Just one day shy of his 75th birthday, lead singer Dennis Edwards of the iconic Temptations has died, THR reports.
Edwards at the peak of his success with the Temptations (Image via Motown)
Edwards died at home February 2, his family confirmed.
Edwards was the lead singer of Motown's the Contours, replacing David Ruffin (1941-1991) as leader of the Temptations when Ruffin and the band fell out.
He sang with the group from 1968-1976, 1980-1984 and 1987-1989, and would later front The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, considered a "splinter" group.
Among the Temptations hits he sang are the Grammy-winning "Cloud Nine" (1968), "I Can't Get Next to You" (1969), "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)"(1970), the Grammy-winning classic "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (1972) and "Shakey Ground" (1975).
Edwards later embarked upon a solo career with Motown. In 1982, he sang with all the various lead singers of the Temptations on the album and tour entitled Reunion.
He is survived by his daughter Issa Pointer (b. 1978), whose mother is his ex-wife Ruth Pointer (b, 1946) of the Pointer Sisters, a group Issa joined in 2002 and of which she became a permanent part in 2004.
