- Born
- Died
- Nicknames
- The Temptations
- The Contours
- Height6′ 4″ (1.93 m)
- Dennis Edwards is an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations, on Motown Records.
Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang with the group from 1968 to 1976, 1980 to 1984 and 1987 to 1989. In the mid-1980s, he attempted a solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "Don't Look Any Further" (featuring Siedah Garrett). Until his death, Edwards was the lead singer of The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, a Temptations splinter group.
Edwards was portrayed by Charles Ley in the biographical television mini-series The Temptations (1998), though he was not heavily focused upon, as the mini-series gave more attention to the Ruffin/Kendricks-era Temptations lineup. The Temptations Review group was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame on October 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan, when Edwards was also given the Living Legend Award.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
- SpousesBrenda Edwards(1999 - February 2, 2018) (his death, 2 children)Ruth Pointer(December 21, 1980 - 1983) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenMaya PeacookDenise EdwardsAlison TuckerErika ThomasBernard Hubbard
- ParentsDennis Edwards Sr
- Rough baritone singing voice
- In the early part of his tenure with The Temptations, his performances were often interrupted by David Ruffin, whom Edwards replaced. Ruffin would show up at their concerts and, whenever they started to sing one of the songs Ruffin himself had sang lead on, Ruffin would jump onto the stage, grab the microphone away from Edwards and start singing, much to Edwards embarrassment and to the delight of the fans. To his credit, Edwards simply sang along with Ruffin. This eventually stopped after the Temptations hired more guards to keep Ruffin from entering their concerts.
- At 6' 5", he was the tallest member of 'The Temptation'. The runners-up are Richard Street and David Ruffin who stand 6' 4" and 6' 3".
- Became angry when Norman Whitfield, assigned him to sing the first verse of the song "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," because in real life, Edwards' own father had died on the third of September just like the father in the song, and refused to sing the verse, believing that Whitfield had assigned to him on purpose. Whitfield denied having done so on purpose, but used it to his advantage, forcing Edwards to sing the verse anyway and using Edwards personal anger to set the tone of the song. This dispute however eventually lead to Whitfield being fired as the group's producer.
- Sang with The Contours prior to joining The Temptations.
- [Talking about David Ruffin's death]: "The world lost one of its great singers."
- [Talking about the effect The Temptations had on people]: "We gave hope to the inner ghetto, to kids who didn't have a chance. People knew we came from the depths of the ghetto. They heard we came from nothing, and we showed that anybody could have a chance to better themselves."
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content