Born in Birmingham, Alabama[2] to Reverend and Mrs. Dennis Edwards Sr., he began singing as a toddler, just two years old, in his fathers' church. His family moved to Detroit when he was seven.[2] As a high school student, Edwards sang with the Mighty Clouds of Joy gospel group, then in 1961 he organized his own soul/jazz group, Dennis Edwards and the Fireballs.[2] Before joining The Contours in 1967,[3] Edwards recorded a single for the obscure Detroit label, International Soulville Records. The single was a track called I Didn't Have to (But I Did) with Johnnie on the Spot.[2] The record is very rare and sought after by Northern soul fans.[citation needed]
[edit] The Temptations Years
Edwards was the first new Temptation to enter the group after their "classic five" heyday, when he replaced David Ruffin as lead singer in July 1968. Ruffin was allegedly fired for what some of his bandmates felt was unprofessional behavior. Edwards had been a friend of the group beforehand and in particular had been a friend of Ruffin's. The Temptations officially introduced Edwards on July 9, 1968 on stage in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. With his rougher gospel-hewn vocals, Edwards led the group through its psychedelic, funk, and disco periods; two of the Temptations songs he appears on, Cloud Nine (1968) and Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (1972), won Grammy Awards.[2] Edwards remained in the Temptations until being fired by Otis Williams in 1977 just before the group's departure from Motown to Atlantic Records. After a failed attempt at a Motown solo career, Edwards rejoined the Temptations in 1980, when they returned to Motown.[2] In 1982, Edwards got the chance to sing with Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks as part of Reunion (The Temptations album) and tour. Edwards began missing shows and rehearsals, and was replaced in 1984 by Ali-Ollie Woodson.
[edit] Solo Artist
Motown re-launched Edwards' solo career, in 1984 with the hit single "Don't Look Any Further," a duet with Siedah Garrett.[2] The album of the same name reached No. 2 on the R&B charts and included the radio singles "(You're My) Aphrodisiac" and "Just Like You."[4] The 1985 follow-up album Coolin' Out included the title track, an R&B Top 30 hit; and "Try A Little Tenderness."[5] When problems arose between Woodson and the Temptations in 1987, Edwards was brought back once again, but was himself replaced by Woodson in 1989 after being fired a third and final time by Williams.
[edit] Ruffin, Kendricks, and Edwards
Edwards toured and recorded with fellow ex-Temptations Ruffin and Kendricks during the late 1980s as 'Ruffin/Kendricks/Edwards, former leads of The Temptations', although nothing was released.[2] The 1998 "Street Gold" DVD "Original Leads Of The Temptations" documents this historic period.[6] After the deaths of both Ruffin (1991) and Kendricks (1992), Edwards was forced to wrap up the project alone. In 1990 Dennis teamed up with Eddie Kendricks to release a dance/club track for A&B records entitled "Get it While it's Hot". The track was recorded at Fredrick Knight's recording studio in the duo's old home town of Birmingham, Alabama and produced and engineered by house music pioneer Alan Steward. The track created a lot of controversy as it contained a short rap sequence which did not sit very well with die hard Temptations fans. Edwards' Don't Look Any Further the Remix Album was released in 1998 containing updated dance mixes and the original 1984 track.
[edit] The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards
During the 1990s, Edwards began touring under the name 'Dennis Edwards & the Temptations', prompting a legal battle between himself and Otis Williams. It was decided that Edwards' group would be called 'The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards', the name that Edwards tours under to this day. Edwards' current group includes Paul Williams Jr., David Sea, Mike Patillo, and Chris Arnold.
Edwards was portrayed by Charles Ley in the 1998 biographical television mini-series The Temptations, though he was not heavily focused upon, as the mini-series gave more attention to the Ruffin/Kendricks-era Temptations line up.
Coko(SWV)
Clemons began her recording career as a choir member in Hezekiah Walker's Love Fellowship Tabernacle Choir.[1]
[edit] Sisters With Voices
From 1990 to 1998, Coko sang with the platinum recording group, Sisters With Voices (SWV). Altogether the group issued 6 albums. After their 1998 Christmas album SWV disbanded. Two compilation albums were release after the disbanding; Greatest Hits (1999) and the Best of SWV (2001). Though many stories circulated as to why SWV disbanded, it was Coko herself who made the final decision.[2] In an interview, she said it was not a mutual decision and that many people tried to convince her to stay. She states that her reason for leaving was that the group was not communicating well and that she felt she would do better with a solo career.[2]
[edit] Solo career
After SWV disbanded, Coko went on to release her first solo album under RCA, titled Hot Coko, released August 1999. The first single, "Sunshine," which was dedicated to her son Jazz, reached the Top 40 position in the R&B charts that summer. However, both the album and singles did not gather the same mainstream success as Coko once did with SWV. Meanwhile, Coko was working on a second solo album titled Music Doll in early 2001, but RCA closed the black music division and the project was shelved. Since then, she has concentrated more on her family, and eventually married gospel producer and drummer for Israel and New Breed, Mike "Big Mike" Clemmons, the father of her second son, Jaylon. She currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[citation needed]
In 2001, Coko and her Mother Lady "Clyde" Tibba Gamble did a remake of the song "Tears in Heaven" (originally recorded by Eric Clapton) on the album Rhythm and Spirit: "Love Can Build a Bridge". The album featured other artists such as Jennifer Holliday, Patti Labelle, and Tramaine Hawkins. Clemons sang on the Brent Jones & TP Mobb single "Midnite" in 2002. She also appeared on Youthful Praise's 2003 gospel album Thank You for the Change singing lead on "Up There".
Coko's full gospel solo debut, Grateful, was released in the United States on October 31, 2006[3] and debuted at #5 on Billboard's Top Independent albums chart.[1] Grateful includes an all-star cover of The Clark Sisters' "Endow Me" which features R&B singers Faith Evans, Fantasia Barrino and Lil Mo.[4] An alternate version, minus Faith Evans was performed on BET's Celebration of Gospel '07. A special edition of Grateful only available through Wal-Mart includes two bonus tracks "I Wish" and Brent Jones' "Midnite" featuring Coko on lead vocals.
Coko was reported to have joined an all-black touring cast performing the critically-acclaimed play The Vagina Monologues, along with Sherri Shepherd, Star Jones, Vanessa L. Williams, and others.[5] In June 2008, Coko performed in Japan for the Billboard Live Tour. She sang some of her solo hits "Sunshine", "Clap Your Hands", and the SWV song "Right Here/Human Nature".
[edit] Reuniting with SWV
Main article: Sisters With Voices
Coko reunited with SWV and performed during their first live performance in eight years in Los Angeles for urban radio station KKBT 100.3 "The Beat"'s Summerjam concert on August 20, 2005. They also appeared on the 2006 New Jack Reunion Tour. SWV was featured in the XXL where they discussed single releases from their debut album It's About Time. In the interview, Clemons mentioned that the group would no longer perform sexually-explicit songs such as "Downtown" and "Can We" anymore out of a new respect for her beliefs as a Christian. The group's final performance took place in Toronto in late June 2007.[6]
On April 4, 2008, Coko returned with SWV to perform some of their hits for the local DJ Kid Kutts' birthday.[7]
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