Eddie Kendricks born 17 December 1939

Eddie Kendricks (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor 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. He 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'". 

Edward James Kendrick was born and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. With his childhood friend Paul Williams, they left the city in 1956, when they were both 17 and intended to be stars like their idols Clyde McPhatter and Little Willie John. Their money only took them as far as Cleveland, where they both had relatives. There a music business hustler called Milton Jenkins heard them harmonising at a party and invited them to Detroit. 

Progress in the Motor City, however, was painfully slow and Kendricks went back to Birmingham, until Williams persuaded him to return. Together in 1959 they formed the Primes, who would take part in organising group vocal battles at clubs and house parties. As well as being renowned for their vocal strengths the Primes also gained a reputation for their spirited dance-steps. They caught the attention of a Motor City group known as the Distants, whose members included Temptations-to-be Otis Williams, Elbridge Bryant, and Melvin Franklin. The Primes broke up after being together only a few years, and the Temptations (originally known as the Elgins) were formed when, in 1961, members of the Primes and the Distants came together. 

The Primes -Kendricks, Williams & Osborne

In 1960 the Primes met Berry Gordy, who recorded them for a Motown affiliate, Miracle Records, after changing their name to the Temptations. They didn't become successful right away, but by the mid-'60s, they had become huge thanks to such smashes as the Kendricks-led "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "My Girl." The group enjoyed one mega-hit after another in the mid- to late '60s, including "The Girl's Alright with Me" and "Get Ready." Kendricks also did a little songwriting and created many of the group's vocal arrangements. 

It had been a long haul to get their first hit but the stature of the five-piece grew in almost transcendent leaps as they rigorously weathered and adapted to such storms of fashion as psychedelia and Afro-consciousness. By the end of the decade it became clear that there was no one to rival the Temptations as the finest black American vocal group. Their five-part harmonies seemed divinely inspired: sexy, vibrating with energy, the coolest dancers, the Temptations were so ironic that they made otherwise impressive stable-mates like the Four Tops seem mere pop acts. 

From Top Clockwise - David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams

By the time the Temptations scored their 11th number one R&B hit with "Just My Imagination," Kendricks had left to pursue a solo a career. Many fans questioned the wisdom of his leaving such a successful group, but he proved to be quite viable as a solo act thanks to early-'70s singles like "Keep on Truckin,'" a number one R&B hit, and "Boogie Down," which went to number two on the R&B chart. Other noteworthy solo hits followed, including "Shoeshine Boy,""Get the Cream Off the Top,""Happy" in 1975," and "He's a Friend" in 1976. Most of his solo albums came out on Motown where his later work began to display the sound of another city, Philadelphia's Philly label, particularly on songs like 'He's a Friend'. 

Kendricks with Diana Ross

After leaving Motown in 1978, Kendricks recorded for Arista and Atlantic during the late '70s and early '80s. In 1982 Kendricks rejoined the Temptations for a 'Reunion' tour; after their Live at the Apollo album, he and David Ruffin worked together again, under the auspices of the pop duo Hall and Oates.By that time, however, his popularity had decreased considerably. In the early 1980's, Eddie would do mostly benefits and some free concerts, with Mary Wells and Martha Reeves, and play clubs and nostalgia shows. He participate in the 1987 Artists United Against Apartheid's Sun City project and recorded Live at the Apollo with Daryl Hall, John Oates, and Temptation partner David Ruffin. 

In 1989, Kendricks, Ruffin, and their Temptations band-mates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There, Kendrick and Ruffin made plans with fellow former Temptation Dennis Edwards to tour and record as "Ruffin/Kendricks/Edwards, Former Leads of the Temptations". The project was cut short in 1991, when Kendrick was diagnosed with lung cancer and David Ruffin died of a drug overdose. 

In late 1991 Kendricks, by now living in his native Birmingham, Alabama, underwent surgery to have one of his lungs removed in the hope of preventing the spread of cancer. He believed the disease was caused by his 30 years of smoking. He continued to tour through the summer of 1992, when he fell ill again and was hospitalized. Kendricks died of lung cancer at Baptist Medical Center-Princeton in Birmingham on October 5, 1992, at age 52. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Birmingham. 

(Edited from Independent obit by Chris Salewicz & Wikipedia)