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- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Eddie Kendricks is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group The Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. His was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the number-one single "Keep on Truckin'."
Kendricks was born in Union Springs, Alabama, the son of Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick. He had one sister, Patricia, and three brothers, Charles, Robert, and Clarence. His family moved to the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, where he met and began singing with his best friend Paul Williams in their church choir in the late 1940s. In 1955, Kendricks, Williams, and friends Kell Osborne and Jerome Averette formed a group called The Cavaliers, and began performing around Birmingham. The group decided to move for better opportunities in their musical careers, and in 1957 the group moved to Cleveland. In Cleveland, they met manager Milton Jenkins, and soon moved with Jenkins to Detroit, where the Cavaliers renamed themselves 'The Primes'. In 1961, Osbourne moved to California, and the Primes disbanded. Kendricks and Paul Williams joined forces with members Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin and the Distants after three members quit and became The Elgins, who on the same day changed their name to The Temptations and signed to Motown. The Temptations quickly became the most successful male vocal group of the 1960s. Although technically Kendricks was first tenor in the group's harmony, he predominately sang in a falsetto voice. In the Temptations, Kendricks was responsible for creating most of the group's vocal arrangements, and also served as wardrobe manager, including the now famous purple suits the group wore for one performance. Though Whitfield had chief responsibility for writing, Kendricks co-wrote and received credit for several Temptations songs.
Kendricks was nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning one for "Cloud Nine" with the Temptations in 1969. The Temptations received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
In 1998, NBC aired The Temptations (1998), a four-hour television miniseries based upon an autobiographical book by Otis Williams. Kendricks was portrayed by actor Terron Brooks.- Norton Baskin was born on 14 October 1901 in Union Springs, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for Cross Creek (1983). He was married to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. He died on 15 August 1997 in Florida, USA.
- Actor
Seal Harris was born on 20 January 1906 in Union Springs, Alabama, USA. He was an actor. He died on 27 November 1940 in Bullock County, Alabama, USA.- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Art Department
Ben Edwards was born on 5 July 1916 in Union Springs, Alabama, USA. He was a production designer and art director, known for Hanky Panky (1982), Lyndon Johnson (1987) and Phobia (1980). He died on 12 February 1999 in New York City, New York, USA.- John Henrik Clarke was born on 1 January 1915 in Union Springs, Alabama, USA. He was a writer, known for America's Dream (1996), Adam Clayton Powell (1989) and Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993). He was married to Sybil Williams and Eugenia Evans. He died on 16 July 1998 in New York City, New York, USA.