Dennis Edwards is an American soul and R&B singer, most noted for being one of Motown act The Temptations' lead singers. Edwards first joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin, and sung with the group until 1976, returning from 1980 to 1984 and 1987 to 1989. In...
[Talking about the effect The Temptations had on people]: "We gave hope to the inner ghetto, to kids who didn't have a chance. People knew we came from the depths of the ghetto. They heard we came from nothing, and we showed that anybody could have a chance to better themselves."
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[Talking about David Ruffin's death]: "The world lost one of its great singers."
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The Temptations were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
Became angry when Norman Whitfield assigned him to sing the first verse of the song "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," because in real life, Edwards' own father had died on the third of September just like the father in the song, and refused to sing the verse, believing that Whitfield had assigned to him on purpose. Whitfield denied having done so on purpose, but used it to his advantage, forcing Edwards to sing the verse anyway and using Edwards personal anger to set the tone of the song. This dispute however eventually lead to Whitfield being fired as the group's producer.
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In the early part of his tenure with The Temptations, his performances were often interrupted by David Ruffin, whom Edwards replaced. Ruffin would show up at their concerts and, whenever they started to sing one of the songs Ruffin himself had sang lead on, Ruffin would jump onto the stage, grab the microphone away from Edwards and start singing, much to Edwards embarrassment and to the delight of the fans. To his credit, Edwards simply sang along with Ruffin. This eventually stopped after the Temptations hired more guards to keep Ruffin from entering their concerts.
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At 6' 5", he was the tallest member of 'The Temptation'. The runners-up are Richard Street and David Ruffin who stand 6' 4" and 6' 3".
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He has his own Temptations group which is not associated with Otis Williams' Temptations group.
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Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 (as a member of The Temptations).
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