Dennis Edwards attended secondary school with the Crowns of Joy Gospel Choir. Afterwards, he started his own soul-jazz band, Dennis Edwards & The Fire Birds. During a performance, Motown legend James Jamerson heard him sing. He asked Edwards to audition for The Contours, a band under the Motown label. He scored a hit there with "It's So Hard Being Alone", which was his entry to the famous label. He soon moved on to The Temptations.
Temptations
With Edwards' arrival, The Temptations began a new musical style. They had mainly sung love songs, but now, on Otis Williams' advice, the group could explore a more psychedelic direction. His voice was rough and somewhat shrill, which suited the content of the songs well. Cloud Nine was the first Temptations song featuring Edwards.
Edwards struggled to stay with The Temptations, but he also had difficulty leaving. He joined the group as lead singer in 1968. He left in 1977 but returned in 1979.
Dennis solo
In 1983, Edwards left The Temptations again and recorded several duets with Siedah Garrett, including "Don't Look Any Further", which did not chart but became a classic. Later came "You're My Aphrodisiac" and "Coolin' Out". It will come as no surprise that Edwards returned to The Temptations in 1987.
Edwards was briefly married in the 1970s to Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters; Issa Pointer is their daughter. He died in 2018, a few days before his 75th birthday, in a hospital in Chicago due to complications following meningitis.
photo: album cover
