Eddie Kendricks 1939–1992

Vocalist

Sister Group Evolved Into Supremes

Sang Lead on Temptations Singles

Recorded with Ruffin and Edwards

Selected discography

Sources

Eddie Kendricks’s silken falsetto vocals were integral to the success of the Temptations, one of the musical groups that brought Detroit’s Motown label to national prominence in the 1960s. He often sang lead vocal in the group’s songs, many of which relied structurally on the contrast between his gentle, graceful high tenor and the southern-gospel growl of group-mate David Ruffin. Kendricks would have been assured of a place in posterity for his virtuoso performance on his final single with the Temptations, the breathtaking“JustMy Imagination,” but he went on to a successful solo career after leaving the group.

Like the other members of the Temptations, Eddie Kendricks was a native of the South. He was born in Union Springs, Alabama, on December 17, 1939, and grew up in Birmingham. Along with his school friend, Paul Williams, he headed North in the mid-1950s to seek fame and fortune in the music business. The two men had honed their skills while singing doo-wop music in Birmingham. They settled first in Cleveland, and hooked up for a time with a group called the Cavaliers. While they were in Cleveland, a booking agent told them about the live music scene that flourished in Detroit’s African American neighborhoods.

Sister Group Evolved Into Supremes

In 1959, Kendricks and Williams moved to Detroit and joined with Otis Williams (no relation to Paul), Elbridge Bryant, and Melvin Franklin to form the Primes. This group, which went by the name of the Elgins for a time, gained a strong following in Detroit’s nightspots. The popularity of the Primes led to the formation of a“sister” group, the Primettes. The Primettes were headed by a whisperyvoiced singer named Diane Ross. She later changed her name to Diana Ross and the group became known as the Supremes.

In 1960 the Primes, later renamed the Temptations, signed a recording contract with the Miracle label. This label was one of the first imprints established by the visionary African American recording executive, Berry Gordy. The Temptations continued recording, first for the label that bore Gordy’s own name, and later for the newlychristened Motown label. They also opened for Gordy’s star act, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. This association with Robinson finally helped the Temptations

At a Glance …

Born Eddie Kendricks in Union Springs, AL, on December 17, 1939; Died October 5, 1992, in Birmingham; went by name Eddie Kendricks until 1980s; began using original form of name by early 1980s. Education: attended high school in Birmingham.

Career; R&B vocalist. Helped form group the Primes, 1960; signed to Miracle label, owned by Motown Records creator Berry Gordy, 1961; name of group changed to Temptations, ca. 1961; worked with Motown songwriter Smokey Robinson, 1963-64; recorded and performed with Temptations, 1961-70; solo vocal career, 1971-92; recorded for Arista and Atlantic labels; appeared in reunions with Temptations and individual Temptations vocalists, 1982-92.

crack the charts for the first time. Their first charted single was“The Way You Do the Things You Do,” which was written by Smokey Robinson and featured a new group member, David Ruff in.

Sang Lead on Temptations Singles

The Temptations became wildly popular with both rhythm and-blues and pop audiences, placing twenty-one singles in the Top Twenty pop charts between 1964 and 1971. Kendricks sang lead vocal on several of those hits, including the upbeat“Get Ready,” and sang in harmony with Ruff in on many more. He stayed with the Temptations during several personnel changes, but when the Temptations came under the direction of writer-producer Norman Whitfield in the late 1960s, Kendricks’s role in the grou was reduced. In 1970, after singing lead on one of the Temptations few ballads, “Just My Imagination,” Ken dricks decided to strike out on his own. Many critics considered“Just My Imagination” as Kendricks’s finest performance with the group. He had already left the Temptations when the song spent three weeks atop Billboard magazine’s pop chart in 1971.

Kendricks moved to Motown’s sister label Tamla, and his solo career got off to a respectable start with“Girl, You Need a Change of Mind (Part I),” which was released in 1972. His 1973 proto-disco hit“Keep On Truckin’” reached Number One on the R&B charts, crossed over to pop, and eventually sold an estimated three million copies. Kendricks followed up this hit with“Boogie Down” and other singles drawn from his nine Tamla albums, and remained a presence on the music charts throughout most of the 1970s. Songs such as“Son of Sagittarius,” “Tell Her Love Has Felt the Need,” “One Tear,” “Shoeshine Boy,” “Get the Cream Off the Top,” “Happy,” and”He’s a Friend” all hit the R&B Top Ten.

Although he had anticipated the disco movement in some respects, sales of Kendricks’s records plummeted toward the end of the 1970s. Moves to the Arista and Atlantic labels failed to improve sales. In 1982, the Temptations’ reunited for a tour and a new album, which scored a hit single, “Standing On the Top.” Although the Temptations reunion did not last, Ruffin and Kendricks continued performing together.

Recorded with Ruffin and Edwards

In 1984 Ruffin and Kendricks recorded an album together, Live at the Apollo with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick, “and performed at the Live Aid charity concert the following year. They also collaborated with the Philadelphia“blue-eyed soul” hitmakers Daryl Hall and John Gates, who modeled their restrained soul vocals on Kendricks’s style. During the early 1990s Kendricks teamed with another ex-Temptation, Dennis Edwards, on the song“Get It While It’s Hot.” Kendricks, Ruffin, and Edwards also toured together with a Temptations-themed show.

In 1991, Kendricks was diagnosed with lung cancer and doctors removed one of his lungs in an effort to save his life. The surgery seemed to improve Kendricks’s health and he was able to tour in Europe and Japan in the summer of 1992. He also sued Motown Records, claiming that royalties owed to him had been withheld. Before the case could be settled, Kendricks’s cancer reappeared and he returned to Birmingham, where he died on October 5. At the time of his death, Kendricks did not have health insurance and soul singer Bobby Womack organized two benefit concerts to help Kendricks’s family with their financial burdens.

Selected discography

(solo albums)

All by Myself, Tamla, 1971.

People . . . Hold On, Tamla, 1972.

Eddie Kendricks, Tamla, 1973.

Boogie Down, Tamla, 1974.

For You, Tamla, 1974.

The Hit Man, Tamla, 1975.

He’s a Friend, Tamla, 1976.

Goin’Up in Smoke, Tamla, 1976.

Slick, Tamla, 1978.

At His Best, Tamla, 1978.

Vintage 78, Arista, 1978.

Love Keys, Atlantic, 1981.

(with David Rufftn)

David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, RCA, 1987.

(with David Ruffin, Daryl Hall, and John Oates)

Live at the Apollo with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick, RCA, 1985.

(with the Temptations)

Anthology (greatest hits), Motown, 1973.

Reunion, Motown, 1982.

Sources

Books

Contemporary Musicians, volume 3, Gale, 1990.

Romanowski, Patricia, and Holly George-Warren, The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, Fireside, 1995.

Stambler, Irwin, Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock & Soul, St. Martin’s, 1989.

Williams, Otis, and Patricia Romanowski, Temptations, Putnam’s, 1988.

Periodicals

Billboard, October 17, 1992, p. 12.

Jet, October 26, 1992, p. 53.

New York Times, October 7, 1992.

Rolling Stone, November 26, 1992, p. 24.

—James M. Manheim