Music
Otis Williams
born 1941 · singer, founder of the Temptations
Founder and last original member of the Temptations, who grew up in Detroit and built the group out of the city's teenage vocal scene.
- Born
Texarkana, Texas
age 84- Birth name
- Otis Miles Jr.
- Detroit years
- 1951–1970s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Williams moved to Detroit at ten to live with his mother and stepfather, and as a teenager he led a string of local vocal groups: the Siberians, the El Domingoes and the Distants, formed with Northwestern High School classmate Melvin Franklin. The Distants had a local hit, "Come On", in 1959 on Johnnie Mae Matthews's Northern label. After Berry Gordy made an offer, Williams, Franklin and Elbridge Bryant joined Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes; as the Elgins they signed to Motown in March 1961 and renamed themselves the Temptations. Rarely a lead singer, Williams became the group's organizer and business leader through dozens of lineup changes, and he still owns the Temptations name. His memoir was the basis for the 1998 miniseries and the Broadway musical Ain't Too Proud.
Highlights
- Co-founded the Temptations in 1960–1961 in Detroit
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1989) with the Temptations
- Last surviving original Temptation, still performing in the 2020s
- Owns the rights to the Temptations name
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
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.
Studied here · 1950s
Northwestern High School (now Detroit Collegiate Preparatory Academy at Northwestern)
Classmate of Melvin Franklin here; the two formed the Distants, forerunners of the Temptations.
Recorded here · 1961–1972
Motown Museum
The Temptations recorded their Motown hits in Studio A.
Performed here · 1960s
Graystone Ballroom
Demolished · 1922–1980
Otis Williams and the Distants and the Temptations appeared at the ballroom, which Berry Gordy bought in 1963.