Temptations vocalist Dennis Edwards dead

Dennis Edwards, who joined the top Motown act the Temptations to take lead vocals on some of the groups most memorable hits such as “Just my imagination”, is dead. He was 74.

Edwards died here on Friday of undisclosed causes, reports variety.com.

In 1968, Edwards stepped in to replace founding lead singer David Ruffin in “the Temps”.

His arrival in the Temptations coincided with the increasingly expansive and experimental “psychedelic soul” productions helmed by Norman Whitfield, who also co-wrote many of their biggest chart hits, many of which featured pointed social or political content.

Edwards essayed a solo career, and his 1984 Motown single “Don’t look any further” — a duet with Siedah Garrett, reached number two on the R&B charts in 1984. But he remained best known as a member of the Temptations; after a split with the act in 1977, he returned for a short second tour of duty in 1987.

After a wrangle with founding member Otis Williams, he toured during the 1990s under the rubric the Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Temptations.

Edwards was born February 3, 1943 in Fairfield, Alabama. His father was a minister, and he grew up singing in the church. He moved with his family to Detroit in the early 1950s.

David Ruffin’s escalating drug problems and egomania created tension within the Temptations, and in 1968 Williams and Eddie Kendricks brought Edwards into the act, while Ruffin exited for a solo career.

Edwards is survived by a daughter from his brief marriage to Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters.

IANS