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About Paul Williams







Paul Williams was born on July 2, 1939
in Birmingham (Ensley), Alabama


He moved to Detroit around the age of 18 with longtime friend Eddie Kendricks, with dreams of becoming famous.

He and Eddie formed the Primes with a 3rd member, Kell Osborne. Paul Williams soulful baritone voice & Eddie's sweet harmonies complimented each other perfectly.....Kell soon left the group and the Primes eventually disbanded.

To make a long story short... Paul & Eddie merged with another local group, Otis Williams &the Distants, which consisted of Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Elbridge "Al" Bryant, (who would be replaced in 1964 with David Ruffin ) to form one of the most memorable male R&B groups ever...The Temptations. The Tempts were known for their brilliant soulful harmonies & smooth dance moves...courtesy of Paul Williams himself (he was the groups 1st choreographer and was in charge of giving out fines for missed steps ).

Paul sang lead on most of the Tempts early recordings,
such as "Oh, Mother Of Mine", "Your Wonderful Love" and "I Want A Love I Can See".
Most of his leads included on the various Tempts albums were never released as singles
and he had a multitude of leads that that were left unreleased.
He is often only noted for his soulful, signature lead on
"Don't Look Back", and heart moving rendition of "For Once In My Life".
If you check out the Paul leads discography, you can get a glimpse at just how many songs he lead or shared leads on

Paul was one of the founding members of the Tempts
and was active in the group from 1961-1971, leaving in '71 because of health problems (Paul suffered from sickle-cell anemia). He was kept on the payroll and continued to work with the Tempts as an advisor and choreographer.

Paul tried his hand at a solo career, but, Motown's uninterest in promoting his album caused it to fail. Two songs were eventually released many years after his death, titled "Feel Like Givin Up" & "Once You Had A Heart".....and they showed that he was still in top form.

Now...because I am a loyal fan....I'm not going to go all into the details of his personal problems & untimely death.
I know most of you have heard that story a thousand times.... so.....out of respect for Paul and his family, I'm stopping here.


Paul Williams passed away on Aug. 17, 1973 in Detroit, MI at the age of 34.
He left behind a wife, 6 children and many, many more family, friends, colleagues & fans who still hold him close to their hearts.

Rest In Peace Paul.......we miss you.