Vintage '78 Eddie Kendricks

• 1How's Your Life Baby04:09
• 2The Best of Strangers Now03:49
• 3Don't Underestimate the Power of Love04:26
• 4Ain't No Smoke Without Fire06:09
• 5If It Takes All Night04:09
• 6One of the Poorest People04:14
• 7Whip04:00
• 8Your Wish Is My Command04:07
• 9Maybe I'm a Fool to Love You04:02
• 10Love, Love, Love02:41
• Total Runtime41:46

Info for Vintage '78

It's nearing the end of the 70s and Eddie's still goin' strong, with another LP of sophisticated soul. By this point, Eddie's already shown he can groove smooth and mellow, or pop along nicely with a dancefloor oriented groove, which he manages to do in stride here, his light voice meshing nicely with crisp arrangements. With 'The Best Of Strangers Now', 'Don't Underestimate The Power Of Love', 'Ain't No Smoke Without A Fire' and 'Maybe I'm A Fool To Love You'.

Eddie Kendricks, vocals, background vocals
Jeff Mironov, guitar
Lance Quinn, guitar
Gene Bianco, harp
Joseph Malignaggi, violin
Guy Lumia, violin
Robert Rozek, violin
Noel DaCosta, violin
Regis Iandiorio, violin
Gene Orloff, violin
Michael Markman, violin
Teddy Isreal, viola
Harry Zaratzian, viola
Richard Maximoff, viola
Seymour Barab, cello
Jesse Levy, cello
Eugene J. Moye, cello
Kermit Moore, cello
Mauricio Smith, flute
Daniel Trimboli, flute
Harold Jones, flute
George Marge, English horn
Marsha Heller, English horn
Romeo Penque, English horn
Joe Palmer, bassoon
James Sedlar, trumpet
Victor Paz, trumpet
Brooks Tillotson, French horn
Joe DiAngelis, French horn
Ray Alonge, French horn
Santo Russo, trombone
Robert Alexander, trombone
Harry DiVito, trombone
Paul Faulise, bass trombone
Don Butterfield, tuba
Pat Rebillot, Fender Rhodes piano
Dave Carey, vibraphone, timbales
Bob Cranshaw, bass
Andrew Smith, drums
Barbara Massey, background vocals
Norma Garbo, background vocals
Yolanda McCullough, background vocals
Christine Wiltshire, background vocals
Maretha Stewart, background vocals
Yvonne Lewis, background vocals
Hilda Harris, background vocals

Recorded at Blank Tapes; Music Farm and Sound Palace, New York, NY
Engineered by Dom Um Romao, Eddie Youngblood, Patrick Adams, Peter Robbins
Produced by Jeff Lane, Patrick Adams

Digitally remastered

Eddie Kendricks
Known for both his years with the Temptations and his major solo hits of the 1970s, Eddie Kendricks was among the many soul legends who did his part to put Motown Records on the map. The expressive vocalist (who often sang in a falsetto) grew up in Birmingham, AL, but it was Motown's original home of Detroit that made him a star. Kendricks was still living in Alabama in the late '50s, when he formed the Primes with Kell Osborne and Temptation-to-be Paul Williams. After moving from Alabama to Detroit, the Primes caught the attention of a Motor City group known as the Distants (whose members included Tempations-to-be Otis Williams, Elbridge Bryant, and Melvin Franklin). The Primes broke up after being together only a few years, and the Temptations (originally known as the Elgins) were formed when, in 1961, members of the Primes and the Distants came together. With a lineup that included former Primes Kendricks and Paul Williams and former Distants Otis Williams (who was unrelated to Paul), Melvin Franklin, and Elbridge Bryant, the Temptations signed with the little-known Motown subsidiary Miracle. The Temptations (who went through many personnel changes over the years) didn't become successful right away, but by the mid-'60s, they had become huge thanks to such smashes as "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "My Girl."

The Temptations enjoyed one mega-hit after another in the mid-to-late '60s, and they were still tremendously popular when Kendricks left to pursue a solo a career in 1971 (the year he sang lead on their hit "Just My Imagination"). Many Temptations fans questioned the wisdom of Kendricks leaving such a successful group, but Kendricks proved to be quite viable as a solo act thanks to early-'70s singles like "Keep on Truckin'" (a number one R&B hit) and "Boogie Down" (which went to number two on the soul charts). Other noteworthy solo hits followed, including "Shoeshine Boy," "Get the Cream Off the Top," and "Happy" in 1975 and "He's a Friend" in 1976. Most of his solo albums came out on Motown, although Kendricks recorded Something More for Arista in 1979 and Love Keys for Atlantic in 1981. By that time, Kendricks' popularity had decreased considerably. The singer wasn't heard from that much in the 1980s, but he did participate in the Artists United Against Apartheid's Sun City project in 1985 and recorded with another former Temptation, David Ruffin, as a duo for RCA in 1988.

Sadly, the 1990s would see the premature deaths of no less than three former members of the Temptations. First, Ruffin died of a cocaine overdose in 1991, followed by the deaths of Kendricks in 1992 and Melvin Franklin (from a brain seizure) in 1995. (Tragedy was nothing new to Temptations members, for Paul Williams had committed suicide back in 1973). Kendricks was only 52 when he died of lung cancer in his native Birmingham on October 5, 1992.

Booklet for Vintage '78