When R&B was true soul music: The history of The Temptations

10 unknown most interesting facts


- The Temptations sang at a hall where there was a chain and separate doors for colored and white people at first. A year later, chain was gone and black and whites were sitting together.



- The Temptations had a multi-record U.S. and U.K. top 10 singles including My Girl, I wish it would rain, Get Ready, You’re my everything, and Papa was a rolling stone.

- The Temptations 2001 members Ron Tyson, Harry McGilberry, Terry Weeks, and Bo Henderson won their 1st Grammy awards for album’’ Ear-resistible’’. This was Otis William’s 4th Grammy award.

- Otis Williams is the only original Temptations member is still alive up to this day at the age of 66.

- Motown Records singing group sold 22 million records between the years of 1960 -1982.

- The Temptation’s David Ruffin was kicked out of the group due to taking drugs and was replaced by Dennis Edwards.

- When the Temptations would perform at dance halls, mostly white people was there filling up the spaces of the hall dancing.

- The Temptations song ‘’ Get Ready’’ was one of the Temptations that didn’t mike the top 10 hit list.

- The Temptations is also on the list of U.S. top 10 and 40 singles with 16 and 36 singles altogether: 52 singles.

- The original Temptations came together from two struggling vocal groups.

- The original 5 members were Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams (no relation to Otis Williams) and David Ruffin.

- Paul Williams was the creator of the Temptations dance moves.

- The lead singers were Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin until replaced by Dennis Edwards.

- The order of how the Original Temptations would sing in would be is Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, Otis Williams (leader of group), Paul Williams, and David Ruffin.

Links: Wikipedia.org, Memorable TV.com, Google.com, Starpulse.com, Classic Bands.com.


TIMELINE:
July 2, 1939: Paul Williams was born.
December 17, 1939: Eddie Kendrick of the Temptations is born.
January 18, 1941: David Ruffin was born.
October 30, 1941: Otis Williams was born.
October 12, 1942: Melvin Franklin was born.
February 3, 1943: Dennis Edwards was born.
April 11, 1964: The Temptations hits #11 with “The Way You Do the Things You Do.”
March 6, 1965: The Temptations hit #1 with “My Girl”.
October 1, 1966: The Temptations hit #3 with “Beauty’s Only Skin Deep”.
February 1, 1969: The Temptations win Motown its first Grammy for “Cloud Nine.”
October 18, 1969: The Temptations hit #1 with “I Can’t Get Next To You”.
March 28, 1971: Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) (The Temptations) was a hit.
November 26, 1972: Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone (The Temptations) was a hit.

Song analysis: Papa Was a Rolling Stone was a Grammy hit song written by Motown records songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong.
It was a song written as a single act for Motown record singing group, The Undisputed Truth in 1971.
Then Papa was released later in 1972 as a 12 minute record remake for the Temptations.
The song then was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and won 3 Grammy awards in 1973.
Even though The Undisputed Truth’s version of the song was largely forgotten, the temptations version of the song has been an enduring and influential soul classic.
The song has been ranked #168 on the Rolling Stone’s list of 500 greatest songs of all time, one of the group’s three songs.
In retrospect, surviving band member, Otis Williams believes that Papa was the last real classic the group recorded.
At first, lead singer Dennis Edwards hated the song. His father who was a preacher, died on September 3rd. The first line in the song, He was irate at Whitfield for choosing that date and was convinced that it was not a coincidence.

Video link: The Temptations: Get Ready Definitive Performances 1965-1972