It is a flawed vision but a consistent one and the fruits of his labor have been on view since he started running the company they will continue to multiply until the day he stops. As one after another of the independents have sold themselves to the conglomerates, and as each, to one degree or another, has lost touch with its original source of strength, only Motown continues to reflect the musical as well as business vision of its founder: namely, Berry Gordy, Jr. The group continues to record new music, including “Still Temptin’,” a tribute of their own in Legacy, a 21st century Motown album: “ Some of the faces change,” sings founder member Otis Williams, “ But the name’s the same/Still the Motor City runnin’ through my veins.As surely as Atlantic was the greatest independent record company of the Fifties, Motown was the greatest of the Sixties. Over time, Temptations leave and are replaced, but the brotherhood endures.To close out the century, the Temptations’ extraordinary story becomes an NBC-TV mini-series. In Britain, a reissue of the record hits No. In 1991, the Temptations’ triumphs are signified by Rod Stewart’s Top 10 hit, “The Motown Song” (they sing along with the British star), and by the return of “My Girl” as the title tune of a $60 million Hollywood hit movie.
Motown records tv#
During the following year’s Motown 25 TV spectacular, the Temptations and the Four Tops battle in song, an inspired match which leads the two groups to tour together for years. In 1982, Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin reunite temporarily with the group for an album and tour. The late ’70s sees the group join Atlantic Records, but come the new decade, they are back at Motown with a hit (“Power”) co-written and produced by the boss, Berry Gordy.All Directions, the album in which “Papa…” rolls, is their biggest seller, save for TCB. Together with Norman Whitfield, his co-writer, Barrett Strong, and arranger Paul Riser, the Temptations earn Grammy awards for 1972’s cinematic soul saga, “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone.” It is the quintet’s second trip to the prize podium: four years earlier, “Cloud Nine” was Motown’s first recording to grab a Grammy.Eddie is succeeded by Ricky Owens, and then Damon Harris. Eddie Kendricks quits, too, but only after his featherlight falsetto takes “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” to No. Paul Williams leaves the group early in the 1970s, replaced by Richard Street, onetime member of the Distants. Motown puts a new spin on the Temptations with a chart-topping album of duets with Diana Ross & the Supremes, then showcases both acts in the company’s first TV production, TCB (Takin’ Care of Business), a ratings hit.
The new recruit’s rough, tough vocal style is showcased in “Cloud Nine,” a psychedelic Top 10 single influenced by the rock ’n’ R&B fusion of Sly & the Family Stone, and in its follow-up, “Run Away Child, Running Wild.” Whitfield showcases the vocal skills of every Temptation, and still more crossover hits through 1970 include “I Can’t Get Next To You” (their second pop No.
“If you’re singing that song,” says Melvin Franklin, “and you have the kind of voices like the Temptations, it’s easy to believe it will make it”. Another Robinson tune, it is also the first lead vocal on a single by David Ruffin, the replacement for Al Bryant in late ’63.
Motown records crack#
Their debut release, with Eddie on lead, is written and produced by Berry Gordy: “Dream Come True,” which is also the first release on the Gordy label, touches the R&B charts, momentarily. Soon, these five come together as the Temptations, signing with Motown Records in 1961.
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