Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) [Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, January 31, 1971]
The Temptations
Time After Time
The Temptations
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Lyric Video)
The Temptations
Is It Gonna Be Yes Or No (feat. Smokey Robinson)
The Temptations
I Can't Get Next To You (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, September 28, 1969)
The Temptations
Get Ready (Lyric Video)
The Temptations
Get Ready (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, January 31, 1971)
The Temptations
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) [Lyric Video]
The Temptations
My Girl (Lyric Video)
The Temptations
Artist Playlists
The Temptations Essentials
This Motown hit-making machine had real emotional heft.
The Temptations: Deep Cuts
These R&B princes evolved into psychedelic soul renegades.
Inspired by The Temptations
Countless artists have emulated their smooth R&B style.
Artist Biography
Just about every R&B vocal group formed since the mid-’60s owes a debt to The Temptations, who came together in Detroit in 1960 and quickly forged a ubiquitous template marked by sartorial splendor, elaborate choreography, and sublime harmony singing, matching artistry with commercial savvy. Signed by Motown Records in 1961, they helped establish the label’s polished strain of driving, meticulously arranged soul with a string of indelible singles, continuing well into the 1970s, that remain inescapable signifiers of the naïveté, hope, and tumult of America during the period. The group updated its sound often, moving from early hits written by Smokey Robinson, including the irresistibly sunny “My Girl,” to a tougher attack, with singers David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks tapping into raw gospel roots on “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” Upon Ruffin’s departure, the Temptations under producer Norman Whitfield adroitly adapted to changing tastes, embracing a mixture of funk and psychedelia on songs like the No. 1 smash “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.” They have weathered many personnel changes since, with only founding member Otis Williams a constant. In 1982 Kendricks and Ruffin returned for the one-off Reunion album and tour, and the group continued to chart R&B hits through the late ’90s.