Post by FastNFancy on Aug 11, 2003 22:12:59 GMT -5
Temptations singer Dennis Edwards still has soul
By Tony Kiss, Entertainment Editor
June 12, 2003 1:49 p.m.
BREVARD - For 35 years, Dennis Edwards has been a tempted man.
There have been a lot of good years. And some bad times too, including an ugly court fight and the deaths of dear friends. But Edwards has always come back for more.
He can't escape his legacy as longtime former lead singer for The Temptations, the Grammy-winning pop and soul sensations. On Saturday, Edwards is bringing his "Temptations Review" show to Brevard Music Center as part of BMC's opening round of 2003 concerts.
"When I go to my grave, I will be a Temptation,'' said Edwards. "We didn't know years ago that our music would still be so popular (today). We had our era. But I am grateful."
"The Temptations Review" is not The Temptations singing group, which continues to perform under that name. After a lenghty fight for rights to the group's name, a 1999 court order allows Edwards to perform as The Temptations Review.
"I think if we could have worked it out between ourselves, it would have been easier," he said. "They almost got me. That court battle cost a lot of money, upwards of a million dollars. To spend that kind of money on something that you feel is rightfully yours is bad. Nobody wins but the attorneys."
While Edwards doesn't own the Temptations name, he does have an invaluable asset.
"I am blessed with the voice," he said. And on Saturday, he'll use that gift in a 90-minute concert that includes many of The Temptations' biggest hits, from "My Girl" to "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and "Just My Imagination." He's joined by singers David Sea, Mike Patillo, Bernard Gibson and Chris Arnold.
"This group is excellent," he said. "If it weren't on a par with the original group, I would just stay in my living room. Some nights I get goose bumps."
The story of The Temptations is a long one, with members coming and going over the years. The group started in 1960, but Edwards didn't join until 1968 after singer David Ruffin was booted for missing too many gigs and showing up late for others. With the handwriting on the wall, Ruffin asked Edwards to take his plum spot up front.
"David was my best friend," Edwards said. "I told him I didn't want to do it because we were good friends. But they were having problems and didn't want the group to break up."
And so Edwards became a Temptation, leading to some of the group's biggest successes, including its first Grammy.
"There were good things and bad things," he said. "You will have squabbles like any other family. But when it's time to go out and do the job, then you do the job. We really loved each other."
Edwards joined and left The Temptations three times. In 1989, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Edwards then teamed with Ruffin and original group member Eddie Kendricks in a super lineup.
But it didn't last long - Ruffin died in 1991 after a cocaine overdose and Kendricks followed in 1992 of lung cancer. "I am really the last (of the group's classic) lead singers," Edwards said. "I really miss those guys, David and Eddie."
But the current "Temptations Review" captures the same sound, he said. "Some nights, I turn my head and I think the guys are still there."
Despite The Temptations enormous and enduring popularity, riches didn't come as part of the deal. "We did not get what was properly ours," Edwards said. "Unfortunately, that's one of the reasons I am still going.
"But they can't take away the love I have for it, the passion." Contact Kiss at 232-5855 or TKiss@CITIZEN-TIMES.com
