The Contours

[SeainDennis]

When did Dennis become a member of this group? I have a couple of pics with him, one performing & a publicity shot when he was with them. Then there's a remake he did while with the Contours of Jimmy's hit What becomes of the broken hearted? It's pretty good & I wondered what other songs did Dennis do while he was a Contour?

[FastNFancy]

I'm working on the answer:
The Contours never repeated the success of the million selling "Do You Love Me". However they did have five more clear the floor cause I gotta dance numbers: "Shake Sherry" (#21 R&B, 1963), "Can You Jerk Like Me??" (#15 R&B, 1965), "The Day When She Needed Me" #7 R&B, 1965), "First I Look At the Purse" (#12 R&B, 1965), and "Just a Little Misunderstanding" (#18 R&B, 1966). The Contours' last chart hit, "It"s So Hard Being a Loser" (#35 R&B, 1967), was a ballad. One later member of the Contours was future Temptation member Dennis Edwards.

[FastNFancy]

Once a Temptation, always a Temptation might be the motto for explosive vocalist Dennis Edwards, who's joined, left, and rejoined the group three times. Edwards was born in Birmingham, but his family moved to Detroit when he was seven. As a high school student, Edwards sang with The Crowns of Joy gospel group, then formed a soul-jazz band called Dennis Edwards & the Firebirds, inspired by organist Richard "Groove" Holmes. Motown bass legend James Jamerson heard Edwards singing one night and suggested he audition. They needed a lead singer quickly for The Contours, and this was Edwards' entry into the company. He was featured on "It's So Hard Being Alone." A song he recorded for Soulsville, "I Didn't Have to (But I Did)," got moderate reaction, but Edwards was soon enlisted to replace David Ruffin as lead singer of The Temptations in 1968. He spent the next nine years in that role, his gritty leads fueling such songs as "Cloud Nine," "I Can't Get Next to You," "Ball of Confusion," and "Psychedelic Shack," as well as the groundbreaking singles "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and "Masterpiece." He left for the first time in 1977, returned in 1979, and left again in 1983. A year later he made one of the great duets of the decade, "Don't Look Any Further," with Siedah Garrett. It didn't make it to the top of the R&B charts, but there weren't many numbers that better combined sensuality, vocal assertiveness, excellent production, and a superb arrangement. Its melody was later incorporated by rappers Eric B. and Rakim. The follow-up, "(You're My) Aphrodisiac," was a Top 20 R&B single, but things then cooled considerably. "Coolin' Out" was Edwards' final hit, peaking at number 23, but he returned to The Temptations in 1987. Edwards briefly teamed with ex-Temptations David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks in the trio Ruffin/Kendricks/Edwards, but nothing was ever released. — Ron Wynn

[SeainDennis]

Thanks for the info! BTW, I was looking in my Motown book & I just found something interesting. Did you know that Dennis was briefly managed by Gladys Knight's former hubby, Barry Hankerson? I wonder how he & Dennis hooked up?