The extraordinarily long game of Otis Williams of The Temptations

OPINION: The last surviving member of The Temptations’ original lineup apparently took one of Black America’s favorite quotes personally. 

Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve watched “The Temptations,” a mini-series that ran during my sophomore year of college in 1998 that chronicles the beginnings, successes and end of one of my favorite singing groups ever, The Temptations. The Temptations are, of course, the legendary Motown group that brought us some of Motown’s most-known classics like “My Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” “Ball of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today),” and my personal favorite, “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” among many, many others. You know songs by The Temptations even if you don’t know that you know songs by The Temptations. Their songs have been covered by a range of artists, featured in movies and sung by choirs. And if you are Black you absolutely know their version of “Silent Night.” It’s … The Temptations. 

The original lineup of the group is its most famous — David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams. And once the group had their issues with David Ruffin, Dennis Edwards joined and that six is who most of us know and can name by heart. “The Temptations” mini-series stayed on repeat in my house once it came out on VHS. My Spelman sister bought me the VHS, and I let that tape rock until that tape popped. And then I got the DVD once we all moved past VCRs. Between “The Five Heartbeats” and “The Temptations,” I probably watched one or the other every single day for years, and I’m not exaggerating. 

“The Temptations” took on a life of its own when social media put the world in a chokehold. There are several scenes in the film that are perfect for visually expressing any number of human situations. One of the internet’s favorites, though, is where Otis Williams (Charles Malik Whitfield) and Melvin Franklin (D.B. Woodside) go speak to David Ruffin (Leon) about his shenanigans and why they’re putting him out of the group. Otis points out that nobody is above the group and that nobody is coming to see David, they’re coming to see The Temptations to which David responds, “Ain’t nobody coming to see you, Otis!” Those seven words have become legend. As a point of note, Otis Williams (the actual member of The Temptations) is one of the executive producers of the mini-series. 

I watched the series again (it’s really just a movie at this point) because it had been a while, and when it got to that scene, I laughed as I always do but then I had a realization: If you are going to see The Temptations at this point, you are actually going to see Otis since he is the last surviving member — at age 82 — of the original lineup of The Temptations. Paul Williams died in 1973. David Ruffin died in 1991 followed by Eddie Kendricks in 1992. Melvin Franklin passed away in 1995. I would imagine those ’90s were really rough on Otis and all fans of the group. Dennis Edwards would eventually pass away in 2018, leaving Otis Williams to currently be the last living original member and one of the reasons you’d want to see The Temptations. 

Music

Of course, they’ve had tons of lineup changes with members in and out of the group; they’ve been touring for six decades now. But all of the people that were the draw on the vast majority of the songs that we know and love from The Temptations canon, well, Otis is the only person still alive on those records. I’m not saying he outlived everybody else out of spite, but I am saying that Otis’ long game is impressive. Especially when the mini-series was released, Otis and Dennis were the only guys left. He essentially had to outlive Dennis for another 20 years just to be able to say, “Finally, they’re coming purely to see me, Otis.” 

By all accounts, Otis Williams seems like a great chap. I’ve listened to countless interviews with him, and he’s a great storyteller and speaks highly of all of the members of the group. But I wonder if he ever, in the quiet of a room by himself before they go on stage, says to himself, “They’re coming to see Otis tonight.” I know I would. Perhaps he has good genes. Perhaps he has eaten healthy for decades and that’s kept him alive. I’m sure it’s a combination of luck, healthy habits and the life he’s chosen to lead. But after watching Michael Jordan’s documentary, “The Last Dance” where we learned about the supreme competitiveness and pettiness of Michael Jordan, you do have to wonder if, on occasion, these guys whose talent and drive prove they’re built different have points to prove and can’t rest until they do. 

Sure, “Ain’t nobody coming to see you, Otis” is a line from a series, but it took on a life of its own. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve said it to people I know and random strangers. It’s part of Black pop culture. I wonder if Otis didn’t outlive them all just to prove that David was wrong. Who knows if David ever said that (save for Otis)? Either way, Otis William is still around, touring and performing and if you are going to see The Temptations in 2024 …

… you are definitely going to see Otis. 

Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).