The Temptations, often referred to as American Music Royalty, are celebrating their 60th\u202fAnniversary. To mark this milestone, they have released a brand-new album,\u202f<\/span>Temptations 60,<\/span><\/i>\u202fwith nearly all-original songs. Plus, they are touring across the United States in 2022 and abroad this fall.<\/span><\/p>\n The Temptations\u2019 heritage, influence, and contributions to not only American culture and African American communities but also to the global music landscape are monumental. The influence they had on mainstream and global artists, such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and others, is undeniable.<\/span><\/p>\n Ranked #1 in <\/span>Billboard\u202f<\/span><\/i>magazine\u2019s most recent list of the \u201cGreatest R&B\/Hip-Hop Artists of All Time,\u201d The Temptations also appear in the magazine\u2019s 125th\u202fAnniversary list of the \u201c125 Greatest of All Time Artists.\u201d In addition,\u202f<\/span>Rolling Stone\u202f<\/span><\/i>magazine named the group among the \u201c100 Greatest Artists of All Time.\u201d In September of 2020, editors of\u202f<\/span>Rolling Stone<\/span><\/i>\u202fmagazine commented that The Temptations are \u201cIndisputably the greatest black vocal group of the Modern Era\u201d and listed the group\u2019s\u202f<\/span>Anthology<\/span><\/i>\u202falbum among the \u201c500 Greatest Albums of All Time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Temptations <\/span>have been awarded five Grammys\u00ae\u2014including the Recording Academy\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award\u2014 and they have an additional nine Grammy\u00ae nominations. <\/span>They garnered Motown\u2019s first Grammy\u00ae in 1969 for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance by a Duo or Group, Vocal or Instrumental, for their song \u201cCloud Nine.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, The Temptations were considered trailblazers in the 1960s, leading the way not only for themselves but also for other R&B artists, and successfully reaching mainstream audiences in the United States and abroad during their meteoric rise to fame. In 1965, the group\u2019s bestselling single \u201cMy Girl\u201d hit #1 on\u202f<\/span>Billboard\u2019s<\/span><\/i>\u202fHot 100 chart, and in 2018, the hit was inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. They were among the first African American musical artists to crossover into mainstream America and appear on popular, national television programs, such as\u202f<\/span>The Ed Sullivan Show<\/span><\/i> and\u202f<\/span>The Hollywood Palace<\/span><\/i>. At the time, this was an unparalleled accomplishment for African American entertainers.<\/span><\/p>\n The group\u2019s 60-year history spans the 20th\u202fand 21st\u202fcenturies, and their music transcends generations. The Temptations\u2019 story is a road map through American history. What began in Detroit, when a remarkable combination of soulful voices united, was the genesis of an epic journey that introduced multiple superstars to the world and produced some of the greatest music of our era.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Otis Williams<\/span><\/b> He became interested in music as a teenager and put together a number of musical groups in his youth before he, along with his friends Elbridge “Al” Bryant and Melvin Franklin, were signed to Motown in March 1961 as The Temptations. During The Temptations’ rise in fame, the group’s lineup changes were so frequent, stressful, and troublesome that Williams and Franklin promised each other they would never quit the group. Franklin would remain in the group until 1994, when he became physically incapable of continuing. He died on February 23, 1995, leaving Williams, then 53, as the last surviving original member of The Temptations.<\/span><\/p>\n In 1988, Williams\u2019s critically acclaimed autobiography,\u202f<\/span>Temptations<\/span><\/i>, written with\u202f<\/span>The New York Times<\/span><\/i>\u202fbestselling author Patricia Romanowski, was published nationally. The book went on to become the source for both the Emmy<\/span> \u00ae<\/span>-winning 1998 television miniseries\u202f<\/span>The\u202fTemptations<\/span><\/i>\u202fand the 2019 smash hit Broadway musical\u202f<\/span>Ain\u2019t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations<\/span><\/i>, with Tony Award<\/span>\u00ae<\/span>-winning choreography and Grammy\u00ae-winning music.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While the group has evolved over the years, Williams has continued to lead the group and carry the torch forward for the next generation of Temptations\u2019 fans. The cultural significance of Williams\u2019s overall life achievements, along with the success and longevity of his musical career, have made him an icon of entertainment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Supporting Act<\/span><\/b> Sandra Bassett is an engaging, entertaining, and gifted singer with a powerful vocal range and smooth delivery. Originally from Detroit, and now based in Phoenix, Bassett embraces the musical history of her birthplace and enjoys performing in many styles, including jazz, R&B, Motown, and blues.<\/span><\/p>\n Bassett is a unique and versatile musician in any setting and is an accomplished piano and organ player, in addition to also playing the alto saxophone. Her album <\/span>Just for You<\/span><\/i>, featuring beloved jazz and R&B standards, was released independently in 2018 and promoted heavily with live appearances in the United States and Japan.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Performing many dates yearly as a solo artist, duo, trio and with her bands, the Motown Experience and September Soul, Bassett is comfortable in many formats as a headliner, supporting artist, or package performer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bassett is also an accomplished workshop leader and lecturer, having lectured on jazz at the Musical Instrument Museum, Tempe Center for the Arts, and many other venues in the Valley. Bassett is currently the president and CEO of West Valley Arts Council in Surprise.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Temptations, often referred to as American music royalty, are celebrating their 60th\u202fanniversary with a brand-new album,\u202fTemptations 60,\u202fand a stop in Scottsdale on their national tour. Supporting act is Sandra Bassett.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"tags":[253],"tribe_events_cat":[257,258,255],"acf":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Scottsdale Center For The Performing Arts","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/13987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tribe_events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/13987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13987"},{"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events_cat?post=13987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDr. Otis Williams\u202fis the founding, and only surviving, member of the original group that formed The Temptations. Williams is well known for his fortitude, for fueling the Temptations\u2019 enormous and ever-increasing popularity, and for inspiring a new generation of musical artists.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nSandra Basset will open this performance at 7:30 p.m. with The Temptations taking the stage at 8:30 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n