Reflections: The Temptations
photo credit: Scott Leon
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Otis Williams knew that The Temptations had crossed over to a whole new audience when he found himself sharing the stage with The Caped Crusader.
“We did Shea Stadium with Batman, when Batman was huge,” Williams—the sole surviving member of the legendary Motown group’s founding lineup—says with a hearty laugh of a 1966 gig with Adam West, when asked about the enduring cross[1]genre appeal of his classic R&B vocal group. “We’ve had a wild ride. We’ve done a Super Bowl halftime. We’ve been to the White House a number of times to perform for different presidents—we have quelled near riots. I never would’ve imagined that the Temps would have taken such a wonderful journey.” These days, the Texarkana, Texas-bred singer has good reason to sound a little wistful when he speaks. The Temptations, who grew out of a series of Detroit vocal combos in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, recently celebrated six decades of active duty. And they marked the occasion by releasing a new album of nearly all original material, the fittingly titled Temptations 60, in January. The record reunites Williams with several of the notable producers who have helped shape the group in the past, including Smokey Robinson, Narada Michael Walden, Dennis Nelson and Thomas “TC” Campbell. The baritone-voiced singer says that Robinson, the Motown vet responsible for some of The Temptations’ most enduring standards, not only agreed to lend his services behind the boards, but also to sing lead with the ensemble for the first time since a 1989 holiday single.
“Smokey was the one that really got us started, in the sense of having hit after hit after hit when he came up with ‘The Way You Do the Things You Do,’ ‘My Girl,’ ‘Get Ready’ and ‘Since I Lost My Baby,’” Williams says. “When I asked him to be a part of this, he said, ‘Naturally, I’d be glad to be part of it.’ But, I said, ‘Not only do you have to write it and produce it, you have to perform with us.’ He came up with this sweet, sultry ballad, ‘Is It Going To Be Yes or No?’”
When thinking about how to wrap a 60-year legacy that drifts from classic R&B to psychedelic soul, gospel, funk and pop into 12 tracks, Williams elected to place some decidedly modern-sounding cuts, like the hip-hop informed opener “Let It Reign,” next to more conscious nods to their trademark sound, like “When We Were Kings.”
“I call it a ‘rap jazz,’” Williams says of “Let It Reign,” a collaboration with MC K. Sparks. “I heard the song and I said, ‘I would love to do it because it would be something that the Temps have never done in that light before.’ It’s got a strong jazz flow to it. And I decided to open up with that to catch everybody off guard. Normally, we would open up with a funky tune or a ballad. We’ve always been true to ourselves by keeping up with the times and being able adapt to whatever is necessary.”
The Temptations also made a point to balance their wedding-band-approved party[1]starters with the more topical tunes that have also been core to their journey, like “It’s Time for the People.”
“We would do those kinds of songs back in ‘60s—‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone,’ ‘Message From a Black Man,’” Williams says. “And then we wanted to naturally couple the ‘What’s Going On’ thing with a lot of dance songs and sweet ballads. One thing that’s constant is change.”
Though The Temptations lineup has shifted numerous times since the early ‘60s, Williams, who owns the rights to the band’s name, has kept the group on the road as the music industry has changed around him. So the 80-year-old musician viewed his recent pause due to the pandemic with mixed emotions. The singer says that he tried to stay in shape by walking regularly, and he admits he enjoyed reading and pursuing other pastimes, like sketching. But, Williams still yearned to be back on tour.
“My body is so used to always being up and about, as far as choreography and singing and moving,” he says. “So I had to readjust a lot of little things because this was the first time that the Temps had ever been off the road—and we were off for about 18 months.”
The group recently returned to the live-music circuit and will continue to celebrate their milestone anniversary with dates around the world throughout 2022. In Williams’ words, they are currently “busy as a blind dog in a meat market.” The current lineup— Williams, longtime members Ron Tyson and Terry Weeks and more recent additions Willie Greene, Jr. and Tony Grant—plan to interject some of their newer tunes into their setlists, but Williams knows how to make his fans happy.
“‘My Girl,’ ‘Just My Imagination,’ ‘I Wish It Would Rain,’ ‘I Can’t Get Next to You,’ ‘Treat Her Like a Lady’—certain songs are just mainstays of the repertoire,” he says. “We have to do 60 minutes, no more than 75—very seldom 90 minutes. But I would always tell the guys: ‘There are songs we can never take out the lineup,’ regardless of what new songs we have. It’s a tight balance, but I think our fans will always leave happy. I’ve been very fortunate and blessed to have always had a lineup of guys who can do whatever our songs call for. I look for the head and heart more than the singing, the voice. I’ve been around some of the greatest singers in the world. You can have all the talent in the world, but you also have to be able to take direction and do the simple things to maintain a legacy like ours.”
From early 2019 through January of this year, The Temptations also celebrated that legacy on Broadway with Ain’t Too Proud, a jukebox musical based on their career arc. “It’s a quantum leap from a lil’ country boy running up and down the railroads of Texas,” Williams says with a chuckle. “When I sat there in the theater, those that were sitting around me would look at me to see my reaction. And I wouldn’t even know what to tell them. I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m touched—I’m sitting up here droppin’ tears too.’”
And years after The Temptation’s first “classic-five era” ended, Williams has also learned not to take anything for granted.
“When we started out back in the ‘60s, we had no inclination that we’d still be received so well 60 years later,” he says. “It stands out that we have thus far been able to stand the test of time. Showbiz is wonderful, but it could drop you like a hot, bad habit.”