U.S. music group The Temptations still going strong

By Maria Endah Hulupi

JAKARTA (JP): As 2000 drew to a close, an eager crowd filled the ballroom of the Hotel Mulia Senayan in Central Jakarta, where they were entertained with a captivating performance by The Temptations.

Yes, The Temptations, who were in town for a New Year's Eve concert. In its current form, the group consists of Otis Robert Harris Jr., Ralph Leonard Mitchell Jr., Robert William Carter, Kevin Earl Chatman and Lacey Robinson.

The quintet, clad in black outfits, performed such classic songs as Papa Was a Rolling Stone, The Way You Do The Things You Do, I'm Gonna Make You Love Me, Ain't Too Proud To Beg, Treat Her Like A Lady and, of course, My Girl for some 700 guests gathered for the countdown to 2001.

Consummate professionals, the members of the group put on a classy show of singing and dancing, much to the delight of the audience.

Tickets to the dinner and concert went for Rp 1.5 million each, and were sold out a few days ahead of the event.

The arrival of the Emperors of Soul at the hotel received a mixed reaction from guests, revealing a marked generation gap. Many of the older hotel guests could be seen gazing in some wonder when they bumped into the members of the legendary group.

The younger guests were obviously not as impressed and generally unaware they were sharing the elevator with members of one of the all-time great groups.

The group drew a curious audience to its rehearsal on Saturday, with people crowding around to try and get a glimpse of the legends in action. And not everyone peeking around the door was old enough to remember the group from its heyday. There were, in fact, quite a few younger people eager to see what the excitement was about.

Of course, The Temptations are likely to continue garnering new generations of fans for years to come, because they continue to maintain a presence in pop culture. Rolling Stone magazine released the results of a survey of the top 100 pop songs in its Dec. 7, 2000, issue, with The Temptation's Just My Imagination at number 51.

The song was released in 1971, a year in which the group dealt with personnel changes, personal problems and a stylistic shift from the classic Motown sound to a harder-edged psychedelic soul.

The magazine described Just My Imagination as an "angelic" song and considered it a return to the group's roots. It also quoted the only remaining founding member of the group, Otis Williams, as saying: "We wanted to get back to singing those sweet, sensitive ballads, like when we were recording My Girl, Since I Lost My Baby -- those kinds of things."

Formed in 1961, in Detroit, Michigan, the quintet was initially known as the Elgins and consisted of Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Eldridge Bryant, Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin.

Later in the same year, the quintet was baptized The Temptations by producer Berry Gordy. The group's classic lineup, however, was not formed until 1963 when David Ruffin replaced Bryant.

The Temptations shot to fame in the 1960s when they teamed up with writer and producer Smokey Robinson, releasing several singles that went to the top of the soul music charts in the United States.

Among their 1960s' hits were My Girl, which topped the chart when it was released in 1965 and again in 1992 as part of the soundtrack for the film of the same name, and The Way You Do The Things You Do, which also was a hit for the group UB40 in the 1990s.

The Temptations continued to record hits, including It's Growing, Get Ready, My Baby and Since I Lost My Baby, with Smokey Robinson until he was replaced by producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield in 1966. This new combination went on to score such hits as Beauty is only Skin Deep, I'm Losing You, You're My Everything and I Wish It Would Rain.

According to a biography of the group, Whitfield and The Temptations pioneered the concept of psychedelic soul and introduced social and political commentary to deliver messages to the public.

Their song Runaway Child, Running Wild examined the problems of teenage rebellion, while I Can't Get Next To You reflected the fragmentation of personal relationships (as well as topping the U.S. charts as the group's second number 1 hit). The song Ball of Confusion bemoaned the disintegration of American society.

The Temptations were seen as representatives of the counterculture, which was reinforced when they recorded Whitfield's outspoken protest against the Vietnam War, Stop The War Now.

In 1971, The Temptations saw several lineup changes -- Eddie Kendricks was replaced by Damon Harris and Richard Streets took the position of Paul Williams, who left the group to begin a solo career. Despite the changes, the group had hits with Just My Imagination in 1971, Masterpiece and Let Your Hair Down in 1973, and Happy People in 1975.

The group has also suffered heartbreak, with the tragic deaths of several of its former members. After years of depression and drug abuse, Paul Williams took his own life in 1973, and David Ruffin died of a drug overdose in 1991. Eddie Kendricks died of lung cancer the next year and in 1995, Melvin Franklin passed away.