Two legendary supergroups – together again! From "Baby, I Need Your Loving" to "My Girl," enjoy an evening full of your favorite Motown memories from two classic 1960s hitmakers.
The Temptations: For more than fifty years, The Temptations have prospered, propelling popular music with a series of smash hits, and sold-out performances throughout the world.
"The crowds are bigger, the sales are sizzling," says one industry report. "The outpouring of affection for this super-group has never been greater".
The history of The Temptations is the history of contemporary American pop. An essential component of the original Motown machine, that amazing engine invented by Berry Gordy, The Temps began their musical life in Detroit in the early sixties. It wasn't until 1964 however, that the Smokey Robinson written-and-produced "The Way You Do the things You Do" turned the guys into stars.
An avalanche of hits followed, many of which..."My Girl," for instance...attained immortality. "It's Growing," "Since I Lost My Baby;," "Get Ready," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Beauty Is only Skin Deep," "I Wish It Would Rain"...the hits kept coming.
The classic lineup was Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin. Beyond the fabulous singing, The temps became known for smooth stepping and flawless presentations. The Temptations Walk became a staple of American style. Flair, flash and class. Millions of fans saw their Temptations as cultural heroes.
When the sixties and seventies turned political, The Temps got serious. They changed their tone, dress and music. Producer Norman Whitfield led the way. His Temptations hits, many featuring Dennis Edwards who had replaced David Ruffin, burned with intensity. "Runaway Child" "Cloud Nine," "I Can't Get Next to You," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", and "Psychedelic Shack" still smolder.
Other stellar singers...Richard Street, Ali-Ollie Woodson, Theo Peoples...joined and adding their luster to the groups' growing fame.
No matter the change in personnel, The Temptations remained true to The Temptations tradition. They survived the whims of fashion, whether disco or techno, and stuck to their guns.
"Great singing," says Otis, "will always prevail."
In the eighties, The Temps prevailed with smashes like the Otis Williams' penned "Treat Her Like A Lady."
Then in the nineties, another Temptation explosion:
It began with their appearance on Motown 25 in 1983; it continued with the NBC mini-series that chronicled the group's history, a ratings triumph over two nights in prime time. An Emmy Award followed.
Then came a series of acclaimed records:
Temptations Miniseries,1998- Number 1 rated for two nights. Nominated for 5 Emmys, including best miniseries and winner of 1.
For Lovers Only, a collection of love standards, termed an instant classic by critics, remains among the most cherished of all Temptations recordings.
Phoenix Rising, went through the roof, a platinum-plus mega-hit featuring "Stay," the Narada Michael Walden produced song that topped the charts.
Ear Resistible, nailed a Grammy and a legion of new fans.
Awesome, released in 2001 is The Temptations at their freshest, strongest, and most appealing.
Reflections, was released in 2005, nominated for a Grammy and brought to the world The Temptations versions of some of Motown's greatest songs.
Get Ready, This DVD was released in 2006- One of the largest selling music DVD ever
The Temptations Musical, 2016 Musical based on Otis Williams's book & mini-series.
The current lineup consists of: Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, Larry Braggs, Willie Greene Jr.
"The more we change," says veteran Ron Tyson, "the more we stay true to ourselves. We're about singing straight-up soul. It's a style that will live on forever."
"The Temps have always been known for great lead singer's", says Williams. "Today we have four of the greatest leads in the proud history of the group."
The soaring voice of Philadelphia born and raised Ron Tyson, perhaps the best high tenor in the business.
Terry Weeks, who grew up in Alabama and spent eight years in the Air Force before his chance encounter with Otis. After an A Cappella audition on a Hollywood street corner; Otis was so impressed and brought him into The Temptation family.
Larry Braggs is passionate, powerful and very spiritual. These are also the amazing attributes of the voice of this two-time Grammy-nominated artist. Cut from the same cloth as some of the world's greatest vocalists, Larry has one of the most notable voices in the business. With a vocal range over three octaves and a command of the stage like no other, Larry has become one of the most electrifying entertainers on tour. This has gained him the respect and praise of his peers and fans all over the world.
Willie Greene is a Bass vocalist who was born in Birmingham, Alabama. In the early-sixties Willie first saw The Temptations on The Lloyd Thaxton Show. They sang "The Way you do The Things you do" and "Get Ready". Even though I was just a child… I knew that I was a "Temptation Forever!" Throughout my career I have had the honor, privilege and pleasure of recording and performing with Lyle Lovett, Ry Cooder, Dolly Parton, John Fogerty, George Harrison(The Beatles)....This opportunity to become a part of the "Great Temptation Legacy" is truly God's greatest musical gift to me! I would like to thank Mr. Otis Williams for his tenacity in keeping the group together and granting me this opportunity!
"Our challenge," says Williams, "is to live in the present while respecting the past. Our past is filled with riches only a fool would discard. At the same time, we thrive on competition. As a Motowner, I grew up in the most competitive musical atmosphere imaginable. But we also understand that for a group with history, no matter how glorious that history might be, reinvention is the name of the game."
"When I tell people we are God's group," says Otis, a remarkable modest man, "I don't mean it arrogantly. It's just that we have been tested time and again and keep coming back. We have suffered the death of so many legendary singers...Paul Williams, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin. Other's like Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, Ali-Ollie Woodson and Theo Peoples have left, and yet our unity is tighter, our sound brighter and our popularity greater. Someone has watched over this group. Someone has protected our integrity. Someone has said...just go on singing and it'll get better."
And so THE TEMPTATIONS go on.......and on.....and on........
The Four Tops:
The quartet, originally called the Four Aims, made their first single for Chess in 1956, and spent seven years on the road and in nightclubs, singing pop, blues, Broadway, but mostly jazz—four-part harmony jazz. When Motown's Berry Gordy Jr. found out they had hustled a national "Tonight Show" appearance, he signed them without an audition to be the marquee act for the company's Workshop Jazz label. That proved short-lived, and Stubbs' powerhouse baritone lead and the exquisite harmonies of Fakir, Benson, and Payton started making one smash after another with the writing-producing trio Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Their first Motown hit, "Baby I Need Your Loving" in 1964, made them stars and their sixties track record on the label is indispensable to any retrospective of the decade. Their songs, soulful and bittersweet, were across-the-board successes. "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," a no. 1 R&B and Pop smash in 1965, is one of Motown's longest-running chart toppers; it was quickly followed by a longtime favorite, "It's The Same Old Song" (no. 2 R&B/no. 5 pop). Their commercial peak was highlighted by a romantic trilogy: the no. 1 "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" (no. 2 R&B/no. 6 pop) and "Bernadette" (no. 3 R&B/no. 4 pop)—an extraordinary run of instant H-D-H classics. Other Tops hits from the decade included "Ask The Lonely," "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)," "Something About You," "You Keep Running Away," "7-Rooms Of Gloom" and their covers of "Walk Away Renee" and "If I Were A Carpenter." The group was also extraordinarily popular in the U.K.
After H-D-H split from Motown, producer Frank Wilson supervised the R&B Top 10 hits "It's All In The Game" and "Still Water (Love)" at the start of the seventies. The Tops also teamed with Motown's top girl group, the Supremes, post-Diana Ross. Billing themselves The Magnificent Seven for a series of albums, they hit with a cover of "River Deep - Mountain High."
When Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, the steadfast Tops decided to stay at home, and with another label. They kept up a string of hits with ABC-Dunhill for the next few years: "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)," a Top 5 hit; the Top 10 "Keeper Of The Castle"; and the R&B Top 10's "Are You Man Enough (from the movie Shaft In Africa)," "Sweet Understanding Love," "One Chain Don't Make No Prison" (later covered by Santana), "Midnight Flower" and the disco perennial "Catfish."
In 1980 the group moved to Casablanca Records. The following year they were at no. 1 again, with "When She Was My Girl," making them one of the few groups to have hits in three consecutive decades. They also scored R&B Top 40s with the ballads "Tonight I'm Gonna Love You All Over" and "I Believe In You And Me," the original version of the 1996 Whitney Houston smash. And the Tops were heard in the film Grease 2 with "Back To School Again." By 1983, riding the wave of the company's 25th anniversary celebration, the Tops were back with Motown and H-D-H. The reunion resulted in the R&B Top 40 hits "I Just Can't Walk Away" and "Sexy Ways."
They signed with Arista later in the decade, and there they racked up their final solo Top 40 hit, "Indestructible," which was the theme of the 1988 Summer Olympics. That year they also partnered with Aretha Franklin, a longtime friend from Detroit, for the Top 40 R&B "If Ever A Love There Was." During this period, Stubbs stepped out and gained notoriety for voicing the man-eating plant Audrey II in the film musical Little Shop Of Horrors, for which he sang the cult classic "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space."
In 1990, with 24 Top 40 pop hits to their credit, the Four Tops were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Though they would no longer have hits on record, the group continued to be a hit in concert, touring incessantly, a towering testament to the enduring legacy of the Motown Sound they helped shape and define. Following Payton's death in 1997, the group briefly worked as a trio until Theo Peoples, a former Temptation, was recruited to restore the group to a quartet. When Stubbs subsequently grew ill, Peoples became the lead singer and former Motown artist-producer Ronnie McNeir was enlisted to fill Payton's spot. In 2005, when Benson died, Payton's son Roquel replaced him.
For Rolling Stone's 2004 article "The Immortals – The Greatest Artists Of All Time," Smokey Robinson remembered: "They were the best in my neighborhood in Detroit when I was growing up (and) the Four Tops will always be one of the biggest and the best groups ever. Their music is forever."
at Mayo Performing Arts Center
100 South Street
Morristown, United States
Orignal From: The Temptations and The Four Tops
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