Dennis Edwards, the former lead singer of Motown greats, the Temptations, who sang on a string of the group’s hits including “I Can’t Get Next to You,” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” died in 2018. He was 74.
Edwards, who was living in Missouri at the time, died at a hospital in Chicago of complications from meningitis, his wife, Brenda, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was diagnosed with the disease in May 2017.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes (meninges) surrounding your brain and spinal cord.
The swelling from meningitis typically triggers symptoms such as headache, fever and a stiff neck.
Most cases of meningitis in the U.S. are caused by a viral infection, but bacterial and fungal infections are other causes. Some cases of meningitis improve without treatment in a few weeks. Others can be life-threatening and require emergent antibiotic treatment.
Viral infections are the most common cause of meningitis, followed by bacterial infections and, rarely, fungal infections.
Bacterial meningitis, similar to that of Edwards’, is serious, and can be fatal within days without prompt antibiotic treatment. Delayed treatment increases the risk of permanent brain damage or death.
Bacteria that enter the bloodstream and travel to the brain and spinal cord cause acute bacterial meningitis. But it can also occur when bacteria directly invade the meninges. This may be caused by an ear or sinus infection, a skull fracture, or, rarely, after some surgeries.
Edwards actually began singing in the group, The Contours, prior to the Temptations. He joined the hit makers when the group fired David Ruffin.
With Edwards, the group struck gold with 1968’s “Cloud Nine” (No. 6 pop, No. 2 R&B). That was followed by a string of other hits including 1969’s “Runaway Child, Running Wild” (No. 6 pop, No. 1 R&B), “I Can’t Get Next to You” (No. 1 pop and R&B), 1970’s “Psychedelic Shack” (No. 7 pop, No. 2 R&B) and “Ball of Confusion” (No. 3 pop, No. 2 R&B), 1971’s “Just My Imagination” (No. 1 pop and R&B) and 1972’s “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.”
Edwards even ventured out on a short solo career. His 1984 Motown single “Don’t Look Any Further,” a duet with…
… Siedah Garrett, reached No. 2 on the R&B charts in 1984. But he remained best known as a member of the Temptations; after a split with the act in 1977, he returned for a short second tour of duty in 1987.
After a disagreement with founding member Otis Williams, Edwards toured during the ‘90s under the name of the “Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards.”
Edwards 75th birthday would have been on Saturday. Edwards was inducted into the Rick and Roll Hall of Fame with the Temptations in 1989. In 2013, Edwards also received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, given to the Temptations.
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