The Temptations, one of the most successful vocal harmony groups of the twentieth century, was created through the merger of two successful Detroit groups. Its members came from well-known doo-wop outfits from across the country. Otis Williams, the leader of the Temptations (and only surviving member of the original lineup) was from Texarkana, Texas; by the time he was in junior high he was singing with a local group called the Diablos. He moved to Detroit in 1950 and in 1959 formed the Elegants with Elbridge Bryant, Melvin Franklin, his cousin Richard Street, and Albert Harrell, all friends from Northwestern High School. They later changed their name to the Questions and then the Distants. Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams were part of a vocal group in Birmingham, Alabama called the Cavaliers. After graduating from high school they moved to Cleveland, for its thriving rhythm and blues scene. Their manager advised them to move to Detroit where vocal harmony groups were quite popular. They agreed and in Detroit they changed their name to the Primes. Their manager, Milton Jenkins, also suggested they find a female group to open for them at clubs; that group, called the Primettes, would later become the Supremes.
The Primes met the Distants at a house party, and after Street and Harrell left the Distants the two groups merged into one consisting of Otis Williams, Franklin, Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Bryant. The new outfit called itself the Elgins. Jenkins arranged some gigs at local clubs, and, after hearing them in 1962, Berry Gordy signed them to his Motown subsidiary Miracle Records. But Gordy did not like the group's name, so Otis Williams and a Miracle employee came up with a new one, the Temptations.
Early in their career, after releasing five singles and one marginal hit, the group worried about theist future. Their next release - a song by Motown vice-president Smokey Robinson called "The Way You Do the Things You Do" - raced to the top of the pop and R&B charts, and established the Temptations as the chief purveyors of the Motown sound.
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Ain't Too Proud To Beg
