R.I.P. Dennis Edwards

A giant. I’ll be playing psychedelic Temptations all evening.

Wow, just before his birthday on the 3rd.

RIP, Mister Edwards. The Temps were the Motown group that had many a kid, black and white, practicing smooth moves in the 1960s. Thanks for helping make the sounds happen back then.

Sad...love that era of the group when he was a part of it almost as much as the original version.

"He brought a fresh vivacity to the group's sound, a bit of grit to replace Ruffin's smooth falsetto. The group adopted a little more of a bluesy, soul-rock sound and began writing lyrics that spoke more to the social issues of the time, and it scored an immediate hit with the Sly Stone-like "Cloud Nine." Edwards' lineup of the Temptations then enjoyed a tenure in the upper echelons of the R&B and pop charts for the next few ears, scoring crossover hits with "Run Away Child, Running Wild," "Don't Let the Jonses Get You Down," "Psychedelic Shack and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)."

The Temptations - Ball of Confusion




RIP Dennis Edwards

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball
Sad...love that era of the group when he was a part of it almost as much as the original version.

"He brought a fresh vivacity to the group's sound, a bit of grit to replace Ruffin's smooth falsetto.

Grit, indeed. Edwards was one of the greats.

But when someone says "smooth falsetto" about a Temps member, I'm more inclined to think of Eddie Kendricks.

RIP Mr. Dennis Edwards.

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loog droog

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Hairball
Sad...love that era of the group when he was a part of it almost as much as the original version.

"He brought a fresh vivacity to the group's sound, a bit of grit to replace Ruffin's smooth falsetto.

Grit, indeed. Edwards was one of the greats.

But when someone says "smooth falsetto" about a Temps member, I'm more inclined to think of Eddie Kendricks.

RIP Mr. Dennis Edwards.

Yeah good catch - I think Rolling Stone mag. made a mistake as David Ruffin's vocals were tenor (My Girl, Ain't Too Proud to Beg, (I Know) I'm Losing You, et al).

"David Ruffin was like this sleeping giant...because he had this—it's sort of like a mellow gruff-sounding voice". - Smokey Robinson

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

I saw him with The Temptations in a good concert in 1997.

RIP Dennis Edwards

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loog droog

Quote
Hairball
Sad...love that era of the group when he was a part of it almost as much as the original version.

"He brought a fresh vivacity to the group's sound, a bit of grit to replace Ruffin's smooth falsetto.

Grit, indeed. Edwards was one of the greats.

But when someone says "smooth falsetto" about a Temps member, I'm more inclined to think of Eddie Kendricks.

RIP Mr. Dennis Edwards.

Me too. As those big Temps hit came in a torrent, it was always Eddie that really turned the tide for me.
Such an amazing group.
All condolence to Mr. Edwards and family. I read up on him a little and
was surprised to see he was also in The Contours of "Do You Love Me" fame,
tho I think they had that one big Smash Hit before Dennis came to them.
Still, that's an amazing thing he did, with both groups, and he made so many people happy.
I thank you for remembering Eddie here though.

The Temptations - greatest of all the Motown acts. Dennis Edwards - R.I.P

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Silver Dagger
The Temptations - greatest of all the Motown acts.

Not to take anything away from Dennis Edwards at this time, but the word "arguably" belongs in there when you consider Motown includes Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson.

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loog droog

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Silver Dagger
The Temptations - greatest of all the Motown acts.

Not to take anything away from Dennis Edwards at this time, but the word "arguably" belongs in there when you consider Motown includes Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson.

Not to mention the Four Tops, the Supremes, and even the Jackson 5 (who joined Motown in the late '60's).
But when push come to shove, I'd have to agree with Silver Dagger - though not an easy pick considering all of the greatness from Motown.

*The first record I ever bought with my own money was the Jackson 5 Greatest Hits from 1971. Greatest
Played it to death until it was unplayable, but still have it in my collection literally falling apart at the seams.
Will always have a special place in my heart amongst the Motown greats.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Quote
loog droog

Quote
Silver Dagger
The Temptations - greatest of all the Motown acts.

Not to take anything away from Dennis Edwards at this time, but the word "arguably" belongs in there when you consider Motown includes Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson.

& Boyz II Men of course.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-02-03 19:22 by BowieStone.

Cloud Nine; Psychedelic Shack; Ball of Confusion; Don't Let the Jones Get You Down; Runaway Child Running Wild; The Temptations with Dennis Edwards

a great voice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-02-03 23:23 by duke richardson.

One of my favorite Temptations songs was "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" sung by Dennis Edwards. I saw them in Buffalo with all the original Four Tops in the 1980's.

Edwards died Thursday in Chicago at the age of 74, and his cause of death was complications from meningitis according to his wife Brenda.

In 1982, a year after their backing vocal cameo ("Temptations SING!!") on "Super Freak," Rick James wrote and produced this song for The Temptations "reunion" album that featured seven Temps, with Dennis Edwards starting it off strong.

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