Otis Williams

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Otis Williams (born October 30, 1941) is an American tenor singer. He has also acted as a sporadic songwriter and record producer. Williams co-founded the Motown vocal group The Temptations in early 1960 as The Elgins, a group in which he continues to perform as the sole surviving original member.

Biography

Career

Williams became interested in music as a teenager he loved music and put together a number of singing groups, among them Otis Williams and the Siberians, the El Domingoes, and the Distants. The Distants had a local hit, co-written by Williams and manager/producer Johnnie Mae Matthews, called "Come On," with lead vocals by Richard Street. Future Distants recordings were not as successful, and after an offer from Berry Gordy of Motown Records, Williams and his friends/bandmates Elbridge "Al" Bryant and Richard Street quit The Distants. Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams from The Primes later joined Williams, Bryant, and Franklin to create the Elgins, who signed to Motown in March 1961 as The Temptations.

The Temptations eventually became the most successful acts in black music over the course of its nearly five-decade existence, over which time notable singers such as David Ruffin, [[Dennis EdwardsTHE

Williams is the co-author, with Patricia Romanowski, of The Temptations, a 1988 book that served as both his autobiography and a history of the group. Ten years later, the book was adapted into a NBC television miniseries The Temptations of the same name. Over the years fan opinion of Williams has been mixed, with some criticizing him for what they perceive as jealous insults against his former bandmates while others defend him for simply trying to be honest about the problems that the group suffered.

Although he has served the longest tenure in the Temptations, Williams rarely sings lead, focusing instead on his role as the group's leader and organizer, and as the background "tenor in the middle." The Smokey Robinson and Eddie Kendricks-penned "Don't Send Me Away" on the LP The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul (1967) is a rare showcase for Williams singing lead.

Williams received an honorary doctorate from Stillman College May, 2006.

Personal life

Williams married Josephine Rogers in 1961; the couple's son, Otis Lamont Williams, was born the same year. Otis and Josephine divorced in 1964, and Williams went on to date Florence Ballard of The Supremes, and was for a time engaged to R&B singer Patti LaBelle.

Williams was married to Ann Cain from 1967 to 1973. Williams married his 3rd wife Goldie, in 1983. They divorced in 1997. His son Lamont, a construction worker, died in a workplace accident in 1983.

External links

• Otis Williams' official website
• http://www.angelfire.com/stars/classictemptations/Otisbio.html
• http://www.classicbands.com/TemptationsInterview.html