"I've got sunshine on a cloudy day" is a song lyric from the Motown Piece "My Girl" that instantly conjures up positivity. The original temptations were uniquely gifted singers who could project their voices with ease. Each singer, notably David Ruffin, could differentiate between utilizing their voice to create a pop or soul sound.
Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams combined their individual talents and worked hard to create a sound that would help them make a mark. Once they found the right sound and combination of voices, memorable songs were created that are still known to this day.
The Temptations are a combination of 3 groups/solo artists. Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams were singing with The Primes before becoming Temptations. David Ruffin was a solo artist. Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams were originally part of The Siberians which would turn into Otis Williams and The Distants. Their lives would mix together and eventually lead to the audition for Motown.
In the beginning, their songs were not popular. However, Smokey Robinson created "My Girl" and a career for the group was born.
Image provided by classic.motown.com