The Singers Change, but the Hits Remain

The Temptations’ legacy is among the most glorious and the most tragic in the history of pop music.

The Motown mainstays have been the most commercially successful male soul group of all time, with so many hit songs they could almost single-handedly fill a classic rock radio station’s playlist (and seemingly do at times). The catalog includes 37 Top 40 singles (15 of which made the Top 10), and 28 R&B; Top 10 albums, the majority of which were also pop crossover hits. A highly abbreviated list of Temps standards includes “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “My Girl,” “Get Ready,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “I Wish It Would Rain,” “Cloud Nine,” “I Can’t Get Next to You,” “Ball of Confusion,” “Just My Imagination,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Shakey Ground.”

But in the wake of those hits, the group’s original members suffered an abundance of misfortune. By 1995, Otis Williams was the sole surviving member of the classic lineup.

Tragedy began stalking the group in 1973 with the suicide of Paul Williams (no relation to Otis), who had masterminded the Temps’ cherished choreography. In 1991, David Ruffin--lead singer on many of the group’s biggest hits, who had gone on to pursue a disappointing solo career--died of a cocaine overdose.

The following year the man with the honey falsetto, Eddie Kendricks--who also had gone solo--succumbed to lung cancer. In 1994, basso vocalist Melvin Franklin--who, with Otis Williams, had continued on with the Temps among myriad personnel changes--died of complications from a brain seizure; he had been in poor health for a number of years.

“At times it’s spooky,” sighed Otis Williams in a recent phone interview. “I often wonder . . . we’ve gone through so many changes, and then losing all the original Temps other than myself. But life is about change, and we have to make adjustments. We live in a world that’s lost kings, queens, czars, and all the rest of the people in the world keep going on. Dying is a part of living.”

The group is changing once again with the departure of Ali Woodson, a member since 1983. Woodson recently left to pursue a solo career; Williams said they have “several guys in mind” to replace him.

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The Temptations are now an American musical tradition more than an identifiable group of singers, and they keep on going like tuxedoed Energizer bunnies, performing 10 to 11 months a year, singing that huge catalog of hits to sellout crowds of fans, many of whom are blissfully unaware that most of the men that made the original recordings have passed on. The 1996 version of the Temps--Williams, Ron Tyson, Theo Peeples and Harry Berry--will perform Wednesday at the Orange County Fair.

The group’s most recent release (and the last to feature Franklin and Woodson) was 1995’s “For Lovers Only,” a collection of romantic standards such as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “At Last,” “Night & Day” and “Life Is But a Dream.” The album proved that while the voices may change, the spirit of the Temps endures. Unabashedly old-fashioned and romantic, the sweet harmonies and lush orchestrations call to mind the ambience of such early classics as “My Girl” and “Just My Imagination.”

“We’ve been fortunate in that whatever changes we’ve gone through, we’ve never lost the sense of what we’re noted for,” said Williams, only 46 years old. “It’s been a stroke of good choices of the guys that come into the Temps. All along the way, fans love the group despite whoever’s in it. The songs we represent are larger than any one person. This group is still around and loved the world over. When you have that kind of adulation on such a large scale, it keeps you in good spirits.”

Williams is “not impressed at all” with the current state of R&B; and the advent of hip-hop. He’s proud of the dignity, class and quality that have defined the Temps’ career, and he has no notion of changing a thing to suit contemporary tastes.

“Coming up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, you didn’t hear records with people cussing on them, talking about what they do to the woman,” he said in obvious disgust. “I mean, there’s nothing left to the imagination. It’s a sad state of affairs, and it’s all tied into the almighty dollar. Quality is almost a thing of the past; our moral values are shot to hell.

“The Temps will never step out of character and try to be something we’re not. Our fans wouldn’t stand for it. When people come to see us, they’re not going to see us up there with our pants hanging halfway down our asses, bumping and grinding in women’s faces and talking nasty.

“And you know what? We’re already booked through 1997.”

* The Temptations perform Wednesday at the Orange County Fair, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. 7 and 9 p.m. Included with fair admission: $6 general, $5 seniors, $2 for children 6-12, free for those under age 6. (714) 708-3247.