It is said that, due to the still strong popularity of David Ruffin, Otis Williams wanted to fire Edwards and bring Ruffin back in, but due to Ruffin’s continued unreliability, Edwards was kept on. However, on multiple occasions, Ruffin snuck into their performances and hijacked the microphone from Edwards, pleasantly surprising avid fans of the Classic Five who were critical of the new Edwards. Ruffin was fired in 1968 and replaced with Dennis Edwards. However, David Ruffin expected more money, wanted the group name to be changed to “David Ruffin & The Temptations” (much like “Diana Ross & The Supremes” or “Smokey Robinson & The Miracles”), increasingly used cocaine, and began missing practices and even some performances. Throughout the 1960s, The Temptations released hit after hit and became internationally known, mainly with David Ruffin as the lead singer. These five members are considered the “Classic Five” (the five I had associated with The Temptations). Now with Ruffin, The Temptations released their first Top 20 hit (“The Way You Do the Things You Do”), and later their number-one hit “My Girl” featuring Ruffin’s vocals. The five original voices of The Temptations harmonized beautifully, but they still didn’t see success on the Billboards, and even became known as “The Hitless Temptations.” Frustrated, one of the members, Al Bryant, quit in the 60s and was replaced by David Ruffin, an aspiring singer and a fan of The Temptations.
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However, as shown by this TV miniseries that provides an overview of The Temptations over nearly 50 years, the group members changed a lot over the years and there were tensions along their journey to the Hall of Fame.īack in the 1950s, The Temptations were formed from two local groups that were struggling to get their names out-“Otis Williams and the Distants” and one of their rivals, “The Primes.” The combination of the two groups was important The Primes added the dancing component (Paul Williams was the choreographer for many of their performances) as well as Edie Kendricks’s strong tenor voice featured in many of their early tracks, while The Distants had the bassline and Otis Williams was the organizer needed to establish them as a group.
I had always assumed, though, that the five sharply-dressed members that danced and sang wonderfully together in videos I had seen got along with each other as well as they harmonized, and that those five people always equaled The Temptations. This miniseries The Temptations tells the story (from the viewpoint of Otis Williams) of the group from the early days until the deaths of all of the other core members it was produced by Otis Williams and The Temptations’ manager of many years, Shelley Berger.įor as long as I can remember, I have loved The Temptations for their feel-good and heartfelt tunes, as well as their great group performances. They are known for their sweet harmonies, soulful vocals, and smooth dance steps, and the group earned the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The Temptations, a black vocals group from Detroit, Michigan, successfully rocketed to the top of the Billboards with Motown Records during the 1960s and 70s. This TV miniseries about the musical group The Temptations premiered on NBC in 1998 it was made based on the autobiography of Otis Williams, who is the lone surviving member of the original Temptations and considered to be the leader of the group (though was never the lead vocal).