Originally called the Elgins, the Temptations were formed in 1961 from the coupling of two vocal groups based in Detroit—the Primes, originally from Alabama, and the Distants. That same year they signed with Motown. After a slow start—with the addition of Ruffin and largely under the direction of songwriter-producer Smokey Robinson (Robinson, Smokey, and the Miracles)—the Temptations turned out a string of romantic hits, beginning with “The Way You Do the Things You Do” (1964) and including “My Girl” (1964), “Get Ready” (1966), and “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep” (1966). Bass Franklin, baritone Otis Williams, and occasional lead Paul Williams provided complex harmonies, and the two regular lead singers, Ruffin and Kendricks, strikingly complemented each other. Ruffin had a remarkable sandpaper baritone and Kendricks a soaring tenor. Paragons of sleek fashion and practitioners of athletic choreography (provided by Paul Williams and Motown's house choreographer, Cholly Atkins), the “Tempts” epitomized sophisticated cool.

In the late 1960s they shifted to a more funk-oriented sound and to more socially conscious material when Norman Whitfield became the group's producer and principal songwriter (along with partner Barrett Strong). Influenced by psychedelic rock and with Edwards replacing Ruffin (who had embarked on a solo career), the Temptations produced hits such as “Cloud Nine” (1968), “Runaway Child, Running Wild” (1969), “Psychedelic Shack” (1970), “Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)” (1970), and the Grammy Award-winning “Papa Was a Rollin' Stone” (1972). In 1968–69 they were paired with Diana Ross and the Supremes (Supremes, the) for two television specials and recordings that included “I'm Gonna Make You Love Me” (1968) and “I'll Try Something New” (1969). In 1971 Kendricks left to pursue a solo career, notable for “Keep On Truckin' ” (1973). From the mid-1970s the Temptations changed personnel frequently and produced occasional hits, but they never regained the form that earned them induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.