Dennis Edwards has died at the age of 74 from complications related to meningitis.
He is best known as the lead singer of the Motown Records vocal group The Temptations.
His family told TMZ the icon passed away in Chicago on Friday, which was one day shy of his 75th birthday.
Gone too soon: Dennis Edwards has died at the age of 74 in Chicago. He is best known as the lead singer of The Temptations; seen in 2013
The good ole days: Studio group shot of the Temptations in 1968. Clockwise from top left: Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, Edwards, Otis Williams
He has a list of hit songs on his resume.
One is Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone, which was released in early 1972 and hit the 24th spot on the the R&B Charts.
It was included on The Undisputed Truth’s 1973 album Law of the Land.
Another big song was Cloud Nine as well as Ball Of Confusion and I Can’t Get Next to You.
In 1989 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Temptations. In 2013, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
They made it big: The hits started coming in the Seventies like Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
In step: His family told TMZ the icon passed away on Friday, which was one day shy of his 75th birthday; seen with the band in 2016
Born in 1932 in Fairfield, Alabama, Edwards began singing as a child.
When the family moved to Detroit, he began singing in his church’s choir. He went on to join several different groups, but none of them stuck.
Then in 1968 he replaced David Ruffin in The Temptations and the hits started coming like Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).
He left the band in 1977 then pursued a solo career.
In the pink: He left the band in 1977 to pursue a solo career, but went back several times; seen in 1972
Yellow and mellow: The band attend the Homeward Bound Telethon at American Legion Hall in Los Angeles in 2013
His first solo album, Don’t Look Any Further, reached the number two spot on the R&B charts.
The title track of his next album, Coolin’ Out, was an R&B Top 30 hit.
He returned to The Temptations in 1980 when they left Atlantic Records to return to Motown.
He was wed to Ruth Pointer, of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters, from 1976 to 1977. They had daughter, Issa Pointer.
At the time of his death, the icon was married to Brenda Edwards.
His lady: Edwards and his wife Brenda attend the 24th Annual Heroes And Legends Awards at Beverly Hills Hotel in 2013