The soul singer Dennis Edwards became one of the lead singers of The Temptations in what was arguably their most creative period and sang on some of their most distinctive songs, recording hits such as 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone', 'Cloud Nine' and 'Ball of Confusion'.

Edwards had joined Motown after serving in the US military and signed to the label in 1966. After initially singing for The Contours he was drafted in to The Temptations to replace David Ruffin, the group's mercurial lead singer whose behaviour had become increasingly erratic and unreliable. During the early part of Edward's tenure with The Temptations he had to endure unscheduled interruptions to the band's stage shows due to Ruffin making impromptu uninvited appearances. This eventually led to Edwards being relieved of his position when The Temptations re-hired Ruffin. Edwards rejoined The Temptations after Ruffin's cocaine-fuelled excesses finally began to compromise the group's ability to perform and Edwards settled in to perform on some of the band's most memorable recordings, earning two Grammy Awards in the process. Edwards was eventually fired from the band in 1977 and began a solo career during which he had an album reach number two in the R&B charts and a string of hit singles.

During the later part of his career Edwards sang with Temptations off-shoot band The Temptations Review and continued to appear with the band until a couple of years prior to his death in 2018.

Dennis Edwards

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