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The Temptations Social Influence On Pop Culture

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The Tempting Temptations With classy dance moves, creative costumes, and smooth vocals, the Temptations were a popular music group during the 1960s. The small group from Detroit had a huge impact on modern society from addressing social issues such as racial injustice, to revolutionizing rhythm and blues music. As a group of five young men, the Temptations began their careers in Motown music where they became an influential quintet that changed the music and culture of the 1960s.
Members of the Temptations
Over time, members of the Temptations changed and evolved, with many diverse musicians coming and going. Paul Williams, Otis Williams, David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin, and Eddie Kendricks are considered to be the original members of the band, …show more content…

Due to these developments, the Temptations were faced with a larger problem; conforming to pop culture. Onstage, the Temptations were shaping the way artists would perform through dance and music styles. Off stage, however, the Temptations were forced to retain a celebrity personality and sex appeal (Cox 26). The Temptations also changed fashion as more men sought styles the group wore in public.
While the Tempts may have created a musical revolution with Motown, the group also rebelled against racism. The Temptations’ opinions on ethnic pride were reflected in many African-Americans, as the black community shifted to embracing their natural appearances. “Like African-American artists of decades before, they had started their career with “conked” or “processed” hairstyles, with their natural curls straightened and combed out to look like Caucasian hair. But in the mid-1960s, the Tempts, like many African-Americans, began to experiment by letting their hair grow in “naturals” or “Afros” (Cox 44). The Temptations also used their music in the 1970s to confront drug use and poverty. As the Temptations’ social opinions and style changed, as did their …show more content…

In their early years, the Temptations were a polished live performance with original dance moves and classic voices. Their dances were choreographed by Cholly Atkins, an experienced choreographer. “He perfected a style later called “vocal choreography”... Atkins had the raw material to make his routines more intricate than ever. His system was demanding. Otis Williams later said that learning an Atkins dance routine for a new act might take two or three weeks of rehearsing five or six hours a day” (Cox 37). This type of dancing became very popular with the public and many consider it to be the Temptations’

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