- Album list
- Singer Intro
The Temptations are an American vocal group notable for their success with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and flashy wardrobe, the group was highly influential in the evolution of R&B and soul music. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are one of the most successful groups in music history. As of 2017, the Temptations continue to perform with one original member, Otis Williams, still in the lineup.
Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group formed in 1960 in Detroit, Michigan under the name The Elgins. The original founding members were originally members of two rival Detroit vocal groups: Otis Williams, Elbridge 'Al' Bryant, and Melvin Franklin of Otis Williams & the Distants, and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffin, who was the lead vocalist on a number of the group's biggest hits, including 'My Girl' (1964), 'Ain't Too Proud to Beg' (1966), and 'I Wish It Would Rain' (1967). Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as 'Cloud Nine' (1969) and 'Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)' (1970). The group's lineup has changed frequently since the departures of Kendricks and Paul Williams from the act in 1971. Later members of the group have included singers such as Richard Street, Damon Harris, Ron Tyson, and Ali-Ollie Woodson, with whom the group scored a late-period hit in 1984 with 'Treat Her Like a Lady'.
Over the course of their career, the Temptations have released four Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and fourteen R&B number-one singles, and their material has earned them three Grammy Awards. The Temptations were the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award - for 'Cloud Nine' in 1969 - and in 2013 received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Six of the Temptations (Edwards, Franklin, Kendricks, Ruffin, Otis Williams and Paul Williams) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Three classic Temptations songs, 'My Girl', 'Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)', and 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone', are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The Temptations were also ranked at number 68 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all time.
Members
Otis Williams
Ron Tyson
Terry Weeks
Larry Braggs
Willie Green
Past members
Elbridge 'Al' Bryant
Melvin Franklin
Eddie Kendricks
Paul Williams
David Ruffin
Dennis Edwards
Ricky Owens
Richard Street
Damon Harris
Glenn Leonard
Louis Price
Ali-Ollie Woodson
Theo Peoples
Ray Davis
Harry McGilberry
Barrington 'Bo' Henderson
G. C. Cameron
Joe Herndon
Bruce Williamson
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