The recorded work of The Temptations is a part of the American experience.
Timeless songs such as "My Girl," "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Get Ready" "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" bring nostalgia for some and await discovery by future generations.
Otis Williams, 66, is the only surviving member of the original Temptations, a Detroit quintet that was signed to Motown in 1961.
The group — known early on for its smooth harmony, slick choreography and stylish suits — would become legendary, but its first string of singles went nowhere.
All seven of the group's singles released between 1961 and 1963 failed to make it onto the Hot 100 pop chart. Other Motown groups started calling them the Hitless Temptations.
"We were hungry enough to stay in the game," said Williams during a recent phone interview from his Los Angeles home.
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The first Top 20 hit for the Temps was "The Way You Do the Things You Do" in 1964. And then there was "My Girl," which hit No. 1 in 1965 and became their signature song.
Williams, the de facto leader of the Temptations and the only constant member of the ever-changing lineup, may be the only face you'll recognize from the old album covers at Friday night's concert at the Fox Tucson Theatre. But the vocals, accompanied by the group's traveling rhythm section, faithfully render the original sound, he said.
Ahead of Friday night's show, Williams reflected on a couple of his experiences as a Temptation, a group that's given so many people sunshine on cloudy days.
You were honored earlier this year by President Bush, and he quoted you remembering a time when there was a barrier between blacks and whites at shows. Could you talk about that?
"That was in the early '60s — '64 or '65 — and we were down in Columbia, South Carolina. And there was a rope down the center of the auditorium where we were performing . . . blacks on one side, whites on the other side. We came there the next year on another tour and the rope was no longer there. Blacks and whites sitting side by side, high-fiving and dancing and just having a good time. If it wasn't for the sweat displaying, you would have seen our tears, because it moved us to tears."
Feb. 17, 2007, was named Temptations Day in Rhode Island. If it were a national holiday, how would you recommend people celebrate?
"In the joyous fashion of music. We don't want no downtrodden thing. We want everyone to be happy, celebrating, dancing to the music. So, party."
Your Web site doesn't sell any clothes for guys, just the ladies. You trying to tell us something?
"We love the ladies. That's a known fact. We learned something a long time ago. You get the ladies, the guys will come. Guys, you know, we drift or we go to where we think there will be a bunch of ladies. So you get the ladies, the fellas will come.
"You know, a long time ago in Detroit, when we all lived in Detroit, we were appearing in a very popular nightclub called the The 20 Grand. After the show I'm signing autographs for this young lady and her boyfriend or husband says, 'Yeah, man, you know, I had to come down here and check you guys out. Because that's all my woman been talking about: Temptations this, Temptations that. I said, let me go down there and check these brothers out.' And then he ended up saying, 'You know what? You brothers are bad. All that dancing, ya'll cold. I see what my woman is talking about.' So, get the women, the guys will follow."
• What: The Temptations in concert, presented by the Rialto Theatre.
• Where: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.
• When: 8 p.m. Friday.
• Cost: $40 to $90.
• More info: thetemptations.net and foxtucsontheatre.org.
