428.) Sat Feb. 3, 2018

Originally Published on Feb. 3, 2018

RIP Dennis Edwards (1943-2018)

The Song of the Day is:

The Temptations – “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”

From the album All Directions (1972)

The Temptations had a lot of line up changes.  One of the most significant was when they had to fire David Ruffin, due to his drug problem and erratic behavior.  The group was fortunate to find a replacement who was beyond capable in Dennis Edwards.  Edwards had been in the Motown stable as a member of the Contours, though he joined them after their chart successes.  Dennis Edwards’ arrival to the group comes with the stylistic change of the Temptations exploring psychedelic soul with producers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong.  Dennis Edwards’ contribution to the group is no footnote, as he sung lead on the hits “Ball of Confusion”, “Cloud Nine”, “I Can’t Get Next To You”, “Shakey Ground” and of course his high-water mark, “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”.  The song was unlikely to be a hit, it already failed to make an impression when performed by The Undisputed Truth.  Despite its nearly four minute instrumental intro (the single version is a seven minute epic, where the album version is twelve), the song was a Pop Number 1.  Edwards had his own success as a solo artist, particularly with the song “Don’t Look Any Further (w/ Seidah Garrett)” (Rap fans will recognize this song as the sample origin for Eric B & Rakim’s “Paid In Full”).  At different times, Edwards fronted Temptations splinter groups, once with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, this would lead to legal battles with the official Temptations.  Edwards died on Thursday of meningitis, today would have been his 75th birthday.