The Temptations • Phoenix Rising

On this day, Oct. 22, 1999, The Temptations earn their first platinum record in 20 years, when their 56th album, “Phoenix Rising” sells its millionth copy. Did you catch that? 56th album!

The Temptations are an American vocal group who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Record during the 1960s and 1970s. The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in all of popular music.

The album, “Phoenix Rising,” the Temptations' first million-selling album in over twenty years, features the hit single "Stay,” based on the group's 1965 hit “My Girl.” Although not commercially released as a single, "Stay" was a Top 30 R&B hit, peaking at # 28. The Temptations' Phoenix Rising was certified Platinum by the RIAA on November 15, 1999, later reaching Double Platinum status. "Stay" also peaked at # 1 on the Urban Adult Contemporary charts. Later singles "This Is My Promise" and "How Could He Hurt You" reached # 3 and # 5 respectively on the Urban AC charts as well.

Consider a few staggering numbers and stats regarding the success of this group: Over the course of time, the Temptations have earned three Grammy Awards. They were the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award – for "Cloud Nine" in 1969 – and in 2013 received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Six of the Temptations (Edwards, Franklin, Kendricks, Ruffin, Otis Williams and Paul Williams) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Three classic Temptations songs, "My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. The Temptations were ranked at number 68 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all time.

Thirty-seven of their singles made it to the Billboard Top 40 in the US, with four of them reaching # 1. On the R&B Singles chart, the group scored a record seventy-one Top 40 singles, with fourteen of those reaching # 1. They have sold more than 22 million albums. It is difficult to quantify total record sales only because Motown didn’t certify record sales in the 60s according to RIAA standards as most record labels did. In any case record sales were astronomical, and radio airplay continual.

I grew up listening to these guys. Lots of fond music memories! The surviving members and replacement members of the group are still in tact and still keeping the “brand” going now after 6 decades of endless creative energy. Check out their time tested sounds below and pretend you’re back in the 1960s when the Motown sound was everywhere.

——————————————————————————

The Temptations on Spotify:

Here is a Billboard history of Temptations hits: