The Temptations Quietly Became One of the Most Dangerous Acts of the ’70s
RnB Vinyl
3,494 views
June 22nd, 1968. Cleveland, Ohio. Four Temptations walked onstage in matching suits, and the center microphone stood empty.
David Ruffin, the voice behind "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," was hundreds of miles away in New Jersey. Five days later, the men he sang beside made a decision that would split the greatest vocal group Motown ever had, and somehow save it.
This is the story behind the music. We count down ten decisions that built, broke, and rebuilt The Temptations:
a promise between two friends from Alabama
a song Smokey Robinson almost kept for himself
a producer's bet that changed their sound
a falsetto that walked away at the very top
a lyric about "the third of September" that one singer swore was aimed at him
From the "Classic Five" to "Cloud Nine," Motown's first Grammy, to "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," every chapter leads back to that empty microphone and the one choice they could never take back.
You know the songs. Now hear the stories behind them.
Pull up a chair, and tell me in the comments: was firing David Ruffin the right call?
Subscribe to RnB Vinyl for more of the stories behind the soul and R&B records that raised us.
#TheTemptations #DavidRuffin #Motown #SoulMusic #RnBVinyl
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The Temptations Quietly Became One of the Most Dangerous Acts of the ’70s
RnB Vinyl
3,494 views
June 22nd, 1968. Cleveland, Ohio. Four Temptations walked onstage in matching suits, and the center microphone stood empty.
David Ruffin, the voice behind "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," was hundreds of miles away in New Jersey. Five days later, the men he sang beside made a decision that would split the greatest vocal group Motown ever had, and somehow save it.
This is the story behind the music. We count down ten decisions that built, broke, and rebuilt The Temptations:
a promise between two friends from Alabama
a song Smokey Robinson almost kept for himself
a producer's bet that changed their sound
a falsetto that walked away at the very top
a lyric about "the third of September" that one singer swore was aimed at him
From the "Classic Five" to "Cloud Nine," Motown's first Grammy, to "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," every chapter leads back to that empty microphone and the one choice they could never take back.
You know the songs. Now hear the stories behind them.
Pull up a chair, and tell me in the comments: was firing David Ruffin the right call?
Subscribe to RnB Vinyl for more of the stories behind the soul and R&B records that raised us.
#TheTemptations #DavidRuffin #Motown #SoulMusic #RnBVinyl