It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. As the dance craze seeped through into other cities, Kendricks scored a #1 pop hit in 1973 with the Frank Wilson-produced "Keep on Truckin'". The single was later remade by R&B singer D'Angelo for the Get on the Bus Soundtrack. The expansive, eight minute take on "Girl, You Need A Change Of Mind", which peaked at number thirteen on the soul chart, from the album was a particular favorite at David Mancuso's Loft. Despite enjoying only a modicum of commercial success and radio airplay, Kendricks's 1972 album People… Hold On (with the aid of his touring group, The Young Senators: Jimi Dougans, Frank Hooker, LeRoy Fleming, Wornell Jones, David Lecraft, James Drumer Johnson and John Engram) was a cornerstone of DJ playlists in downtown New York's nascent disco scene. Kendricks' solo career began slowly he endured two years of singles that missed the Top 40, while The Temptations continued with their string of Norman Whitfield-helmed hits (one of which, "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)", was written as a jab towards Kendricks and Ruffin). As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the number-one single "Keep On Truckin'". His was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do The Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination". Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group The Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. Listen to Eddie Kendricks’ “My People… Hold On” now.Eddie Kendricks (Edward James Kendrick, Union Springs, Alabama, Decem– Birmingham, Alabama, October 5, 1992), was an American singer and songwriter, noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style. Amiri Baraka explained it in a 1966 essay: “Black people’s songs have carried the fire and struggle of their lives since they first opened their mouths in this part of the world.” Maybe Kendricks didn’t intend it, but he was carrying fire with every note. What Kendricks may have intended as a spiritual message, spoke to people’s more earthly needs. “I can see the struggle in your eyes,” he sings, the drums beating against a wailing guitar. But I’m not hung up on getting political messages across. “I’ve always been able to sing like that, it’s just that I’ve never had the opportunity.” But Kendricks pushed back against the politics of the song, telling Disc, it’s “a spiritual song it says ‘people hold on, hold on to love, that’s the only lasting thing.’ To me, that’s singing the truth. “People were pretty surprised by it,” Kendricks told Disc in 1973. Kendricks alternates between his signature falsetto and a deeper, earthier register throughout the track. “My People…Hold On” is a syncopated chant, a call to action. Heroes had been murdered, cities were burning, but Black was still beautiful, and change was slowly but steadily coming. Not just musically and vocally, but politically. If Eddie was looking for freedom, he found it in this album. And long-time Motown producer, Frank Wison, who’d produced his debut was again on board along with a sharp team of songwriters, Leonard Caston and Anita Poree, the writers behind the album’s (almost) title track. Even when I’m singing I’d like to be a little freer than I am.” As he released his second solo album, 1972’s People…Hold On, Kendricks had a new backing band – The Young Senators from Washington, D.C. Soon before leaving, Kendricks told Soul, “I sometimes feel that being with a group can really be a drag. He left The Temptations in 1971 after eleven years. Those perfectly-matched parts wear thin, and grooves that once worked smoothly grind against themselves. The Temptations were essential parts in an intricate machine. A clear and smooth falsetto, either floating over Melvin Franklin’s rich bass, playing tag with David Ruffin’s gritty lead or Paul Williams’ confident baritone, blending harmonies with Otis Williams or taking the lead for himself.
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