Paul Williams (The Temptations)

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Paul Williams
Background = khaki


Img_capt = Paul Williams sings "For Once in My Life" on the "TCB" television special, aired December 9, 1968 on NBC.
Born = birth date|1939|7|2|mf=y
Died = death date and age|1973|8|17|1939|7|2|mf=y
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Origin = Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation = Singer, dancer, choreographer
Genre = R&B, pop, soul
Years_active = 1955 - 1973
Instrument = Singing
Label = Motown
Associated_acts = The Temptations, The Supremes
URL = [http://members.aol.com/maaalumni/paul1.html]

Paul Williams (July 2, 1939 – August 17, 1973) was an American second tenor/baritone singer.

Williams is noted for being one of the founding members and original lead singer of the popular Motown group The Temptations. Along with David Ruffin, Otis Williams (no relation), and fellow Alabamians Eddie Kendricks and Melvin Franklin, Williams was a member of The Temptations during their most successful years in the 1960s, later dubbed the "Classic 5" period. Paul Williams himself was a member of the group from its founding in 1960 until 1971, when personal problems and failing health forced him to retire. Williams committed suicide two years later.

Biography

Early years

Paul Williams was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He met his lifelong best friend Eddie Kendricks during their grade school years; supposedly, the two first encountered each other in a fistfight after Williams dumped a bucket of mop water on Kendricks. The two eventually became good friends; both boys shared a love of singing, and sang in their church choir together. As teenagers, Williams, Kendricks, and their friends Kel Osboure and Willie Waller performed in a secular singing group known as The Cavaliers, with dreams of making it big in the music industry. In 1957, Williams, Kendricks, and Osbourne left Birmingham to start careers, leaving Waller behind. Now known as The Primes, the trio moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and eventually found a manager in Milton Jenkins, who moved the group to Detroit, Michigan. Although The Primes never recorded, they were successful performers, and even launched a spin-off female group called The Primettes, who later became The Supremes.

In 1960, Kel Osbourne moved to California, and the Primes disbanded. Williams and Kendricks returned to Alabama, but soon found themselves back in Detroit again after learning that Otis Williams, head of a rival Detroit act known as The Distants, had two openings in his group's lineup. Paul Williams and Kendricks joined Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Elbridge Bryant to form The Elgins, who signed to the local Motown label in 1961, after first changing their name to The Temptations.

With the Temptations

Although the group now had a record deal, Paul Williams and his bandmates endured a long series of failed singles before finally hitting the Billboard Top 20 in 1964 with "The Way You Do the Things You Do." More hits quickly followed, including "My Girl", "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You."

Williams sang lead on several of the group's songs, and served as lead singer during the group's early years. Considered the Temptations' best dancer, Williams served as the group's original choreographer, devising routines for his group and The Supremes (most notably their trademark "Stop! In the Name of Love" routine), before Cholly Atkins took over that role for all of Motown's acts. Williams' later leads on Temptations songs included "No More Water in the Well", "Just Another Lonely Night", and his signature song, "Don't Look Back". One of his best-known lead performances is his stand out live performance of "For Once in My Life," from the television special "TCB", originally broadcast on December 9, 1968 on NBC. The live version of the song "Don't Look Back" is also frequently cited as one of his standout performances.

Personal problems and decline

Williams suffered from sickle-cell anemia, which frequently wrreaked havoc on his physical health. In 1965, Williams began an affair with Winnie Brown, hair stylist for The Supremes and a relative of Supremes member Florence Ballard. Williams was also depressed because he was now being denied lead spots on the Temptations' singles in favor of David Ruffin, and Cholly Atkins' presence now made Williams' former role as choreographer essentially obsolete. Life on the road was starting to take its toll on Williams as well, and he began to drink heavily.

In the spring of 1969, Williams and Brown opened a celebrity fashion boutique in downtown Detroit. The business was not as successful as planned, and Williams soon found himself owing more than $80,000 in taxes. By now his health had deteriorated to the point that he would sometimes be unable to perform. Each of the other four Temptations did what they could to help Williams, alternating between raiding and draining his alcohol stashes, personal interventions, and keeping oxygen tanks backstage, but Williams' health continued to decline and he refused to see a doctor.

Otis Williams and the other Temptations decided to resort to enlisting an on-hand fill-in for Paul Williams. Richard Street, then lead singer of fellow Motown act The Monitors and formerly lead singer of The Distants, was hired to travel with The Temptations and sing all of Williams' parts, save for Williams' special numbers such as "Don't Look Back" and "For Once in My Life", from behind a curtain. When Williams was too ill to go on, Street took his place onstage. In April 1971, Williams was finally persuaded to go see a doctor. The doctor found a spot on Williams' liver, and advised him to retire. Williams left the group and Street became his permanent replacement. In support of helping Williams get back on his feet, The Temptations kept Williams on their payroll as an advisor and choreographer, and Williams continued to help the group with routines and dance moves for the next two years.

Later years

By the spring of 1972, Eddie Kendricks reached out to Williams and helped him with his first track "Do Your Own Thing". After doing this track, he shifted his focus to home, helping to raise the last of his six children, Mary Agnes, who was born the same year. Now spending most of his time at home, Williams continued to be troubled by the subsequent ramifications of his affair, the failure of the boutique, and his worsening dependence on alcohol. By early 1973, Williams made his return to Motown's Hitsville USA recording studios, and began working on solo material.

Kendricks, who had quit the Temptations just before Williams himself left, produced and co-wrote Williams' first single, "Feel Like Givin' Up", which was to have been issued on Motown's Gordy imprint with "Once You Had a Heart" as its b-side. However, Motown decided to shelve the sides, and the single was not released.

Death and controversy

On August 17, 1973, Williams, age 34, was found on the ground near his car, dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot to the head, in a deserted parking lot near 14th Street and West Grand Blvd.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding Paul Williams' death caused many people, including the Williams family, to suspect (and continue to suspect) that some form of foul play was the actual cause of Williams' death. According to the coroner, Williams had used his right hand to shoot himself in the left side of his head. In addition, a bottle of alcohol was found near Williams' left side, as if he'd dropped it while being shot. Finally, the gun used in the shooting was found to have fired two shots, only one of which had killed Williams. Despite the unusual evidence, Williams had in fact previously expressed suicidal thoughts, and his death was officially ruled as being self-inflicted.

Paul Williams' funeral was held on August 24, with his family, friends, and former bandmates in attendance. It is rumored that Eddie Kendricks asked that Paul's coffin be opened and kissed his cheek at the gravesite part of the service. He was survived by his wife, Maxine Williams, and their six children: Sarita, Paula, Kenneth, Mary Agnes, Paul Jr., and Paul Lucas.

As a member of the Temptations, Paul Williams was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. Both of his solo recordings were later released by Motown on Temptations-related compilations in the 1980s and 1990s.

References

* Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square. ISBN 0-8154-1218-5.
* Williams-Perry, Paula. "The Official Paul Williams Home Page". Retrieved from http://members.aol.com/maaalumni/paul1.html on January 17, 2006.

External links

* [http://members.aol.com/maaalumni/paul1.html The Official Paul Williams Home Page] . Operated by his daughter Paula Williams-Perry, the executor of his estate.
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7380 Paul Williams' Gravesite]