Melvin "Blue" Franklin (October 12, 1942 – February 23, 1995) – The Prophet (1975)
This hypnotic, psychedelic soul meets funk jam from the Temptations' A Song For You LP featured Blue on co-lead vocals and was produced by Jeffrey Bowen.
Melvin "Blue" Franklin was one of the founding members of the Temptations and their bass singer from 1960 to 1994. He and Otis Williams were the only two original Tempts who never left the group.
David Melvin English was born in Montgomery, Alabama and moved to Detroit when he was ten years old in 1952. During high school, he was a member of a vocal group called The Voice Masters with Lamont Dozier and David Ruffin.
In 1958, he was invited by his classmate Williams to join another group, Otis Williams and the Siberians. In late 1960, they formed the Elgins with Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams, and changed their name to the Temptations when they signed with Motown in 1961. Franklin became one of the most recognized bass singers in the world during his three and a half decades with the group.
Franklin was memorably portrayed by actor D.B. Woodside in the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations and Jawan M. Jackson in the musical Ain’t Too Proud which opened on Broadway in 2019. Jackson became the newest official Temptation in 2022.
In 1975 the Temptations continued their winning streak on the R&B charts with the album A Song For You, which hit #1 and went gold. Besides Franklin and Williams, the group’s lineup at that moment featured Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, and Eddie Kendricks’ replacement Damon Harris. It was the final Temptations album Harris would appear on.
The LP’s success was propelled by two hit singles, “Happy People” and “Shakey Ground,” both of which reached #1 R&B. “Happy People” was co-written by Lionel Richie and originally intended for the Commodores, who were recording an album down the hall when the Tempts were in the studio making A Song For You. The funked-up “Shakey Ground” was co-written by former Funkadelic lead guitarist Eddie Hazel.
It was produced by Jeffrey Bowen, who on Berry Gordy’s orders was competing with Commodores producer James Carmichael to see who could come up with the best version of another track that wound up on the record, "Glasshouse.” Bowen’s version won out, and he was allowed to oversee A Song For You, the group’s first album since their longtime producer Norman Whitfield left Motown in 1974.
With a different producer at the helm, the Temptations’ material got a funky update to match the rise of funk and disco at the decade’s midpoint. But one of the best songs on the album still sounded like it could have been crafted by Whitfield, and featured Franklin on co-lead vocals. “The Prophet” had a hypnotic, psychedelic soul meets funk feel, with disco-flavored strings thrown in for good measure.
Franklin’s majestic bass vocals gave the song an added spiritual touch as he laid down timeless wisdom on lines like “You give of yourself when you truly give…possession shouldn't rule the life you live.”
“The Prophet” was co-written by Bowen, Larry Duncan, and Kathy Wakefield, the songwriter and author who also co-wrote "I Can't Quit Your Love" for the Four Tops, later recorded by both the Jackson 5 and Bobby Taylor. A Song For You featured Melvin “Wah Wah” Watson aka Ragin and Eddie Hazel on guitar, original Funkadelic bassist William “Billy Bass” Nelson, and James Gadson on drums.
#soul #Motown #Temptations #Blue #MelvinFranklin