About Eddie Kendricks
Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1961 until 1971. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s including the number-one single "Keep On Truckin'" and the number-two single "Boogie Down." == Life and career == === Early years: 1939–1960 === Edward James Kendrick, who was of African American heritage, was born to Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick in Union Springs, Alabama on December 17, 1939. He had one sister, Patricia, and three brothers, Charles, Robert, and Clarence. Kendricks and his family moved to the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, where he met and began singing with his best friend Paul Williams in their church choir in the late 1940s. In 1955, Kendricks, Williams, as well as their friends Kell Osborne and Willy Waller, formed a doo-wop group called the Cavaliers and they began performing around Birmingham. The group decided to move for better opportunities in their musical careers, and in 1957, the group moved to Cleveland, Ohio living on E. 123rd Street and Kinsman Road. In Cleveland, they met manager Milton Jenkins, and soon moved with Jenkins to Detroit where the Cavaliers renamed themselves the Primes. Under Jenkins' management, the Primes were successful in the Detroit area, eventually creating a female spin-off group called the Primettes (later becoming the Supremes).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.