Dennis Edwards

Dennis Edwards (born February 3, 1943) is an American soul and R&B singer, most noted for being one of Motown act The Temptations' lead singers.

Before joining The Contours in 1967, Edwards recorded a single for the obscure Detroit label, International Soulville Records. The single was a track called "I Didn't Have To (But I Did)" with "Johnnie On The Spot". The record is very rare and saught after by northern soul fans. It has sold for prices ranging from $3000.00 to $6000.00 USD. Edwards soon replaced David Ruffin as lead singer of The Temptations on July 9th 1968 after Ruffin was fired for what has been deemed unprofessional behavior. Edwards had been a friend of the group before hand and in particular had been a friend of Ruffin's. With his gospel-hewn vocals, Edwards led the group through its psychedelic, funk, and disco periods; two of the Temptations songs he apperars on, "Cloud Nine" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", won Grammy Awards.

When "Papa" was first presented to the group, Edwards angrily refused to sing the first verse, because his father had actually died on "the third of September", just like the father portrayed in the song. He was greatly offended by this coincidence and accused songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong of deliberately assigning him the verse. They denied that the lyric assignment was intentional.

Edwards remained in the Temptations until being fired by Otis Williams in 1977 just before the group's departure from Motown to Atlantic Records. After a failed attempt at a Motown solo career, Edwards rejoined the Temptations in 1980, when they returned to Motown.