Page 6 Focus M ay 26,1999 Jhv Fortiani» fl&bwruer £.ve.niny a t t(t£ ^¡.f^any Richard Leo Johnson ~I he r \ e V o ic e Dennis Edwards 20 year history as lead singer for the legendary T em p tatio n s, D en n is Edwards is one of the most talented and gifted singers of our time. Bom on Feb­ ruary 3,1943 the son of a preacher man, Rev. Dennis Edwards, Sr. He began sing­ ing at the age of two (2) at his father’s church. By 1961 he had formed his own group called Dennis Edwards & The Fire­ balls. Later in 1966 he joined the Con­ tours (age 12). Edwards’ career with T h e Temp­ tations began in 1968- David Ruffin’s first replacement, and so did a long line of #1 hits for the Temptations. Utilizing his unique style and smooth delivery he became known as one of the most influential vocal singers in the history of R & B music. His guest appearances on Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, Soul Train, The Joan Rivers Show, The Merv Griffin Show, M idnight Special, Solid Gold, BET, Motown’s 25lh Anniversary, The Ophrah Winfrey show and the Arsenal Hall shows are just a some of the many special appearances Dennis has made in The Sixth Temptation Melvin Franklin, Richard Street and Glenn I-eonard |Paul Williams was not available for the reunion. T here have been many “Tempta­ tions” over the years. In fact, ever since the group’s inception back in 1961, some of the greatest voices in popular music have found a home in The Temptations. Some of the names include: (kirns, Terry Weeks, louts Price, Damon Harris, Ri­ chard Street, Ron Tyson, A li Ollie Woodson, Theo Drples, Nate Evans and Chris Arnold In the late eighties and early nineties, the group, suffering from internal dis­ putes, management problems and above all the tragic passing away of all, but one of the original lead singers ' Dennis Edwards ' it looked as though an era had come to an end. The totally unexpected deaths of his closest group members and friends, David Ruffin in 1992 and Eddie Kendrick in 1993, left D ennis Edwards alone - alone w ith a deep rooted sense of responsibility to keep the spirit of the Tempta­ tion« alive. ~ A promise he m ad e to E d d ie Jam es Kendrick’s upon his passing. Edwards had gone through the Temptation years as a very young man with a very big fu­ ture. Now, he is thoroughly well his 35 year career. While performing with the Temp­ tations Dennis received fourteen Gold Albums, Five (5) G ram m y’s and Seven (7) Grammy nominations. H e was also inducted into the Rock *n‘ Roll Hall of Fame & Museum in 1988. T he first rounded in his vocal artistry Music Hall of Fame in duction and and stage talents. He is still a awards show was in 1985, and shows have been held every other year since very bright and energetic star and continues to keep the spirit that time in Birmingham Alabama. Dennis Edwards’ music has trav­ of the TEMPTATIONS alive. From the wistful, innocent fal­ eled with many generations, selling setto of Eddie Kendrick to the well over 100 million recordings. Some of most familiar hits include... Cloud em otio n -ch arg ed ten o r of Nine, A Song fo r You, Masterpiece, Why David Ruffin to the bottom line bass of group mainstay Melvin did she Leave me. Ball o f Confusion, Can’t Franklin, T he Tem ptations Get Next to You, Aphrodisiac, Poppa was a have provided enjoyment and rolling Stone My Girl, Get Ready, Take a magic memories to generations Look at you and Psycadelic Shack. of fans nationally. The Florissant Mr. Edwards is the His current list of Tempta- most recognized form er Tem ptation around. After leaving the group perma­ tions include, David Sea David Ruffin’s second replace­ nently in 1988 he scored a big solo hit m en t selected by E ddie ^Don’t Look any further” recorded with Kendrick upon the passing of the cooperative efforts of Siedah Garret. the late Mr. Ruffin. Mike Dennis Edwards’ group including his life Patilla Bernard Gibson, and long friends David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick’s \the three mast recognized Temp­ Steve Harris. tation meeds/isrytpa touring around Eu­ rope and abroad as the “Temptin Temp­ tations” who recorded Four hit albums. O n his own he added to his well devel­ oped musical virtuosity with his hit al­ bums" Dennis Edwards, Cooling Out, Talk to Me and Aphrodisiac. The tem ptations reunited at the Fisher Theatre in 1990 in Detroit The lineup included Dennis Edwards, David Ruffin Eddie Kendrick’s, Otis Williams, TICKET INFORMATION Tickets are on sale at all G.I. Joe/Meier & Frank TicketMaster’s The Best of All Worlds • House of Sound One Stop Music • Miss C ’s Group Sales: 289-2763 or 2863230 (discount 10 or more) VIP & Reserve Seating’ (503)285-4009 Charge by Phone • (503)224-4400 web: www.ticketmaster.com The Temptation Review featuring Dennis Edwards Saturday June 5 2 Shows ~ 6 & 10 Pm Tiffany Center (O ld Neighbors o f Woodcraft] 1410 SW Morrison Street R ichard Leo Jo h n so n , a self-ta u g h t g u ita rist o f M etro B lue w ill p erform at R oseland G rill in P ortland, O rego n. In su p p o rt o f his d e b u t record Fin g ertip Ship. He w ill be perform ing on M ay 28 a t 9 RM. For m ore inform ation, call Ellie S arty a t B lue N ote R eco rds 212 /2 53 - 318 8 Fax 2 12 /2 53 - 316 2 o r Em ail at pa»