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The Temptations are an American vocal group who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson was the founder and frontman of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief songwriter and producer. Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as "the Five Chimes" until 1972, when he announced a retirement from the group to focus on his role as Motown's vice president. However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year. Following the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left the company in 1990.
Labelle is an American all-female singing group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. The group was formed after the disbanding of two rival girl groups in the Philadelphia/Trenton areas, the Ordettes and the Del-Capris, forming as a new version of the former group, then later changing their name to the Blue Belles. The founding members were Patti LaBelle, Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash.
Patti LaBelle is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. LaBelle began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and front woman of the vocal group, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Following the group's name change to Labelle in the early 1970s, they released the iconic disco song "Lady Marmalade" and the group later became the first African-American vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. LaBelle is commonly identified as the "Godmother of Soul".
The Angels are an American girl group that originated from New Jersey, best known for their 1963 No. 1 hit single, "My Boyfriend's Back".
Nona Hendryx, is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress.
Cynthia Ann Birdsong is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles.
Edward James Kendrick, best known by the stage name Eddie Kendricks, was 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 ". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the number-one single "Keep on Truckin'."
Rufus was an American funk band from Chicago, Illinois, best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits throughout their career, including "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and "Ain't Nobody". Rufus and Chaka Khan were one of the most popular and influential funk bands of the 1970s, with four consecutive number one R&B albums, ten Top 40 Pop Hits and five number one R&B singles, among other accolades.
"My Girl" is a soul music song recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) record label. Written and produced by the Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, the song became the Temptations' first U.S. number-one single, and is today their signature song. Robinson's inspiration for writing this song was his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. The song was included on the Temptations 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey. In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."
"Get Ready" is a Motown song written by Smokey Robinson, which resulted in two hit records for the label: a U.S. No. 29 version by The Temptations in 1966, and a U.S. No. 4 version by Rare Earth in 1970. It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer.
Sarah Dash is an American singer and actress. She first appeared on the music scene was as a member of Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles. Dash has worked as a singer, songwriter, session musician, and sideman for bands that include LaBelle, The Rolling Stones, and Keith Richards.
"Don't Look Back" is a 1965 song recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. The flip side to their Top 20 hit "My Baby", "Don't Look Back" broke out and became a hit among the R&B audience on its own, reaching #14 on the R&B charts.
"If Only You Knew" was a single written and produced primarily by Dexter Wansel and Cynthia Biggs for American singer Patti LaBelle's sixth solo album, I'm in Love Again. It was released as the album's official first single in 1983, spending four weeks at #1 on the U.S. R&B chart during January and February 1984; it reached #46 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking her first crossover pop hit.
Bernice Williams is an American songwriter, who wrote the 1960s song "Duke of Earl" along with Gene Chandler and Earl Edwards. In the 1960s, she wrote three Billboard Hot 100 hit songs.
"I Want a Love I Can See" is a 1963 single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. The single was the group's first A-side to be written and produced by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson. Robinson had previously written the B-side "Slow Down Heart", but for over the past year Berry Gordy, Jr. had been The Temptations' main producer.
This is the discography documenting albums and singles released by the American female vocal group Labelle. The group was known as The Ordettes from 1958 to 1961 and The Blue Belles from 1962 to 1970, changing their name to simply Labelle in 1971.
'"I Sold My Heart to the Junkman"' is a 1946 recording by The Basin Street Boys featuring Ormonde Wilson, written by Leon René, under the songwriting pseudonym of Jimmie Thomas. It was released on the Exclusive Records label in 1946. It was covered a year later by Etta Jones with J. C. Heard and his Orchestra and released on RCA Victor.
"Down the Aisle " is a doo-wop ballad recorded and released by girl group Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles in 1963. The song became a hit success for the Philadelphia-based vocal group following the controversial release of their "debut hit", 1962's "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman".
"Pops, We Love You " is a 1978 single recorded and released by Motown stars Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder, as a tribute to Berry "Pops" Gordy, Sr., father of Motown founder Berry Gordy, who had died that year from cancer.
