The Temptations: Band Members

In 1965 The Temptations hit the big time with what they call their national anthem "My Girl". David Ruffin was on lead vocals and backing him up were Otis Williams, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin and Eddie Kendricks.

One has to go back to 1968 to find the last time that particular line up of the group performed together and the death of Paul Williams in 1973 ensured we'd never see this line up again.

40 years after we'd last seen that line up I went to see The Temptations in concert myself. I was asked how someone my age had heard of The Temptations, mostly by people who were too young themselves to remember them in their 60s heyday. Another reaction I got though was that these weren't the real Temptations, more like a tribute act.

By this point Otis Williams was the only member of the "My Girl" line up who was still alive and he was part of this new line up I was going to see. David Ruffin left in 1968 and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams left in 1971 whilst Melvin Franklin remained with the group until his death in 1995.

The question is if the lineup of The Temptations I saw in 2008 wasn't the real Temptations then when did the real Temptations cease to exist?

I think we'd all agree it wasn't 1968 when David Ruffin left given the number of big hits they were still having and the fact his replacement Dennis Edwards was considered an important enough member to be part of their induction to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Some may say 1971 when they were down to just 2 original members but then that would be saying "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", one of their biggest hits wasn't by the real Temptations.

Maybe it was 1995 when they went down to just 1 original member. Then again current member Ron Tyson joined in 1983 and sang on their 80s comeback record "Treat Her Like A Lady", so that would be saying he was a real Temptation for the first 12 years but not in the 31 years since. In fact he was in the group with Otis and Melvin for longer than any of the other "My Girl" line up members were.

OK I get it, the line up in 2008 wasn't ideal. Whilst Otis Williams was always considered the group leader, from a singing perspective if you had to pick a member from the "My Girl" line up to be missing from the stage then he would be it.

Similarly whilst Melvin Franklin was a very talented bass singer he rarely took the lead which rightly or wrongly is what the audience are usually interested in. Without David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams or Dennis Edwards in the group it can be likened to a rock band with only the drummer from their heyday remaining.

Also in 2008 Dennis Edwards, Richard Street and Damon Harris were all still alive so it was still possible to be just 1 member short of the "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" line up. All 3 have since passed away so this is no longer possible.

All of this aside the fact is The Temptations have never been consistent in their line ups. The "My Girl" line up lasted just 4 years as did the "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" line up. The line up I saw in 2008 lasted 8 years and is currently the longest the group has ever gone with the same line up.

Ron Tyson has now been in the group for 43 years, longer than anyone but Otis Williams. Terry Weeks has been in it for 29 years, just 5 years less than Melvin Franklin was. You'd think after this amount of time they'd be considered proper Temptations now.

For some no Eddie Kendricks means no Temptations and if that's what they think then fair enough. The current line up though is the official continuation of the group so your choice is accept this line up and enjoy the show or accept you're never going to see The Temptations in concert.

Four Tops & Temptations @ The O2

Several years ago, before I lived in London, I was living in a part of the country where you didn't get much in the way of gigs. I found out the Temptations were playing in town, but knowing that the only original member still alive was Otis Williams, the member known for not singing, I initially wasn't interested. However, as it wasn't very often I had bands playing just down the road I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised, it was a very good gig, so much so that I went to see them again a few years later at the O2 with the Four Tops and last week was my third time going to the O2 to see the Four Tops and Temptations.

Support came from the Tavares. I arrived at the O2 around 19:40 to be greeted by airport style security to get in. Once inside, after buying a ludicrously price £5.50 pint of beer which tasted like socks and going some roundabout way to get into the arena itself, I got to my seat around 20:00, just in time to see the Tavares finishing their set. I don't think I can ever recall a support act finishing so early.

After what seemed quite a long wait, the Four Tops came on stage. Given the number of hits they've had, there was never going to be time to hear them all, but I was glad to hear them play "Loco in Acapulco" which was a song I remember coming out as a new song in 1988 and liking it. This was followed up by the excellent "Simple Game", this was definitely the highlight of the evening. They finished with a medley of hits starting with "Reach Out" and ending with "I Can't Help Myself". My only complaint was that the set seemed far too short, it couldn't have lasted any more than 45 minutes.

After another lengthy wait, on came the Temptations. The hit the ground running with "Get Ready" but then went to play some of their lesser known songs and gradually the crowd would start to sit down, clearly this wasn't going down very well. They never really recovered from that despite starting to play some of the hits everyone wanted to hear. What didn't help was that there was too much talking to the audience and not enough singing. We found out that new lead singer Larry Braggs had fell of the stage at a gig in Manchester a couple of days earlier and banged his head, so fair play to him for continuing. They did start to find their stride again, but it wasn't long before they played "My Girl" which you know marks the end of the gig. Again it probably lasted 45 minutes and I was on the tube by 22:30.

So Four Tops were excellent, Temptations a bit disappointing but overall it seemed to be over before you knew it. I'm sure the previous gigs lasted longer.