New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The
Temptations and The Four Tops will perform as part of the SERVPRO of Chesterfield After Hours 2023 Season at the River City Sportsplex in Midlothian, VA on Thursday, June 29, 2023. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 24, 2023 at 10:00 AM. A limited number of Early Bird General Admission tickets will be available for $21 until March 30th while supplies last.
The Temptations, often referred to as "American
Music Royalty," are world-renowned superstars of entertainment, revered for their phenomenal catalog of music and prolific career. Named the "#1 R&B/Hip Hop Artists of All Time" and one of the "125 Greatest of All Time Artists" by Billboard magazine, as well as one of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" by Rolling Stone Magazine, the group is truly a beloved national treasure.
The Temptations' heritage, influence and contributions to, not only American culture and African American communities but also to the global music landscape are monumental. The influence that the
Temptations have had on mainstream and global artists is undeniable.
The group's popularity is ever-increasing and they are one of the most iconic, best selling brands in the entertainment world today. While the group has evolved over the years, Dr. Otis Williams has continued to lead the group and carry the torch forward for the next generation of Temptations' fans.
The group's 60-year history spans both the 20th and 21st centuries and their music transcends generations. The Temptations' 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.
They were among the first African American musical artists to crossover into mainstream
America and appear on popular, national mainstream television programs, such as The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Hollywood Palace. The group's star power was so striking that these top-rated, national programs, and many others, scheduled appearances for the
Temptations multiple times during a single year. At the time, this was an unparalleled accomplishment for African American entertainers.
The Temptations, throughout the group's evolution, have produced 53 Billboard Hot 100 Hit singles, including four that became #1 Pop singles: "My Girl," "I Can't Get Next to You," "Just My Imagination," and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." Additionally, they released 43 Top 10 R&B hit singles, 14 of which were #1 R&B hits, including timeless classics such as "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep," "I Wish It Would Rain," and songs influenced by their funk/psychedelic soul sound including "Happy People," and "Shakey Ground." The group also has 16 #1 R&B Albums. The Temptations' music, then and now, continues to raise the spirit of the country and uplift a nation searching for common bonds and glimmers of hope and humanity.
In 1989, The
Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Blockbuster #1 hits "Just My Imagination," "Papa was a Rollin' Stone," and "
My Girl" are among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll." The group was also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and into the Rhythm and Blues
Music Hall of Fame in 2013. They were invited back to the Rhythm and Blues
Music Hall of Fame in 2017 to receive "The R&B Male Group of the 20th Century" Award. They received the NAACP Image Award "Hall of Fame Award" in 1992.
Dr. Otis Williams, the sole surviving original Temptation, Ron Tyson, a lead vocalist with the group for 37 years, Terry Weeks, a lead vocalist for 23 years, Willie Greene, Jr., bass vocalist with the group for four years, and
Mario Corbino, who joined the group in recently, always look forward to serenading fans with their soulful voices, lighting up stages with their famous Temptations' Walk, and bringing joy to audiences of all ages.
The Four Tops, originally called the Four Aims, made their first single for Chess in 1956, and spent seven years on the road and in nightclubs, singing pop, blues, Broadway, but mostly jazz-four-part harmony jazz. When Motown's Berry Gordy Jr. found out they had hustled a national "Tonight Show" appearance, he signed them without an audition to be the marquee act for the company's Workshop Jazz label. That proved short-lived, and Stubbs' powerhouse baritone lead and the exquisite harmonies of Fakir, Benson, and Payton started making one smash after another with the writing-producing trio Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Their first Motown hit, "Baby I Need Your Loving" in 1964, made them stars and their sixties track record on the label is indispensable to any retrospective of the decade. Their songs, soulful and bittersweet, were across-the-board successes. "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie,
Honey Bunch)," a no. 1 R&B and Pop smash in 1965, is one of Motown's longest-running chart toppers; it was quickly followed by a longtime favorite, "It's The Same Old Song" (no. 2 R&B/no. 5 pop). Their commercial peak was highlighted by a romantic trilogy: the no. 1 "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Standing In The
Shadows Of Love" (no. 2 R&B/no. 6 pop) and "Bernadette" (no. 3 R&B/no. 4 pop)-an extraordinary run of instant H-D-H classics. Other Tops hits from the decade included "Ask The Lonely," "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)," "Something About You," "You Keep Running Away," "7-Rooms Of Gloom" and their covers of "Walk Away Renee" and "If I Were A Carpenter." The group was also extraordinarily popular in the U.K.
After H-D-H split from Motown, producer Frank Wilson supervised the R&B Top 10 hits "It's All In The Game" and "Still Water (Love)" at the start of the seventies. The Tops also teamed with Motown's top girl group, The Supremes, post-Diana Ross. Billing themselves The Magnificent
Seven for a series of albums, they hit with a cover of "River Deep - Mountain High."
When Motown left
Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, the steadfast Tops decided to stay at home, and with another label. They kept up a string of hits with ABC-Dunhill for the next few years: "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)," a Top 5 hit; the Top 10 "Keeper Of The Castle"; and the R&B Top 10's "Are You Man Enough (from the movie Shaft In Africa)," "Sweet Understanding Love," "One Chain Don't Make No Prison" (later covered by Santana), "Midnight Flower" and the disco perennial "Catfish."
In 1980 the group moved to
Casablanca Records. The following year they were at no. 1 again, with "When She Was My Girl," making them one of the few groups to have hits in three consecutive decades. They also scored R&B Top 40s with the ballads "Tonight I'm Gonna Love You All Over" and "I Believe In You And Me," the original version of the 1996 Whitney
Houston smash. And the Tops were heard in the film Grease 2 with "Back To School Again." By 1983, riding the wave of the company's 25th anniversary celebration, the Tops were back with Motown and H-D-H. The reunion resulted in the R&B Top 40 hits "I Just Can't Walk Away" and "Sexy Ways."
In 1990, with 24 Top 40 pop hits to their credit, The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Though they would no longer have hits on record, the group continued to be a hit in concert, touring incessantly, a towering testament to the enduring legacy of the Motown Sound they helped shape and define. Following Payton's death in 1997, the group briefly worked as a trio until Theo Peoples, a former Temptation, was recruited to restore the group to a quartet. When Stubbs subsequently grew ill, Peoples became the lead singer and former Motown artist-producer Ronnie McNeir was enlisted to fill Payton's spot. In 2005, when Benson died, Payton's son Roquel replaced him.
Season Passes for SERVPRO of Chesterfield After Hours at the River City Sportsplex are on sale now. Season passes grant access to every show in the upcoming concert season and can be purchased at chesterfieldafterhoursconcerts.com/season-passes. Tickets are on sale now for
Kip Moore on June 3rd,
Gary Allan on June 16th, Get The Led Out on July 7th, and
Colt Ford and
Creed Fisher on July 15th. Additional shows are expected to be announced soon for the 2023 Concert Season.
Tickets for The
Temptations and The Four Tops on June 29th at SERVPRO of Chesterfield After Hours at the River City Sportsplex go on sale Friday, March 24 at 10:00 AM at chesterfieldafterhoursconcerts.com or by phone at 1-800-514-ETIX (3849). A limited number of $21 Early Bird General Admission tickets will be available for one week only while supplies last. Gates open at 5:00 PM; show starts at 6:00 PM. This event is rain or shine. No refunds. SERVPRO of Chesterfield After Hours at the River City Sportsplex is located at 13030 Genito Road, Midlothian, VA 23112.
