The life and death of Eddie Kendricks:

He had one of the unmistakable voices of the 1960’s, fronting some of the biggest hits from one of the very biggest Motown groups. And when things went sour with The Temptations, he went on to enjoy success as a solo act.

He was born in Union Springs, Alabama, about a week before Christmas and just as the 1930’s were coming to an end. Edward James Kendrick was the son of Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick and had three brothers and a sister. Eddie added an “s” to Kendrick as a professional name.

The family moved to Birmingham and by the late 1940’s, he and his best friend Paul Williams started singing in their church choir. Eddie and Paul formed a singing group called The Cavaliers and began performing in Birmingham and by 1957, figured they’d do better up north – so they moved to Cleveland.

While there, they met Milton Jenkins who became their manager and convinced them to change their name to The Primes and to move on to Detroit. They were quite successful and the act led to a spin-off group called The Primettes (forerunner of The Supremes.)

When The Primes broke up in 1961, Eddie and Paul joined Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams, creating the foundation of The Temptations and signing with Motown Records. The group’s other main lead singer, David Ruffin, joined the group later.

he life and death of Eddie Kendricks:

He had one of the unmistakable voices of the 1960’s, fronting some of the biggest hits from one of the very biggest Motown groups. And when things went sour with The Temptations, he went on to enjoy success as a solo act.

He was born in Union Springs, Alabama, about a week before Christmas and just as the 1930’s were coming to an end. Edward James Kendrick was the son of Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick and had three brothers and a sister. Eddie added an “s” to Kendrick as a professional name.

The family moved to Birmingham and by the late 1940’s, he and his best friend Paul Williams started singing in their church choir. Eddie and Paul formed a singing group called The Cavaliers and began performing in Birmingham and by 1957, figured they’d do better up north – so they moved to Cleveland.

While there, they met Milton Jenkins who became their manager and convinced them to change their name to The Primes and to move on to Detroit. They were quite successful and the act led to a spin-off group called The Primettes (forerunner of The Supremes.)

When The Primes broke up in 1961, Eddie and Paul joined Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams, creating the foundation of The Temptations and signing with Motown Records. The group’s other main lead singer, David Ruffin, joined the group later.

article found @http://www.famously-dead.com/singers/eddie-kendricks.html