Eddie Kendricks Biography

Eddie Kendricks was born as Edward James Kendrick on December 17, 1939, and died on October 5, 1992. he was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group The Temptations and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971.

His was the lead voice on such famous songs as “The Way You Do the Things You Do”, “Get Ready”, and “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)”. As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the number-one single “Keep on Truckin'”.

In Union Springs, Alabama is where Kendricks was born. The son of Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick. He had one sister, Patricia, and three brothers, Charles, Robert, and Clarence. His family moved to the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, where he met and began singing with his best friend Paul Williams in their church choir in the late 1940s.

In 1955, Kendricks, Williams, and friends Kell Osborne and Jerome Averette formed a doo-wop group called The Cavaliers and began performing around Birmingham. The group decided to move for better opportunities in their musical careers, and in 1957 the group moved to Cleveland, Ohio on E 123rd and Kinsman.

In Cleveland, they met manager Milton Jenkins, and soon moved with Jenkins to Detroit, Michigan, where the Cavaliers renamed themselves “The Primes.” Under Jenkins’ management, the Primes were successful in the Detroit area, eventually creating a female spin-off group called The Primettes.

In 1961, Osbourne moved to California, and the Primes disbanded. Kendricks and Paul Williams joined forces with members Otis Williams and Melvin “Blue” Franklin of Otis Williams and the Distance after three members quit and became The Elgins, who on the same day changed their name to “The Temptations” and signed to Motown.

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10 Quick Facts About Eddie Kendricks

1. Name: Eddie Kendricks
2. Age:52 years
3. Birthday: December 17
4. Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
5. Height:6 feet 1 inch
6. Nationality: American
7. Occupation: songwriter
8. Marital Status: married
9. Salary: Under Review
10. Net worth:$5 Million

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Kendricks Age

Eddie Kendricks was 52 years when he died. born and died(December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992).

Eddie Kendricks Height

Eddie Kendricks had a height of 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m) and he weighed 54kg.

Eddie Kendricks Children

Eddie Kendricks had three children that are Parris Kendrick (son), Aika Kendrick(daughter), and Paul Kendrick (son).

Eddie Kendricks wife

Eddie Kendricks was married to a woman named Patricia until 1975 when they divorced. They had one son together. Eddie had three children altogether, sons Parris and Paul, and daughter, Aika.

According to some sources, he was in an on-again, off-again relationship with singer Diana Ross that had started when he was still affiliated with The Primes.

Eddie Kendricks Death

In late 1991, Kendricks, by now living in his native Birmingham, Alabama, underwent surgery to have one of his lungs removed in hopes of preventing the spread of cancer. He continued to tour through the summer of 1992 when he fell ill again and was hospitalized.

Kendricks died of lung cancer in Birmingham on October 5, 1992, at age 52. He was survived by his three children: Parris, Aika, and Paul Kendricks. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama.

Eddie Kendricks Of The Temptations

For Mary Wells, the Temptations started their singing background. The Temptations rapidly became the most effective male vocal group in the 1960s after an original dry period. Despite being technically the first tenor in the group’s harmony, Kendricks sang predominantly in a falsetto voice.

Among the Temptations songs Kendricks sang lead on were “Dream Come True” (1962), the group’s first charting single; “The Way You Do the Things You Do” (1964), the group’s first US Top 20 hit; “I’ll Be in Trouble” (1964); “The Girl’s Alright With Me” (1964), a popular b-side that Kendricks co-wrote; “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)” (1964); “Get Ready” (1966); “Please Return Your Love to Me” (1968); and “Just My Imagination” (1971).

He was also allowed to sing a few leads in his natural voice such as “May I Have This Dance” (1962). He shared lead vocal duty on other records, including “You’re My Everything” (1967) (shared with David Ruffin), and a long string of Norman Whitfield produced psychedelic soul records where all five Temptations sang lead, such as the Grammy winner “Cloud Nine” (1968), “I Can’t Get Next to You” (1969), and “Ball of Confusion” (1970).

He also leads on “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” (1968), a popular duet with Diana Ross and the Supremes, and on the Temptations’ famous version of the Christmas classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1968).

In the Temptations, Kendricks was responsible for creating most of the group’s vocal arrangements, and also served as wardrobe manager, including the now-famous purple suits the group wore for one performance.

Though Whitfield had chief responsibility for writing, Kendricks co-wrote and received credit for several Temptations songs apart from “The Girl’s Alright With Me” including “Isn’t She Pretty” (1961) and “Don’t Send Me Away” (1967).

His favorite food was cornbread, and as a result, he was nicknamed “Cornbread” by his groupmates. According to Otis Williams, Kendricks romantically pursued Diana Ross, lead singer of the Supremes, and he was said to have been close friends with Martha Reeves of the Vandellas. In her second book, Supreme Faith, Supremes singer Mary Wilson writes that she and Kendricks were lovers “briefly,” but remained close friends.

Kendricks remained in the group through the rest of the decade, but a number of issues began to push him away from it in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was uncomfortable with singing the psychedelic style that Whitfield was now crafting for the group as opposed to the romantic ballads they had sung under the direction of Smokey Robinson; his friend Paul Williams was often too ill to perform with the group; and Kendricks often found himself at odds with bandmates Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. As he grew away from the group, Kendricks began to rekindle his friendship with ex-Temptation David Ruffin, who convinced him to leave.

In a 1991 interview with a Chicago television series called Urban Street, Kendricks said he had actually considered leaving the group as early as 1965, even though that was when the band was finally starting to take off, because of things that “weren’t quite proper.” He explained that they were working with people that “didn’t have their best interests at heart.”

Kendricks, however, initially decided to stay in the group because he was worried he would not get the support he needed if he left. He also stated that his relationship with Berry Gordy was less than cordial. “Berry Gordy is a man I don’t know, I only met him about three times,” he said, but “I know he didn’t particularly care for me,” Kendricks stated that he did not agree with many decisions that were made.

Following one final altercation with Williams and Franklin during a run at the Copacabana nightclub in November 1970, Kendricks walked off after the first night and didn’t return, and it was mutually decided he would leave the group.

While working on his first solo album, Kendricks recorded one last hit single with the Temptations, 1971’s “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)”. By the time the record reached #1 on the US pop charts in April 1971, Kendricks had signed a solo deal with Motown’s Tamla imprint and was preparing the release of his first solo album, All By Myself. However, many of his problems with Motown would reoccur.

Eddie Kendricks Songs

1. My Girl
2. Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone
3. Just My Imagination
4. Keep on Truckin’

5. Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
6. Girl, You Need a Change of Mind
7. Get Ready
8. I’m Losing You

9. Intimate Friends
10. Shoeshine Boy
11. I Wish It Would Rain
12. Ball of Confusion

13. I Can’t Get Next To You
14. Since I Lost My Baby
15. Date With the Rain
16. Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

17. Tell Her Love Has Felt the Need
18. I Want a Love I Can See
19. Boogie Down
20. Just Memories

21. I Did It All for You
22. Standing on the Top
23. The Way You Do the Things You Do
24. Runaway Child, Running Wild

25. I Could Never Love Another
26. Oh, Mother of Mine
27. Happy

28. It’s Summer
29. Silent Night
30. Heavenly
31. Skippin’ Work Today

Eddie Kendricks Albums

1. He’s a Friend 1976
2. Ruffin & Kendrick 1987
3. Boogie Down! 1974
4. Goin’ Up in Smoke 1976

5. People … Hold On 1972
6. All by Myself 1971
7. Slick 1977
8. Vintage 1978

9. Eddie Kendricks 1973
10. The Hit Man 1975
11. Love Keys 1981
12. The Thin Man: The Motown Solo Albums Vol. 2 (2006)
13. For You 1974

14. Something More 1979
15. Temptations Live! 1967
16. The Temptations Sing Smokey 1965
17. Puzzle People 1969

18. The Essential Evelyn “Champagne” King 2015
19. Something More (Expanded Edition) 1979
20. Movie Moods: In The Twilight – 12 Supernatural Movie Themes Featuring Piano And Orchestra 2011

21. At His Best 1978
22. Motown Remixed 2005
23. The Ultimate Collection: Eddie Kendricks 1998
24. The Eddie Kendricks Collection, Volume 1 (2005)

25. Motown: The Complete No. 1’s 2008
26. Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection Volume 2 1972–1992 (1993)
27. 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best of Eddie Kendricks 2000

28. Motown Disco 2005
29. The Ultimate Motown Christmas Collection 2009
30. The Legacy of Disco 2015
31. The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 12A: 1972(2013)

32. The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 11B: 1971(2008)
33. The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 12B: 1972 (2013)
34. Late Night Motown 2006

35. Motown Salutes Bacharach 2002
36. A Classic Motown Christmas 2014
37. Motown #1’s Vol. 2 ( International version ) 2007
38. Greatest Hits 1966

39. Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations 1968
40. Classic Motown 2006
41. The Best of Temptations 2002
42. 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: Best Of Motown 1970s, Vol. 1
2001

43. Motown Remixed & Unmixed 2005
44. Funked!: Volume 1 1970 – 1973 (2001)

Eddie Kendricks And David Ruffin

Singer Eddie Kendricks got a rude surprise when he went to Detroit for the funeral of colleague David Ruffin. Kendricks, who lived in Marietta, Ga., was arrested in church for non-payment of $26,000 in child support.

Wayne County sheriff’s deputies told Kendricks shortly before the services began at New Bethel Baptist Church that they had a warrant for his arrest. Kendricks was allowed to participate in Ruffin’s funeral services. Afterward, he was picked up by deputies and taken before Wayne County Circuit Judge Marvin Stempien.

Kendricks and his former wife, Patricia, were divorced in 1975 in Detroit. He was ordered to pay her $25,000 and make child-support payments for their son. In 1982, Kendricks was sentenced by a Wayne County circuit judge to 60 days in jail unless he paid $5,000 to a court-appointed receiver in his divorce case. Kendricks complied with the order.

Kendricks and Ruffin were members of the original Temptations, Motown’s first major male singing group, in the 1960s. Ruffin left the group in 1968 and Kendricks left in 1971. Ruffin died of an accidental drug overdose in Philadelphia on June 1.

 

Eddie Measurements and Facts

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Eddie  Kendricks Wiki

• Full Names: Eddie Kendricks
• Popular As: songwriter
• Gender: Male
• Occupation / Profession: American
• Nationality: songwriter
• Race / Ethnicity:  Not Available
• Religion:  Not Known
• Sexual Orientation: Straight or Gay

Eddie Kendricks Birthday

• Age / How Old?:52 years
• Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
• Date of Birth: December 17, 1939;
• Place of Birth: Union Springs, Alabama, United States
• Birthday: December 17

Eddie Kendricks Body Measurements

• Body Measurements: Not Available
• Height / How Tall?:6 feet 1 inch
• Weight: Not Known
• Eye Color:  Not Available
• Hair Color: Brown – Dark.
• Shoe Size: Not Available
• Dress Size: Not Available
• Breast Size:  Not Available
• Waist Size: Not Available
• Hip Size:  Not Available

Eddie Kendricks Family and Relationship

• Father (Dad):  Not Known
• Mother:  Not Known
• Siblings (Brothers and Sisters):  Not Known
• Marital Status: Married
• Wife/Spouse or Husband/Spouse: Married
• Dating / Girlfriend or Dating / Boyfriend: Engaged
• Children: Sons

Eddie Kendricks’s Net Worth and Salary

• Net Worth:  Under Review
• Salary:  Under Review
• Source of Income: Under Review

Frequently Asked Questions About Eddie Kendricks

Who is Eddie Kendricks

Eddie Kendricks was a famous American singer and songwriter.

How old is Eddie Kendricks

Eddie was an American national born on December 17, 1939. He died at an age of 52 years on died on October 5, 1992.

Is Eddie Kendricks married?

Yes, Eddie was married to Patricia until 1975 when they divorced.

How much is Eddie Kendricks worth?

Eddie had an approximate net worth of $2 million as of his death in 1992.

Is dead or alive?

Eddie is dead, he died on October 5, 1992.

Eddie Kendricks Contacts

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• Website

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