List of the Temptations band members

This page is a chronology of the Motown singing group the Temptations. It lists the members of the group during all phases of the group's history. While the Temptations have frequently changed their lineup, the group has always employed a person for each of the following roles:

• main lead singer (e.g., David Ruffin)
• secondary lead and baritone singer (e.g., Paul Williams)
• first tenor lead singer (e.g., Eddie Kendricks)
• bass lead singer (e.g., Melvin Franklin)
• background second tenor and baritone w/ occasional lead (since 1961 Otis Williams has always held and continues to hold this role)

During their live performances, the 1st tenor who almost exclusively performs in falsetto and secondary leads have always been as predominant on stage as the group's official main lead/front man. Also, the 1st tenor position is always considered equal to the main lead position on studio recordings as well; the secondary lead was elevated to almost the same status in the studio from 1968 to 1972 and from 1993 onward.

The background/occasional lead role was originally that of another secondary lead singer before 1961.

The group has performed as a quintet throughout its history, with six exceptions:

• The Cavaliers' lineup (1955–57, 4 Members)
• The Primes' lineup (1958–60, 4 Members, later 3)
• April – May 1971 (4 Members, No 1st Tenor)
• The 1982 reunion lineup (7 Members)
• The later half of 1995, following the departure of Ray Davis (4 Members, No Bass)
• October 2019 to June 2020 following the departure of Larry Braggs (4 members, Terry Weeks singing lead, no replacement tenor)

Since 1976, the name "the Temptations" has been a registered trademark definitively owned by Otis Williams and (the estate of) Melvin Franklin. ^{[1] [2]}

The Cavaliers

The Cavaliers lineup

1955–1957	Kell Osborne – tenor Eddie Kendricks – tenor Paul Williams – baritone Wiley Waller – bass

The Primes

The Primes lineups

1957–1958	Kell Osborne – tenor Eddie Kendricks – tenor Paul Williams – baritone
1958–1960	Kell Osborne – tenor Eddie Kendricks – tenor Paul Williams – baritone

The El Domingoes/Otis Williams & The Siberians

The El Domingoes/The Siberians/lineups

1957–1958	Elbridge "Al" Bryant – tenor Otis Williams – baritone James "Pee-Wee" Crawford – tenor Vernard Plain – second tenor Arthur Walton – bass
1958–1959	Elbridge "Al" Bryant – tenor Otis Williams – baritone James "Pee-Wee" Crawford – tenor Richard Street – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass

The Distants

The Distants lineups

1959	Elbridge "Al" Bryant – tenor Otis Williams – baritone James "Pee-Wee" Crawford – tenor Richard Street – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass
1959–1960	Elbridge "Al" Bryant – tenor Otis Williams – baritone Albert "Mooch" Harrell – tenor Richard Street – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass

The Elgins

The Elgins lineup

1961	Elbridge "Al" Bryant – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Eddie Kendricks – tenor Paul Williams – lead baritone Melvin Franklin – bass

The Temptations

• Members of the classic lineup are in bold.

The Temptations lineups

1961–1963	Elbridge "Al" Bryant – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Eddie Kendricks – tenor Paul Williams – lead baritone Melvin Franklin – bass
1964–1968	David Ruffin – lead baritenor Otis Williams – second tenor Eddie Kendricks – tenor Paul Williams – baritone Melvin Franklin – bass
1968–1971	Dennis Edwards – lead baritenor Otis Williams – second tenor Eddie Kendricks – tenor Paul Williams – baritone Melvin Franklin – bass
1971	Dennis Edwards – lead baritenor Otis Williams – second tenor Paul Williams – baritone Melvin Franklin – bass
1971	Dennis Edwards – lead baritenor Otis Williams – second tenor Ricky Owens – tenor Paul Williams – baritone Melvin Franklin – bass
1971	Dennis Edwards – lead baritenor Otis Williams – second tenor Damon Harris – tenor Paul Williams – baritone Melvin Franklin – bass
1971–1975	Dennis Edwards – lead baritenor Otis Williams – baritone/second tenor Damon Harris – tenor Richard Street – second tenor/third tenor Melvin Franklin – bass
1975–1977 1979–1981 1982–1983	Dennis Edwards – lead baritenor Otis Williams – baritone Glenn Leonard – tenor Richard Street – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass
1977–1979	Louis Price – lead baritone Otis Williams – baritone Glenn Leonard – tenor Richard Street – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass
1982	David Ruffin – lead baritenor Dennis Edwards – lead baritenor Otis Williams – baritone Eddie Kendricks – tenor Glenn Leonard – tenor Richard Street – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass
1983 1987–1988	Dennis Edwards – lead baritenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Richard Street – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass
1983–1987 1988–1993	Ali-Ollie Woodson – lead tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Richard Street – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass
1993–1995	Ali-Ollie Woodson – lead tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Theo Peoples – second tenor Melvin Franklin – bass
1995	Ali-Ollie Woodson – lead tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Theo Peoples – second tenor Ray Davis – bass
1995–1996	Ali-Ollie Woodson – lead tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Theo Peoples – second tenor Harry McGilberry – bass
1997–1998	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Theo Peoples – lead baritone Harry McGilberry – bass
1998–2003	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Barrington "Bo" Henderson – lead tenor Harry McGilberry – bass
2003	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor G. C. Cameron – lead baritenor Harry McGilberry – bass
2003–2007	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor G. C. Cameron – lead baritenor Joe Herndon – bass
2007–2015	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Bruce Williamson – lead baritenor Joe Herndon – bass
2016–2019	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Larry Braggs – lead tenor Willie Greene – bass
2019–2020	Terry Weeks — second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Willie Greene – bass
2020–2021	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Mario Corbino – lead tenor Willie Greene – bass
2021–2022	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Tony Grant – lead tenor Willie Greene – bass
2022–present	Terry Weeks – second tenor Otis Williams – baritone Ron Tyson – tenor Tony Grant – lead tenor Jawan M. Jackson – bass

Timeline

References

1. Ex-Temptations Singer Dennis Edwards Loses His Court Battle To Use 'Temptations' Name Archived 11 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine , a January 1999 Jet magazine article via findarticles.com
2. Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Pg. 181.