Aba21
New Member
Melvin & Aba21
Posts: 32
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Post by Aba21 on Dec 28, 2005 19:10:46 GMT -5
I find it interesting that there could even be discussion along the lines of how much a Temptation Otis is. When the C5 performed I never heard anyone break them down as to who was a better Temptation in the group. They all were Temptations and what each brought to the group is what made them Tempting. To have seen them perform live one time would end all the disucssion in a hurry. There has never been a group like them. It is why we have all these boards in tribute to their work. I feel honored to have seen them and they had a profound affect on me in the sixties as to what I thought a black man should be like. I didn't know them yet personally at that time so I couldn't speak to that part of their lives but when they came out onstage, I don't know of any of my male friends back then who didn't want to be one of them...any one of them.
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curet30
Junior Member
My current job
Posts: 57
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Post by curet30 on Dec 28, 2005 22:54:49 GMT -5
ABA21...
Great to hear from you young man! Hope all is well with you and the family.
Your post makes a lot of sense - there was no mention whether Otis was a real Temptation or not back in the 1960's. Why in 2005?
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Post by crella on Dec 29, 2005 4:00:59 GMT -5
There would have been no Temptations without Otis, he was part of what made the origianl 5. Just as Paul , Eddie, Melvin and Al were, then David. The C5 are my favorite, but I can't hate any of them. They were all Tempts that followed. Even if it was a dream they persued, they did nothing different than the others. They followed a dream. And gave us music that will be a part of our world forever. When you have young people who were not around to enjoy their music, who now want to know about them, who want to buy the music, you know you were a part of something really special. No matter what anyone says, you can't take that away from O. It's his, it's his right, he paid the dues for it. None of us have the right to try and take what that man spent his entire adult life building and working for away. Actually, we don't have that power. Because he lived that life. He walked, lived, ate, slept and worked with our fallen Tempts, let him have his accolades and ovations. He knows he didn't get there by himself. O is all we have left of the link to the past. I know there a plenty of folks who can give us insight as to the happenings of that time, but he was part of the group. I think if you were part of the group, you have the right to call yourself a Temptation. Was Paul, Eddie, David or Dennis any less a Tempt because they got out of the group, no way. I don't think you should be able to bill yourself as such if your not part of the actual group any longer, and lets face we are grown folk. You know when your not. Promoters, will do what they do for money. But these men were part of something very real and special. I can't imagine having a singing career after leaving the group and never expecting me to do any of the music that made you come see me in the first place. IMO
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nish
Junior Member
Posts: 51
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Post by nish on Dec 29, 2005 10:09:09 GMT -5
All right, I usually don't get into these types of issues, because they are really delicate, but I have no problems with Otis being a Temptation, because, well, he was a Temptation. That's just a neutral statement. Someone who is a Temptation is a Temptation. As concerns the classic 5 and the pre-classics, they are of equal stature, that is to say no one member needed the validation of another to be a Temptation.
As for the latter Temptations, of course they are Temptations, they added to the legacy whether I care for the material they did or not. But I would hope that all parties concerned would allow all other parties to participate in their share of the legacy fully, that's all.
For the longest time, I never owned anything from the Temptations past 1967. Then several people encouraged me to give the cats a chance, and indeed, I did and indeed I liked what I heard. Now I'm at a point in my life where I can honestly say I love all 20 million Temptations. Wasn't always the case.
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Post by kalisa2 on Dec 29, 2005 20:17:19 GMT -5
There is just no sense in denying Otis his rightful place, he is on every Temtpations song we've ever played, from the beginning until now. Statements such as "He is not Temptation material" or "not 100% Temptation" are absurd, just used to denigrate a long career doing what he does best, and loves most.... and getting paid well along the way. He doesn't have to be anyone's favorite... but his Temptationism can't be denied. Even Dennis himself explained some, in the article in the News section " Sinking of Temptations click He said: "Melvin and Otis' (veteran Temp, Otis Williams) philosophy was, being a Temptation 24 hours. I was a Temptation for that hour that I was up there...I gave them 189%." And this is not to say that Dennis wasn't Temptation material nor 100% Temptation. But even he saw a difference in outlook, and he admitted to being a little hurt at the time he did that interview.
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nish
Junior Member
Posts: 51
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Post by nish on Dec 29, 2005 22:35:26 GMT -5
K2, that is a VERY VERY interesting comment by Dennis. You are quite the research specialist.
You know, to be quite honest, I wouldn't doubt if MOST of the other Temptations (including my beloved David) felt that way. I'm not a mindreader or anything, but I look at it this way. When you have a voice like David or Dennis or the singer/songwriter capability of an Ali or Theo, the incentive is likely to see the little gleam of a solo career on the horizon. I'm not saying Otis has a bad voice (sit down, LOL)... rather, he had a voice that, for lead singing purposes, fell out of fashion by the mid-1960s. But he could have easily been the lead singer of a classic doo-wop group. Indeed, he imbues the "You Send Me/For Your Love" medley with that classic doo-wop sensibility I love, I'll admit. But there was a more tangible likelihood of solo success for the cats I mentioned. So the Temptations' gig may have seemed for many of the leads to be a means to an end. I don't know. I certainly hope not, it kind of ruins my ideal of being a Temptation as a lifelong affair, and I would like to think that every member had such high-flying notions of Temptations' membership as I had.
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