jokes, their nickname the Temps eventually obtained a new meaning with a range of members cycling in and out of the band over the years.
Longtime lead vocalist David Ruffin younger brother of Motown solo act Jimmy Ruffin took over for Bryant three years after their founding, while Ruffin himself was unceremoniously kicked out the group in Egos and drugs got in the way.
In their stead, the remaining trio recruited tenors Damon Harris and Richard Street. While the Tempts hit the charts regularly throughout with "Masterpiece," "Let Your Hair Down," and "The Plastic Man," their success as a pop act gradually dwindled as the '70s wore on.
After Edwards returned to the fold resulting in Price 's hasty exit , the Temptations reentered the Motown stable, and scored a hit with "Power. A tour followed, but problems with Motown, as well as personal differences, cut Ruffin 's and Kendricks ' tenures short. In the years that followed, the Temptations continued touring and recording, although by the '90s they were essentially an oldies act; only Otis Williams , who published his autobiography in , remained from the original lineup.
Although the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in , the intervening years without new studio recordings were marked by tragedy. After touring in the late '80s with Kendricks and Edwards as a member of the "Tribute to the Temptations" package tour, Ruffin died on June 1, , after overdosing on cocaine; he was 50 years old.
On October 5, , Kendricks died at the age of 52 of lung cancer, and on February 23, , year-old Franklin passed away after suffering a brain seizure. In , the Temptations returned with Phoenix Rising. Their history was also the subject of a televised mini-series, The Temptations, based on Williams ' autobiography.
Although it was well-received and nominated for several Emmy Awards, numerous parties, including David Ruffin 's family, filed lawsuits. Meanwhile, the group continued to perform and record.
Although Awesome and Legacy , released during the next few years, became the group's final Motown studio recordings, the Temptations kept their label affiliation intact. Reflections , issued in , featured covers of classic Motown numbers. After three years of steady touring, the group returned with Still Here , a set of new material issued on the eve of their 50th anniversary.
Dennis Edwards died on February 1, at the age of
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