At 77, Otis Williams — the last surviving original member of The Temptations — still talks like a man who has no plans to slow down. “As long as my body holds up,” he says, “I’m gonna ride the hell out of the horse.” That horse, of course, is the Temptations name — the legendary Motown group that changed music forever. With a new album, All the Time, Williams proves the group isn’t content to rest on history.
The record mixes three new originals with covers of modern pop and R&B hits from Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, and The Weeknd. Williams laughs when explaining how the project came together: “I went up to Universal to help my grandson get a record deal, and Bruce Resnikoff asked if the Temps were still working. I said, ‘Yeah, we’re about to go back out on the road,’ and he said, ‘Then let’s do a new CD.’ I told him I didn’t want to do another cover album, so we compromised — three originals, the rest covers. That’s how All the Time was born.”
One of the originals, “Move Them Britches,” is an uptempo jam written by bandmates Ron Tyson and Larry Braggs. “Larry had just joined a couple years ago,” Williams says, “and I told him, ‘Bring me something fun.’ They came up with that one, and I loved it.”
Still, the covers tell their own story — especially “Remember the Time,” a nod to Williams’ friend Michael Jackson. “Michael invited me to the set when he was filming that video,” Williams recalls. “We sat in his trailer talking about the old Motown days and how far we’d both come. That was the last real conversation I had with him. When I saw ‘Remember the Time’ on the list, I said, ‘I’ve got to do that.’ It brought it all back.”
It’s fitting, since Jackson and his brothers built their early sound on the Temptations’ blueprint. “Mike was one of the all-time greats,” Williams says. “He’s right there with Prince, Sam Cooke — the top of the top.”
Despite being the last of the originals, Williams doesn’t dwell on the past. “I don’t really languish in what we did 50 years ago,” he says. “I’m always thinking progressive — what can we do now, how can we refine it, how do we carry on? I want those guys from the early days to be proud we’re still flying the banner.”
Asked what happens when he eventually steps away, Williams sighs. “That’s something I’ve got to consider,” he admits. “I’d like for The Temptations to continue, but people say, ‘If you’re not there, it won’t be the same.’ And I know that. So we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
For now, Williams has no intention of retiring. Between promoting All the Time and Ain’t Too Proud — the Broadway musical based on his life — he’s as busy as ever. “I still love it,” he says. “It’s wonderful that after all these years, people are still listening.”
And then, ever the gentleman, he adds, “If it wasn’t for you all, there’d be no us.”
Listen to the interview above and then check out the video below!
