While The Temptations miniseries is a classic, one of my most significant issues with the film was the lack of attention given to Dennis Edwards, who was the voice of one of the group’s biggest hits in the seventies. That said, I decided to give Mr. Edwards his flowers this week.
Edwards auditioned for Motown Records in 1966, and he was signed, but the company placed him on retainer. In February of this year, he joined The Contours after Billy Gordon, the band’s lead singer, became ill, and he couldn’t continue playing. The Contours performed as the opening act for several concerts that the Temptations performed in 1967.
When the Temptations were considering replacing their singer around this time, David Ruffin (a personal friend of Edwards) took notice of Edwards and made his acquaintance at this point. Having officially joined the Tempts in 1968, Edwards remained with the group until 1977, when the group left Motown Records and signed with Atlantic Records.
When the group returned to Motown three years later, Edwards assumed the role of lead singer yet again for the group. He remained there intermittently until his final exit in 1989. Throughout that time, Edwards released two solo albums, one of which is this week’s pick for Second Listen Sunday.
The first time Dennis left the Tempts in 1977, he recorded a solo album that never made it to the market. It remains unreleased to this day. Producer Dennis Lambert, who worked with the Temptations on Surface Thrill in 1983, teamed with Edwards on this album. The lead single from Edwards’ sophomore album, “Don’t Look Any Further,” had a reggae feel that came out of the gate on fire.
“(You’re My) Aphrodisiac,” the second single on the album, was a smooth, slow jam, while the third single, “Just Like You,” harkened back to the seventies soul movement. The rest of the album is filler, but Edwards’s voice is in top form throughout and makes up for the production.
Final Grade: B
Don’t Look Any Further is available on all streaming platforms.
From his early days in the family group Wings of Faith, Mr. Gill was born to make music. However, as R&B fans know, Johnny Gill’s initial release with Atlantic Records failed to make a significant impact when it first came out. The 1983 self-titled debut showed a strong voice struggling to adapt to a studio that couldn’t properly utilize its power.
My introduction to Myron was with the song “Sistas” on the “Eddie” soundtrack in the summer of 1996. Before setting up his solo album, Myron would write classics for Mya and Dru Hill. “Destiny” was written by Myron and Tyrice Jones, and the latter was also producing. Set to a sample of Herbie Hancock’s “Come Running to Me”, the song explores how fate governs the formation of connections between people meant to exist from the beginning.
Music producers transitioning to a solo album is common in the music industry. For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit Sean Garrett’s solo debut, “Turbo 919,” released in 2008.