Marvin GayeSunday, 4 February 2018 ()
Dennis Edwards, who became a lead singer of the Motown hit makers the Temptations in 1968 as they embraced psychedelic funk and won Grammy Awards for the songs “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” and “Cloud Nine,” died Thursday in Chicago. He was 74. His death, in a hospital, was confirmed Friday by Rosiland Triche Roberts, one of his booking agents. She did not specify the cause. Edwards’ resonant, powerful voice, burnished from years singing gospel, was perfect for the driving soul music of the 1970s. “Marvin Gaye was a friend of mine, and he used to say, ‘Man, I wish I could sing like you, if I could have that growl in my voice,’” Edwards told the Tallahassee Democrat in 2013.