The Temptations Lost David Ruffin — Then Their New Singer Helped Give Motown Its First Grammy
By 1968, The Temptations had already achieved what most vocal groups could only dream about.
They had “My Girl.”
“Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.”
“I Wish It Would Rain.”
They had elegant suits, perfectly synchronized choreography and some of the most recognizable harmonies in American music.
At the center of many of those records was David Ruffin.
His raspy, pleading lead voice had become one of the defining sounds of the group.
Then Ruffin was gone.
Dennis Edwards, formerly of The Contours, stepped into his place in 1968. For another group, losing such a distinctive lead singer might have meant trying desperately to recreate the past.
The Temptations did the opposite.
They changed their sound.
Around this time, founding member Otis Williams heard Sly and the Family Stone’s “Dance to the Music.”
It sounded unlike the polished Motown records The Temptations had been making.
The instruments were heavier.
Different voices traded lines.
The rhythm felt looser, funkier and more experimental.
Williams later remembered being fascinated by it.
When he returned to Detroit, he told producer Norman Whitfield that The Temptations should try something in that direction.
Whitfield listened.
And what came next was “Cloud Nine.”
The difference was immediate.
This was not another romantic ballad built around one smooth lead singer.
Several Temptations traded vocals.
Dennis Edwards brought a harder edge to the performance.
The guitars were distorted.
The bass and drums pushed forward aggressively.
The production borrowed from psychedelic rock and funk while still retaining the vocal power of Motown.
Even the subject matter had changed.
Instead of simply singing about falling in or out of love, “Cloud Nine” described poverty, frustration and the desire to escape a difficult life.
It sounded like America at the end of the 1960s.
And The Temptations suddenly sounded like a different group.
Otis Williams later described the shift from their earlier ballads to “Cloud Nine” as a “quantum leap.”
It helped establish what became known as psychedelic soul.
The gamble worked.
“Cloud Nine” reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart.
The album that followed reached No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart for 13 weeks and climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
But the biggest surprise came at the Grammy Awards.
In 1969, “Cloud Nine” won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group.
It was The Temptations’ first Grammy.
More remarkably, it was also the first Grammy ever won by a Motown recording act.
Think about that.
Motown had already produced enormous stars.
The Supremes.
Marvin Gaye.
Stevie Wonder.
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles.
Yet it was The Temptations, in the middle of one of the biggest personnel changes of their career, who brought the label its first Grammy.
And they did it by refusing to stand still.
The new direction continued.
“Run Away Child, Running Wild.”
“Psychedelic Shack.”
“Ball of Confusion.”
“I Can’t Get Next to You.”
Instead of remaining only the beautifully dressed group singing romantic songs with synchronized dance steps, The Temptations began recording longer, stranger and more socially conscious music.
Then in 1972 came another transformation.
“Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.”
The recording stretched far beyond the traditional three-minute pop format.
Its long instrumental introduction created tension before the vocals even appeared.
And once again, The Temptations were rewarded.
The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and brought the group another Grammy for its vocal performance.
The history of The Temptations is filled with lineup changes.
David Ruffin.
Eddie Kendricks.
Paul Williams.
Dennis Edwards.
Melvin Franklin.
And through it all, founding member Otis Williams remained.
But the departure of Ruffin in 1968 could have been the moment everything fell apart.
Instead, it became a turning point.
Dennis Edwards arrived.
Norman Whitfield changed the production.
The group embraced funk and psychedelic soul.
And the band that had already conquered America with romantic Motown classics discovered an entirely new identity.
Sometimes losing a voice can destroy a group.
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For The Temptations, it forced them to find another one.
And that new voice brought Motown its first Grammy.
