Treasured Memories Of Seeing The Classic Five Line-Up Perform....

David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams...

Shared By G/D (Glenn)

I saw the Tempts in 1967 at the Apollo here in NY.� Back then, an act would appear for an entire week.� As a result, you�d get to choose if you wanted to go to a flashy weekend show or to a weekday set and really HEAR and SEE the performance. � After my experience seeing the Tempts on a Tuesday, I�d always go during the week.� Sans a date, I took my seat with great anticipation. The Monitors opened the show, and it was, I suspect, my first time seeing Richard Street perform. We politely applauded their very professional act though the energy level rose only when they sang their draft board ditty
�Greetings This Is Uncle Sam���I want to take you to a faraway land�
���������� (Loved the melody but could never get into the lyrics)!!!!!

As they left, the stagehands began to prepare for the �Stars of the Show�. In a few moments, an expectant murmur spread through the crowd. (Nowadays they call it a wave).� As I struggled to see what was causing this reaction, a MIGHTY roar arose that was surely heard outside on 125th Street!� The reason for the uproar, as I could now tell having the spotlight on, was the fourheaded microphone on stage!!!!� �Here come the Tempts,�� Here come the Tempts�! � It won�t be long now!!� By the time the MC introduced them, the entire crowd was in a frenzy!!!!�� Tuxedoed down, Eddie, Otis, David, Melvin, and Paul strode out on stage like royalty!!!!!� It�s written that you can tell a man by his gait, and their strut oozed with pride and confidence!!�� I�m Black and I�m Proud??�� The Tempts didn�t have to sing that song, you could SEE IT looking at them and the crowd absolutely ATE IT UP!!!!

Thirty plus years later I don�t remember the sequence of songs but it was a whirlwind! �You�re My Everything� was the current hit and like he would do later on the Live albums (with New York City and London England) Eddie crooned �Harlem�.you�re the sweetest thing this side of heaven�. Ain�t Too Proud to Beg, Beauty�s Only Skin Deep, Get Ready, Don�t Look Back all performed with their legendary steps and tight harmonetics.

When they broke into their �Mellow Mood� portion of the show they did �Old Man River�, I believe �the Impossible Dream� and then �Swanee�. �I�ve been away from you a longtime��..I never thought I�d miss you so�. If you�ve heard Swanee you know it opens slow, changes tempo to a upbeat driving show type tune, returns to the original slow pace and then closes with a rousing finale (listen to Live at the Copa). When they first break the tempo down, one Tempt asks �Hey Man What�s that?� as he looks yonder. Another Tempt responds: �I don�t see nothing�. Then the entire group throws down �Steamboats are coming, Steamboats are coming, coming, coming just for me, just for me�. Well, Melvin asked the question and David, having taken off his glasses answered it. As if on cue, someone from the balcony yells out...

�Hey David put on your f------ glasses you�ll see it then!!!!!!�.

The crowd AND the Tempts roared, with David doubling over with laughter!!!!! They didn�t miss a beat however and sang of the coming steamboats with breathtaking wistfulness. In that moment of laughter, they weren�t WAY UP THERE on that stage; they were with us and we were with them. They were our larger than life idols and we were their adoring fans, and in that moment, with the summer riots still fresh in our mind, the war raging on, and the upheavals of the coming year (�68) yet to come, all was right with the world. At least to a young 13 year old sitting in the Apollo, and I imagine, to the other folks in the audience. To this day I�m not sure if they or we enjoyed it more, they seemed to find such JOY in raising up their voices. It�s a show and a moment I�ll treasure forever!