Safe to say that Temptations management looks at this forum

Something pretty big happened yesterday on their IG page. They acknowledged Ricky Owens birthday and even said "once a temptation, always a temptation"

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6KK06oS-te/?hl=en

I believe this is the first time that the Temptations brand has acknowledged Ricky like this. Otis himself of course mentioned him in a negative way in his book and I believe he mentioned him in his linear notes for Temptations 60 but to see this mention from the brand and in such a positive way is really nice. I just don't think this is a coincidence given how much of a topic Ricky has been here at the moment. Very nice to see Ricky getting some love.

WOW, Otis must be getting more mellow in his old age ...

I have to say I think they had no choice in letting him go. He had the voice and the looks but lacked the macho-ism it takes to be a Temptation.

Can't agree. The group was in turmoil when he joined. They weren't doing many live shows; Eddie was gone; Paul was on his way out; Otis injured himself & missed shows ...
all in all, it must have been hard for Ricky to find his feet in all that chaos ..
Eddies last show as a Temptation was in Pittsburgh ... at the time the group's big hit was "Just My Imagination" which featured Eddie on lead vocals ... so when Ricky Owens took Eddie's place & sang lead on the song, it was not a popular change with the fans ...Attachment 21365

National Record Mart in Pittsburgh, PA. That brings back some good memories. Does anyone know the rise and fall of the NRM? Would be interesting to know.

I know a bit about the chain. Flourishing in the 70's, they expanded and opened new stores all over. The Pittsburgh one seemed to be the local 'go to' store for live show tickets as they sold them for gigs in a number of local venues. Loke many record chains, they started to struggle as CD's were introduced. Store closures followed before the brand went under,

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Originally Posted by jsmith

I know a bit about the chain. Flourishing in the 70's, they expanded and opened new stores all over. The Pittsburgh one seemed to be the local 'go to' store for live show tickets as they sold them for gigs in a number of local venues. Loke many record chains, they started to struggle as CD's were introduced. Store closures followed before the brand went under,

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Well remembered, JSmith. When I worked for Billboard, I went to one of the NRM conventions one year. During an afternoon break, I drove to nearby Jonestown and found a local indie record store — which had a copy of Tamla 101, “Come To Me.” Couldn’t believe my luck.

A RELATED QUESTION ... to this thread about Temptations members back in the day ....
David Ruffin started off performing / touring as a member of the Dixie Nightingales. He then made the change to secular music as the drummer with the Voice Masters.
Do any pictures of him with either outfit exist ?