Eddie Kendricks
Edward James Kendrick[3] (December 17, 1939[2] – October 5, 1992),[4] better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s including the number-one singles "Keep On Truckin'" and "Boogie Down."
Eddie Kendricks
Edward James Kendrick[1]
December 17, 1939
Union Springs, Alabama, U.S.
Ensley, Alabama, U.S.
October 5, 1992 (aged 52)
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.[2]
- Singer
- songwriter
1955–1992
Life and career[edit]
Early years: 1939–1960[edit]
Kendricks was born to Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick[5] in Union Springs, Alabama on December 17, 1939.[6] He had one sister, Patricia, and three brothers, Charles, Robert, and Clarence. His family moved to the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, where he met and began singing with his best friend Paul Williams in their church choir in the late 1940s. In 1955, Kendricks, Williams as well as their friends Kell Osborne and Jerome Averette formed a doo-wop group called the Cavaliers; they began performing around Birmingham. The group decided to move for better opportunities in their musical careers, and in 1957, the group moved to Cleveland, Ohio living on E. 123rd Street and Kinsman Road. In Cleveland, they met manager Milton Jenkins, and soon moved with Jenkins to Detroit where the Cavaliers renamed themselves the Primes.[6] Under Jenkins' management, the Primes were successful in the Detroit area, eventually creating a female spin-off group called the Primettes (later becoming the Supremes). In 1961, Osbourne moved to California, and the Primes disbanded. Kendricks and Paul Williams joined forces with members Elbridge “Al” Bryant in addition to Otis Williams and Melvin "Blue" Franklin from Otis Williams and the Distants after two members quit. They became the Elgins; on the same day the group changed their name to the Temptations and signed to Motown.
Death[edit]
In late 1991 Kendricks, by now living in his native Birmingham, Alabama underwent surgery to have one of his lungs removed in the hope of preventing the spread of cancer.[10] He believed the disease was caused by his 30 years of smoking.[16] He continued to tour through the summer of 1992, when he fell ill again and was hospitalized.
Kendricks died of lung cancer at Baptist Medical Center-Princeton in Birmingham on October 5, 1992, at age 52.[17] He was survived by his three children: Parris, Aika, and Paul Kendricks (named after Paul Williams). A funeral service was held at the First Baptist Church in Ensley, Alabama. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Birmingham. Friends and fans paid tribute to Kendricks at four concerts, held at the Strand in Los Angeles, on October 16 and October 17, 1992. Performers including Bobby Womack, Chaka Khan, Mary Wilson, and Vesta Willams sang Temptations songs, as well as some of their own.[15]
Legacy[edit]
Kendricks was nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning one for "Cloud Nine" with the Temptations in 1969.[14] The Temptations received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.[18] In 1998, NBC aired The Temptations, a four-hour television miniseries based upon an autobiographical book by Otis Williams. Kendricks was portrayed by actor Terron Brooks.
On October 16, 1999, Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park, located on the corner of 18th Street and 4th Avenue North, was dedicated to Birmingham native Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations. The park uses Kendricks' family name without the "s", which was added early in his career. The memorial features a bronze sculpture of Kendricks by local artist Ron McDowell as well as sculptures of the other Temptations, set into a granite wall. Inscribed on the granite are the names of Temptations' hit songs. Recorded music can be heard throughout the park, featuring songs by Kendricks and the Temptations.
In 1989, Kendricks was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Temptations.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar was named by his mother after Kendricks.[19] In 2019, Kendricks was inducted as a solo artist into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.