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The first and only definitive biography of legendary Motown group, the Temptations
The Temptations are an incomparable soul group, with dozens of chart-topping hits such as My Girl and Papa Was a Rollin Stone. From the sharp suits, stylish choreography, and distinctive vocals that epitomized their onstage triumphs to the personal failings and psycho-dramas that played out behind the scenes, Ain't Too Proud to Beg tells the complete story of this most popular—and tragic—of all Motown super groups.
Based on in-depth research and interviews with founding Temptations member Otis Williams and many others, the book reveals the highly individual, even mutually antagonistic, nature of the group's members. Venturing beyond the money and the fame, it shares the compelling tale of these sometime allies, sometime rivals and reveals the unique dynamic of push and pull and give and take that resulted in musical genius.
- The first book to tell the whole story of Motown's greatest group, with all-new interviews and previously undiscovered sources and photographs
- Gives the last word on enduring Motown mysteries, including the deaths of Paul Williams and David Ruffin and the truth behind Ruffin's tumultuous romance with Tammi Terrell
- Reveals the secret "can't miss" formula behind the Temptations' thirty-seven chart hits
- Draws on more than one hundred interviews with the group's associates, industry figures, family members, and most importantly, founding Temptation Otis Williams
Ain't Too Proud to Beg takes a cohesive and penetrating look at the life and enduring legacy of one of the greatest groups in popular music. It is essential reading for fans of the Temptations, music lovers, and anyone interested in the history of American popular culture over the last fifty years.
- Sales Rank: #490268 in eBooks
- Published on: 2010-09-14
- Released on: 2010-09-14
- Format: Kindle eBook
From the Inside Flap
They are pure Motown royalty and the most successful African-American recording goup in history. During their long and brilliant run, the Temptations have sold twenty-five million records and produced seventeen Top 40 pop hits (four No. 1 hits), seventy-one Top 40 R&B hits (fourteen No. 1 hits) and fifty-two albums. And, like all royalty, they have had more than their share of triumphs, tragedies and family feuds.
In Ain't Too Proud to Beg, New York Times Notable Book author Mark Ribowsky takes a cohesive and penetrating look at the enduring legacy of one of the greatest groups in popular music. He examines the lives of the Temptations' many members and takes you behind the scenes to discover the truth behind the major events of the group's Motown prime, from 1961 to 1974.
Ribowsky draws on in-depth research and probing new interviews with well-known Motown veterans, famly members, and friends to create accurate and compelling portraits of complex, sometimes troubled–yet always talented–personalities. He traces the group's history from its pre-Motown years, through the glory days of “My Girl” and “Just My Imagination,” to their pioneering and immensely popular early funk recordings, including “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Cloud Nine.” Venturing beyond the money and the fame, he tells a powerful true story of sometime allies, sometime rivals and reveals the unique push-and-pull, give-and-take dynamic that resulted in musical genius.
From the sharp suits, stylish choreography and distinctive vocals that epitomized their onstage triumphs to the personal failings and psychodramas that have played out behind the scenes, Ribowsky tells the whole story of this most popular—and tragic—of all Motown supergroups. You'll discover the truth behind the deaths of David Ruffin and Paul Williams, Ruffin's tumultuous romance with Tammi Terrell and the secret “can't miss” formula that generated dozens of Temptations hits. You'll also hear plenty from the line that connects all of these dots: Temptations founder and only surviving member Otis Williams. Including photos of the Temptations then and now, Ain't Too Proud to Beg is the definitive biography of Motown's brightest stars. It is essential reading for Temptation's fans, Motown lovers and anyone interested in the history of American popular culture over the last fifty years.
From the Back Cover
Praise for Mark Ribowsky
"A dishy, insider look at Berry Gordy's making of the Supremes…Ribowsky nicely intersperses some hindsight reflections by the main players…In this engaging, vivacious account, Ribowksy energetically and thoroughly underscores the Supremes' significance as one fo the first crossover successes."
—Publishers Weekly on The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success and Betrayal
"Perfect…The virtue of Ribowsky's book is that he brings the story down to earth without sacrificing its drama. Relying on frank and extensive interviews…Ribowsky spends time on details other writers have taken for granted."
—Greil Marcus on He's a Rebel: Phil Spector—Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer
"Ribowksy's exploration of Wonder's music is first-rate."
—Publishers Weekly on Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Soulful Journey of Stevie Wonder
The Definitive Biography of Motown's Greatest Group–The Temptations
Based on in-depth research and interviews with fouding Temptations member Otis Williams, family members, industry figures and others, Ain't Too Proud to Beg takes a penetrating look at the lives and enduring legacy of Motown's all-time bestselling group. Whether you're a Temptations fan, a Motown aficionado or a pop-culture buff, you must read this book.
About the Author
Mark Ribowsky is the New York Times Notable Book author of The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal, He's a Rebel: Phil Spector—Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer, Don't Look Back: Stachel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball, and Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Soulful Journey of Stevie Wonder. He has written for SPORT magazine and Inside Sports, was a staff writer for TV Guide, and has been a semi-regular contributor to Playboy and Penthouse. Mr. Ribowsky has been a guest on Dateline NBC, Primetime Live (ABC), Connie Chung, Geraldo Rivera, The Tavis Smiley Show, and many other network and cable TV shows. He lives in New York.
Most helpful customer reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
Could Have Been Better
By James A. Holland
Ok so overall this was a great read. Being a long time Tempts fan I knew about most of the things presented in this book but there were some things, such as David Ruffins' childhood and Paul Williams' death that were new to me.
Now, my main problem with this book wasn't accuracy but the fact that it's relatively short at just under 300 pages of actual reading material, and that the author focused too much of that material on relatively inconsequential facts such as the exact instrumentation and length of each of the Tempts greatest hits. I mean, who cares if "Papa was a rolling stone" was 12 minutes long and consisted of this or that instrument or groove???!!!
I also feel that the author totally missed the point in presenting the Tempts in their proper historical perspective. He never explained why the Tempts were so important to both black as well as pop music and how they've changed music history.
I would have liked to know more about David Ruffin the man but here too the book falls short. At times one isn't sure if the author loved or hated Ruffin because he seems to take an almost personal position in discussing Ruffin, going so far as to call him a cowart. This coming form someone who never once even saw David Ruffin in real life, much less knew him well enough to make such a derogatory statement.
I do agree with other reviewers that this is very much another Otis Williams product. His is the only real voice of narration throughout the book and his views and memories are too often presented not as just that, but rather as irrefutable fact.
I don't regret buying this book but I still can't help but wish that it had been deeper in context and content.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
Just Mark's Imagination
By doublefantasy
This book is highly flawed, and a big disappointment. A giant "citation needed" warning needs to placed over the entire thing, with much of the information presented seeming to conform to Mark Ribowsky's own biases, and very little evidence in most cases of where often wild claims originated.
Sadly, Otis Williams' perspective reigns supreme, with Ruffin and Kendricks yet again getting the shaft. Their perspectives, available through many interviews they gave during their lifetimes, are either ignored or outright dismissed in the most condescending way possible, while Otis' word is too frequently taken as gospel. David and Eddie's relationship with each other is denigrated, and their more frequently than not legitimate complaints regarding Motown are mocked. (Rather strangely, as in every instance other than when Ruffin or Kendricks have a problem, Motown business management is rightly portrayed in a highly cynical light.) Kendricks is cruelly accused of "shamelessly exploiting" his best friend Paul Williams' depression and alcoholism, portrayed as Ruffin's puppet instead of his own freethinking person with his own legitimate complaints, mocked for his addiction to cigarettes, and little given his due as one of history's greatest soul singers. Meanwhile, Ruffin's feet are held to the fire for every infraction throughout his life EXCEPT for the one that is most unforgivable -- his violence against women.
Another huge letdown is how the author wasted his access to Dennis Edwards, failing to verify stories with him or gain alternate accounts where they certainly would have been relevant. As he was close with both Ruffin and Kendricks, and is usually honest yet sympathetic when discussing them, Edwards' perspective could have provided a real balancing of the book. Sadly, he is very rarely quoted, and his own role within the group is marginalized, as though Otis and Melvin were the real driving forces behind the Tempts' success.
But most inexcusable of all was the brief yet astoundingly horrific treatment of Tammi Terrell. Ribowsky generally gives off the impression of not exactly liking women -- all women present in this book are shrews, servants, or sluts -- and goes out of his way to vilify Terrell and blame her for David Ruffin's extraordinary violence against her. With no evidence other than that Tammi was not sufficiently docile and submissive for Ribowsky's taste, Ruffin and Terrell are portrayed as more or less on equal footing, each giving as good as they got. Tammi talked back, David beat the snot of her -- all even, apparently. Terrell's personality is explained as the cause of Ruffin's abuse; indeed, the abuse is called a "consequence" of the fact that she liked sex, drank, and swore. It is misogynistic to the extreme, and likely to be particularly upsetting to women who are survivors of intimate partner violence. The author and the editors should all be ashamed of themselves on this count. This book only offers the "truth" behind David and Tammi's relationship if your version of the "truth" depends on centuries old victim-blaming that says women who are abused by their male partners must have somehow deserved it.
The highlight of the book is its beginning -- the information about each individual Tempt's start is invaluable, and, in the cases of Eddie, Paul, and David, largely previously unavailable. This early section, the only one which is well-sourced, provides charming anecdotes and background; it would have been lovely if the rest of the book had been as endearing and evenhanded. This, along with the fact that Ribowsky successfully convinced Otis Williams to expand on the stories he told in his own book and drop the self-censorship, is why my star rating ranks as high as it does.
The Tempts were all highly flawed individuals. Their stories deserve equal telling, their words deserve equal weight, and their lives and actions deserve both equal sympathy and an equally critical stance. The biased handling in which only some members are taken seriously, only some are held accountable, and nowhere can these two groups overlap, is lazy, boring, and often offensive. The Temptations most certainly deserve a better treatment than this, one which we can hope is still forthcoming.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
David Ruffin bio with a side of Tempations
By saint james
There are some anecdotal stories in this book that heretofore were unknown by the general public like Ruffin's father being a "pervert" or Melvin Franklin's tendency to prevaricate. This book is not unlike the Otis Williams' book on the Temptations. I got tired of reading Williams' name as a reference though I will admit that being the sole survivor of the famed quintet made that necessary. We really learn very little from Ribowsky about most of the other original Tempts with the notable exception of David Ruffin. I was disappointed in the lack of real, detailed insight into Eddie Kendricks or Melvin Franklin. The information about Ruffin's relationship with Tammi Terrell was information that was suprising and shocking. Ruffin's entry into the Temptations, his rivalry with is brother, his ego, drug addled absences from shows, etc., took of the vast majority of the book, in my estimation. The most truly tragic Temptation was Paul Williams who died too early, a frustrated performer, eclisped by Ruffin, stifled by illness and alcoholism. This book offered no more clarity on Paul's suicide than has been offered for the past 30 plus years. Suspicious relatives, angry criminally involved brothers and lingering doubts do not a conspiriacy theory make. Suicide it is.
This book gives us more insight into how the music was made and the group's reactions to it than insight into the characters of the original group. I suppose that is what other fans of the group wanted. I didn't. I wanted to know about the men who sang the music; much more than what was offered.
This authors' unecessary snipes at Diana Ross and Berry Gordy were tasteless. His vulgar reference to a full length white mink coat upon which they allegedly were intimate was so out of place. In fact little snipes at Ross throughout the book are ill placed and seem to reveal an agenda that should be fulfilled in another forum.
I will keep the book as part of my Motown cadre of biographies but I doubt that I'll re-enter the pages again. Buy it used.
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