Ex-Temptations member Dennis Edwards did not win right to use group's name: case still pending

Jet, Dec 1, 1997

Singer Dennis Edwards, former lead singer of the Temptations, did not win the right to use the group's name, as was previously reported in Jet and other media outlets (Jet,NOV.17).

The lawsuit is still pending in federal court in Los Angeles.

Edwards' representatives sent a press release to the media which incorrectly stated that Edwards had won the right to use the names Dennis Edwards & The Knew Temptations or The Temptations featuring Dennis Edwards.

In fact, Edwards "has won nothing at this point in time," explained Howard King of King, Purtich, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner law firm in Los Angeles, which represents original Temptations member Otis Williams who filed the suit against Edwards.

Williams, who still sings with the Temptations, filed the lawsuit in 1996 along with the estate of David English (original Temptation member, Melvin Franklin), demanding that Edwards stop using the Temptations name.

The name, "The Temptations" is a registered trademark owned by Williams and the estate of David English (Melvin Franklin).

The only development in the long-time case is that the U.S. District Court, Central District of California recently gave Edwards the right to answer the complaint of Williams and the estate of English (Franklin).

"Other than earning the right to respond to the claims of Otis Williams and David English, Dennis Edwards has won nothing at this point in time," King explained.

The Temptations' classic hits include My Girl, The Way You Do The Things You Do, Ain't Too Proud To Beg, Get Ready and Beauty Is Only Skin Deep.

Edwards, who began his career with the group in 1968, sang lead vocals on such popular Temptations hits as Papa Was A Rolling Stone Ball of Confusion, Cloud Nine and I Can't Get Next To You. As one of the lead singers of the famous group, Edwards recorded 17 albums from 1968 into the 1980s.