The Temptations and the Four Tops: The Holidays & The Hits Presented by Strathmore Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 8:00 PM appear @ The Music Center at Strathmore

[WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK]

The Temptations and the Four Tops: The Holidays & The Hits
Presented by Strathmore
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Music Center at Strathmore
Purchase Tickets here:




For more than 40 years, The Temptations have shined as pioneers of popular music with decades of smash hits and sold-out performances. Wednesday, December 9th Otis Williams, Bruce Williamson, Terry Weeks, Ron Tyson and Joe Herndon will bring classic Motown to The Strathmore for one evening at 8pm.

The Temptations are central characters in the history of contemporary American pop. An essential component of the original Motown machine invented by Berry Gordy, The Temptations began their musical career in Detroit in the early ‘60s. In 1964, Smokey Robinson wrote and produced "The Way You Do the Things You Do," the first major hit for The Temptations. An avalanche of hits followed, including "My Girl," "It's Growing," "Since I Lost My Baby," "Get Ready," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" and "I Wish It Would Rain."

Beyond their fabulous singing, The Temptations became known for smooth-stepping and flawless presentations. The Temptation Walk became the staple of American style, flair, flash and class.

When the ‘60s and ‘70s turned political, The Temptations got serious. They changed their tone, dress and music with smoldering hits as "Runaway Child," "Cloud Nine," "I Can't Get Next To You," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and "Psychedelic Shack." The Temptations explosion continued in the '80's with their appearance on Motown 25 in 1983, and roared into the '90's with the NBC mini-series in 1998 that chronicled the group's early days and rise to fame, earning them a coveted Emmy Award.

Otis Williams, the last surviving member of the original Temptations.

Joe Herndon, Bass and a native Washingtonian attended

Spingarn High School class of 1967

Four Tops are an American vocal quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, and showtunes. Founded in Detroit, Michigan. as The Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, a cousin of Jackie Wilson and brother of The Falcons' Joe Stubbs), and groupmates Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, having gone from 1953 until 1997 without a single change in personnel.

Among a number of groups who helped define the Motown Sound of the 1960s, including The Miracles, The Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, The Temptations, and The Supremes, the Four Tops were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer; most groups of the time were fronted by a tenor. The group was the main male vocal group for the songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, who crafted a stream of hit singles, including two Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out I'll Be There". After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson. When Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, the Tops stayed in Detroit and moved over to ABC Records, where they continued to have charting singles into the late-1970s. Since the 1980s, the Four Tops have recorded for, at various times, Motown, Casablanca Records and Arista Records. Today, save for Indestructible (owned by Sony Music Entertainment), Universal Music Group controls the rights to their entire post-1963 catalog (through various mergers and acquisitions).

A change of line-up was finally forced upon the group when Lawrence Payton died on June 20, 1997. The band initially continued as a three-piece under the name The Tops, before Theo Peoples (formerly of The Temptations) was recruited as the new fourth member. Peoples eventually took over the role of lead singer when Stubbs suffered a stroke in 2000 with his position assumed by Ronnie McNeir. On July 1, 2005, Benson died of lung cancer with Payton's son Roquel Payton replacing him. As of 2006, Fakir, McNeir, Payton, and Peoples were still performing together as the Four Tops. Levi Stubbs died on October 17, 2008.

Fakir is now the only surviving founding member of the group.

Abdul Fakir and Otis Williams together..

GEORGE V JOHNSON JR
Executive Director & Founder
Washington DC Jazz Network
240.694.7560

Spingarn High School class of 1968.



Joe Herndon and I were friends throughout high school and performed in the School Choir together. In those days all the hip singers sang Do Wop in the hallways, lunch time in the cafeteria and talent shows. We both work many years as conductors on the railroad and pursued careers in the music business. Joe Herndon with the legendary Temptations and George V Johnson with jazz great James Moody "Moody's Moody for Love"

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