"Get Ready" for Motown Evening with The Temptations

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director of Marketing
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.979.1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

February 15, 2008

The history of The Temptations is the history of contemporary American pop. An essential component of the original Motown machine, The Temps’ musical life began in early 1960s Detroit. First propelled to stardom with the Smokey Robinson written-and-produced “The Way You Do the Things You Do” (1964), the group has prospered for more than forty years with a series of smash hits and world-wide sold-out performances.

Fans can “Get Ready” for an evening of Motown that’s as fresh as ever when The Temptations return to The Paramount Theater on Saturday, March 1 at 8 pm.

This performance is sponsored by Union Bank & Trust. Special Media Sponsor is The Hook Newsweekly.

Quintessential Motown, The Temptations offer a rich blend of voices with intricate harmonies. Next to their fabulous singing, The Temps are best-known for smooth stepping and flawless presentations. Akin to five lead vocalists, The Temps initially formed from two Detroit-based vocal harmony groups. The classic lineup (which lasted from 1964 to 1968) consisted of singers Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and David Ruffin.

The group’s avalanche of top forty hits in the mid-sixties included “My Girl,” “It’s Growing,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” “Get Ready,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Beauty Is only Skin Deep,” and “I Wish It Would Rain.”

David Ruffin’s 1968 departure -- and Dennis Edwards’ replacement of Ruffin on lead -- coincided with a turn toward more contemporary sounds and serious subject matter. Led by producer Norman Whitfield, the period from 1968 to 1972 marked the most successful run of singles in the group’s long career -- “Cloud Nine,” “Runaway Child, Running Wild,” “I Can’t Get Next to You,” “Psychedelic Shack,” “Ball of Confusion” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.”

Amid the onslaught of psychedelic soul, The Temps recorded “Just My Imagination,” a velvety, Kendricks-sung ballad that recalled the days of “My Girl” and returned them to the top of the charts in 1971. Kendrick left shortly thereafter to embark on a solo career, and other stellar singers, such as Richard Street and Ali-Ollie Woodson, would join the group.

The album-oriented seventies would see some of their strongest and most cohesive LPs, including Masterpiece (1973), A Song for You (1975) and The Temptations Do the Temptations (1976).

Ruffin and Kendricks rejoined the group in 1982 for the album Reunion and a wildly successful tour, sparking a Temptations revival which continued with their appearance on Motown 25 in 1983 and an NBC mini-series chronicling their history. A ratings triumph over two nights in prime time, the mini-series garnered an Emmy Award for The Temps.

Recent Temptations recordings have included the Grammy-winning Ear Resistible (2000), Awesome (2001), For Lovers Only (2002), Legacy (2004), and the Grammy-nominated Reflections (2006). The Temps’ 47th album of new recordings, Reflections let the group loose on Motown classics the group always loved but never had a chance to record previously.

The current Temptations lineup consists of Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, Joe Herndon, and Bruce Williamson. No matter the change in personnel, the group has remained true to The Temptations sound and tradition, surviving the whims of fashion from disco to techno, and sticking to their guns.

“Our challenge,” says Otis Williams, “is to live in the present while respecting the past. Our past is filled with riches only a fool would discard. At the same time, we thrive on competition. As a Motowner, I grew up in the most competitive musical atmosphere imaginable. But we also understand that for a group with history, no matter how glorious that history might be, reinvention is the name of the game.”

“The more we change,” says veteran Ron Tyson, “the more we stay true to ourselves. We’re about singing straight-up soul. It’s a style that will live on forever.”

Seats are still available for The Temptations’ Paramount Theater concert on March 1. Tickets are $54.50, $57.50, $60.50, and $65.50. Half-price student rush tickets and group discounts are also available.

Tickets are available online or through The Paramount’s Box Office at 434.979.1333.

The Temptations’ official Motown Records website is www.thetemptations.net.