Music
Eddie Kendricks
1939–1992 · singer, songwriter
Falsetto lead of the Temptations who came to Detroit with the Primes, sang "Just My Imagination" and later topped the charts solo with "Keep On Truckin'."
- Born
Union Springs, Alabama- Died
Birmingham, Alabama
aged 52- Birth name
- Edward James Kendrick
- Also known as
- Eddie Kendrick
- Detroit years
- late 1950s–1970s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Kendricks grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where in 1955 he and his friend Paul Williams formed the doo-wop group the Cavaliers. In Cleveland they met the manager Milton Jenkins and followed him to Detroit, renaming themselves the Primes; they became a local draw, and their sister act, the Primettes, grew into the Supremes. When the Primes broke up, Kendricks and Williams joined Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin of the Distants, and the new group signed with Motown in 1961 as the Temptations. Kendricks's silky falsetto led "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Get Ready" and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)," which reached No. 1 in April 1971 just as he left for a solo career on Motown's Tamla label. His "Keep On Truckin'" topped the Hot 100 in 1973 and "Boogie Down" reached No. 2. Frustrated by a lack of creative and financial control, he left Motown in 1978. He later toured with former bandmate David Ruffin and died in Birmingham in 1992.
Highlights
- Founding member and falsetto lead of the Temptations (1961–1971)
- Lead vocal on "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" (No. 1, 1971)
- Solo No. 1 "Keep On Truckin'" (1973)
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Temptations (1989)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1961–1978
Motown Museum
Motown's studio, where the Temptations cut their 1960s hits. Since 1985 the Motown Museum.
Performed here · 1960s
The 20 Grand
Demolished
Nightclub whose stage the Temptations shared with other Motown stars. The club at 14th Street and West Warren was later demolished; the site is a grass lot.