The lead singer of Motown legends The Temptation, Dennis Edwards died on Friday. He was 74. As per his family member, Edwards, who was living in Missouri, died at a hospital in Chicago. It was his 75th birthday on Saturday. He was diagnosed with the meningitis disease in May 2017. It was because of complications from the disease that caused his death, Edwards wife Brenda told the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
Edwards was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the year 1989 as a member of the Temptations. In the year 1968, he replaced the lead singer David Ruffin. The original singer of the group was Elbridge ‘AI’ Bryant. In the year 2013, Edwards also received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, given to the Temptations.
Apart from the groups signature Motown sound, Edwards also led the group with a mix of psychedelic funk and disco music and famous songs “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Cloud Nine.”
Even though he was fired from the Temptations in the year 1977, just before the group left Motown Records, he joined again in 1980 when the group left Atlantic Records to return to Motown.
In the year 1984, Edwards left the Temptations again and chose to be a solo career. His first solo album was “Don’t Look Any Further,” and the title track of the album “Cooling Out” was an R&B Top 30 hit.
He came back to Temptations in the year 1987 but later left it again after two years. As per reports, Edwards married Ruth Pointer in the year 1976, but the marriage ended in divorce in the year 1977. The couple had a daughter Issa Pointer who joined her mother’s vocal group The Pointer Sisters. His survivors include his wife Brenda, five daughters and a son and a grandchild.
