Temptations

 =**THE TEMPTATIONS** =



The 50’s and 60’s were a period of time in United States history in which there was a lot of segregation between the white and black communities. Factors like the Jim Crow Laws weren’t outlawed until 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was passed. From singing in the suburbs to winning multiple Grammy Awards, The Temptations, an all-male, all African-American vocal group, bridged this gap through their music by attracting a diverse crowd of listeners, from African Americans to Caucasians and many others. This a ﻿ rticle will highlight a few of their major stepping stones as a group, and why and how their music influenced others.

** 1.Background **
The Temptations were an all-male, all African-American vocal group. The group was formed in the 1960s in Detroit, Michigan by Otis Williams, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, and Elbridge “Al” Bryant, who were all interested and involved in music during their early teen years. These were the original members of the group, but as time went by, some of the old members passed away and were replaced by new ones.

** 2. Motown **
Motown was a record label founded on January 12, 1959 that was created purposefully for African Americans, by African Americans, and brought a different sound to American music. The temptations were known as “The Elgins” and later adopted “The Temptations” after being signed by Berry Gordy, one of the establishers of Motown, in 1961. About a decade after Motown was created, a large number of musicians signed by Motown hit the top of the charts. This thereby contrasted the barely diverse previous generation of artists in America in the sense that not very many African-American artists were that successful before. The temptations first major hit was “The Way You Do The Things You Do”, in 1965 which made it to the //Billboard Hot 100,// peaking all the way to #6.

** 3. Civil Rights Act of 1964 **
In the early 1960’s during the government of President John F. Kennedy, there was an ongoing argument about whether or not African-Americans should be granted equal rights as whites. Over 70 percent of the African-American population voted for President John F. Kennedy. This massive support came as a result of Kennedy promising to grant them equal rights, in accordance with the 14th Amendment. Despite Kennedy’s failure to follow through withall of his promises, he still was able to propose the Civil Rights Bill to Congress in 1963. In one of his speeches, John F. Kennedy stated that African Americans had a one-seventh chance of earning as much as $10,000 which was barely anything compared to what white American citizens earned. After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 and after the appointing of a new president, the Civil Rights Act was finally signed on June 15th, 1964. The Civil Rights Act outlawed unequal treatment of others by schools, businesses and so on, as a result of race or sex. This act also went further into encouraging school districts to desegregate their populations.

** 4. “My Girl” **
About three years after The Temptations' career started, Smokey Robinson, one of their main songwriters, wrote the song “My Girl”, which was also released in the same year, 1964. Less that a month after “My Girl” was relmedia type="youtube" key="LbAaLdLguLo" width="425" height="350" align="right"eased, it soared the charts, making it to number one on both the Pop and R&B charts. It also went further to making it to number one on the //Billboard Top 100.// Without a doubt, the release of “My Girl” was a major leap further into fame for The Temptations, and this effect wasn’t just seen on the charts, but was also reflected on the public. The playing of “My Girl” on the radio became so much of a routine, as well as playing a major role in the lives of fans and society in general that if The Temptations failed to perform this song at any live concert, they would immediately get booed off the stage. All these factors, therefore, go on to show that Americans had fallen in love with this foreign, “never-heard-before” addition to American music. These factors also go further into enforcing the fact that the signing of the Civil Rights Act didn’t just have an effect on the government and the general public. It also went a long way into changing the sound of the music on the radio, as well as people’s views on mainstream pop music.

** 5. Conclusion **
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Throughout their career, The Temptations won a total of 4 Grammy Awards, 23 top-ten singles, 18 #1 Billboard Singles, 10 top-ten albums, as well as the title of being one of the most successful African-American male vocal groups in the United States. Before The Temptations, no other African-American vocal group was as successful, and this was a result of the <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> problems the United States faced with segregation. The Temptations' success set the bar high for other similar hopefuls, but it also proved to them that such great achievements were not impossible. Their successful career also made it so clear that skin color and background were basically invisible factors that had nothing to do with how successful one could be. This point was also further proven because The Temptations had a wide diversity of fans not just in the United States, but worldwide. This has given way to the success of many other African American male vocal groups in the past and today, like Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Silk, and K-Ci and Jo-Jo, just to name a few. Otis Williams is the only original member of The Temptations still alive today, and old members have been replaced with new ones as time has gone by, but there is no doubt that the lifestyle of The Temptations still lives on to this day.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Temptations are a good representation of the Motown era because they were the most successful group to be signed by Motown. They were considered as such a unique group because what they did and how they performed was nothing like any other acts before and during the 60s. Their funky, improvisational dance moves and stage presence proved that they had a lot more to offer than just their music. The Temptations influenced a lot of other similar acts in the 60s, and they still continue to be an inspiration for aspiring vocal groups to this day. ======

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Fashion **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">During the late 1950’s, the most common clothing items for men were jeans, short-sleeved shirts with patterns, and white t-shirts. This was the trend until the early 1960s when The Temptations came along. Despite the occasion, they always looked sharp in the precisely made suits and tuxedos, dress shoes, and poufed-up hair(somewhat similar to Elvis Presley). Through this, they showed that dressing up wasn’t just meant for work and dates, but also for casual outings and for having fun. These styles were what they used to stand out as a group, and also what they used to prove that looking nice on a frequent basis could draw the ladies too, of course.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Dance Moves **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Although The Temptations were known and famous for their well-blended vocal harmonies, their dance moves also played a part in that fame. Their precisely-choreographed and soulful dances which consisted of sharp kicks, turns, glides, snapping, clapping, posing, foot-tapping and so much more made them stand out even more. These were gestures that helped them, and the crowd get into the whole feel of the beat, and just go with the flow of the music. Although a lot of their choreographies consisted of roughly the same dance moves, every performance had its own unique touch to it. These dance moves weren’t just popular within their group, but it was also starting to become a trend at parties, outings, and other social events. The Temptations’ raw, smooth, and funky stage performances through their dances kept their audiences glued to them from the very first step to the last.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Music Genres **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">During the late 50s and early 60s, some popular music genres included pop, rock, country, folk, Latin, and doo-wops. During the late 60s, Motown was created and this started leading into a new era of music. The Temptations(and other Motown groups) tried to attract diverse audiences through their music, and one of the ways to do this was to write and perform songs from different genres of music. They had songs that belonged to the R&B, Pop, Blues, Disco, Adult Contemporary, Doo-wop, and Funk genres. Their very first hit, “The Way You Do The Things You Do” was among the top 25 hits of the //U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks//, and their second hit, “My Girl,” had a lot of the components of R&B and soul music, and it also topped the //U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles// chart at number one. No matter what genre their music was, The Temptations sang all their songs with so much passion, such that it was pretty much guaranteed the audience was going to love it.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Struggles and Influences **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Despite their extremely successful career, The Temptations did have a lot of struggles. Things like drug use, depression, and other personal issues were what caused their career to start going downhill. Lead singer, David Ruffin died in 1991 as a result of an overdose of cocaine. Another member of the group, Paul Williams shot himself in the head. All the other original members of the group died, except for founder Otis Williams who still lives today. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Without a doubt, the Temptations have influenced so many vocal groups back then through their music, dance moves, and vocal adrenaline, and they still are an inspiration for similar groups today. The Temptations also had musical influences like The Cadillacs, The Drifters and their own song-writer, Smokey Robinson. They also played a great role in influencing the American society from the 60s to today through their style, music, stage presence and confidence. Today, some of their influences are seen through tributes to them on shows like American Idol, where the contestants sing a song from the Motown Era. Tributes have also been paid to them by MTV, and many others. The Temptations also brought out some aspects of the African- American community that hadn't been seen before like unique music, dancing, and performance in general, and they used their music to prove that they too, had as much potential, like everyone else. The Temptations have become so much a part of the American culture, that their legacy still lives on to this day.

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