Kendricks' solo career began slowly; he endured two years of singles that missed the Top 40, while The Temptations continued with their string of Norman Whitfield-helmed hits (one of which, "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)", was written as a jab towards Kendricks and Ruffin). Despite enjoying only a modicum of commercial success and radio airplay, Kendricks's 1972 album People... Hold On (with the aid of his touring group, The Young Senators: Jimi Dougans, Frank Hooker, LeRoy Fleming, Wornell Jones, David Lecraft, James Drumer Johnson and John Engram) was a cornerstone of DJ playlists in downtown New York's nascent disco scene. The expansive, eight minute take on "Girl, You Need A Change Of Mind", which peaked at number thirteen on the soul chart, from the album was a particular favorite at David Mancuso's Loft. The single was later remade by R&B singer D'Angelo for the Get on the Bus Soundtrack. As the dance craze seeped through into other cities, Kendricks scored a #1 pop hit in 1973 with the Frank Wilson-produced "Keep on Truckin'". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Future hits included "Boogie Down" (US #2) (1974) and another million selling release,[3] "Son of Sagittarius" (US #28) (1974), "Shoeshine Boy" (US #18) (1975), and "He's a Friend" (US #36) (1976). Another notable song is "Intimate Friends" (1977), which is sampled for the Alicia Keys song "Unbreakable", "A Penny for My Thoughts" by Common, Sparkle's "Time to Move on" on her self-titled first studio album and Sweet Sable's "Old Time's Sake" from the soundtrack for the 1994 2pac film, Above the Rim. Erykah Badu also sampled "Intimate Friends" for her song "Fall in Love (Your Funeral)", as well as his song "My People... Hold on" for her song "My People" on her album New Amerykah Part One (4th World War).
Exasperated by a lack of creative and financial control, Kendricks left Motown in 1978, with the requirement of signing away the rights to his royalties. He moved first to Arista Records, and later to Atlantic Records. By this time, his popularity had waned, and he was also gradually losing his voice as a result of chain smoking.
He and David Ruffin briefly re-joined the Temptations for a 1982 reunion tour. In an interview with Tom Meros, Dennis Edwards, Kendricks's former Temptations band mate, claimed that Kendricks had issues hitting his falsetto notes during recording sessions for the reunion album. Because of his singing difficulty, Edwards said that Kendricks went to a physician to examine his vocal ability. The physician discovered a "pin drop" of cancer on one of his lungs. However, Kendricks reportedly refused to undergo chemotherapy at the time because of fear that he would lose his hair.
Ruffin and Kendrick (Kendricks dropped the "s" from his stage name during the 1980s) reportedly met up one night when Ruffin went to watch Kendrick perform in a nightclub; Kendrick spotted Ruffin in the crowd, pointed him out, and invited him to come up on stage and perform with him. Afterward they talked about touring on their own and recorded an album as a duo for RCA in 1988.
Earlier, in 1985, they participated in the Hall & Oates live album Live at The Apollo recorded at a benefit at New York City's Apollo Theater; and sang with the duo at Live Aid in Philadelphia and the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Hall & Oates have cited Kendrick and Ruffin specifically, and the Temptations in general, as a major influence.
In 1989, Kendrick, Ruffin, and their Temptations bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There, Kendrick and Ruffin made plans with fellow former Temptation Dennis Edwards to tour and record as "Ruffin/Kendrick/Edwards, Former Leads of The Temptations." The Ruffin/Kendrick/ Edwards project was cut short in 1991, when Kendrick was diagnosed with lung cancer and David Ruffin died of a drug overdose, although Kendrick and Edwards continued to tour for the remainder of 1991.
In late 1991, Kendrick, by now living in his native Birmingham, Alabama, underwent surgery to have one of his lungs removed in hopes of preventing the spread of the cancer. He continued to tour through the summer of 1992, when he fell ill again and was hospitalized. Kendrick died on October 5, 1992, of lung cancer in Birmingham at the age of 52. Kendrick is survived by his three children: Parris Kendrick, Aika Kendrick and Paul Kendrick. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery.
In 1998, NBC aired The Temptations, a four-hour television miniseries based upon an autobiographical book by Otis Williams. Kendricks was portrayed by actor Terron Brooks.
Kendricks was born in on December 17, 1939, the son of Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick. He had one sister, Patricia, and three brothers, Charles, Robert, and Clarence. His family moved to 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, and friends Kell Osborne and Jerome Averette formed a doo-wop group called The Cavaliers, and 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. In Cleveland, they met manager Milton Jenkins, and soon moved with Jenkins to Detroit, Michigan, where the Cavaliers renamed themselves 'The Primes'. Under Jenkins' management, the Primes did well for themselves in the Detroit area, eventually creating a female spin-off group called The Primettes (later The Supremes). In 1961, Osbourne moved to California, and the Primes disbanded. Kendricks and Paul Williams joined forces with members Otis Williams and Melvin "Blue" Franklin of Otis Wiliiams and the Distants after three members quit and became The Elgins, who on the same day changed their name to "The Temptations" and signed to Motown.
The Temptations began singing background for Mary Wells. After an initial dry period, The Temptations quickly became the most successful male vocal group of the 1960s. Although technically Kendricks was first tenor in the group's harmony, he predominately sang in a falsetto voice. Among the Temptations songs Kendricks sang lead on were "Dream Come True" (1962), the group's first charting single; "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (1964), the group's first US Top 20 hit; "I'll Be in Trouble" (1964); "The Girl's Alright With Me" (1964), a popular b-side that Kendricks co-wrote; "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)" (1964); "Get Ready" (1966); "Please Return Your Love to Me" (1968); and "Just My Imagination" (1971). He was also allowed to sing a few leads in his natural voice such as "May I Have This Dance" (1962). He shares lead vocal duty on other records, including "You're My Everything" (1967) (shared with David Ruffin), and a long string of Norman Whitfield produced psychedelic soul records where all five Temptations sang lead, such as the Grammy winner "Cloud Nine" (1968), "I Can't Get Next to You" (1969), and "Ball of Confusion" (1970). He also leads on "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" (1968), a popular duet with Diana Ross and the Supremes, and on the Temptations' famous version of the Christmas classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1968).
In the Temptations, Kendricks was responsible for creating most of the group's vocal arrangements, and also served as wardrobe manager, including the now famous purple suits the group wore for one performance. He also co-wrote several Temptations songs apart from "The Girl's Alright With Me" including "Isn't She Pretty" (1961) and "Don't Send Me Away" (1967). His favorite food was cornbread, and as a result he was nicknamed "Cornbread" (or "Corn" for short) by his groupmates. According to Otis Williams, Kendricks romantically pursued Diana Ross, lead singer of the Supremes, and he was said to have been close friends with Martha Reeves of the Vandellas. In her second book, Supreme Faith, Supremes singer Mary Wilson writes that she and Kendricks were lovers "briefly," but remained close friends.
Kendricks remained in the group through the rest of the decade, but a number of issues began to push him away from it in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was uncomfortable with singing the psychedelic style that Whitfield was now crafting for the group as opposed to the romantic ballads they had sung under the direction of Smokey Robinson; his friend Paul Williams was often too ill to perform with the group; and Kendricks often found himself at odds with bandmates Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. As he grew away from the group, Kendricks began to rekindle his friendship with ex-Temptation David Ruffin, who convinced him to leave the group.
In a 1991 interview with a Chicago television series called Urban Street, Kendricks said he had actually considered leaving the group as early as 1965, even though that was when the band was finally starting to take off, because of things that "weren't quite proper." He explained that they were working with people that "didn't have their best interests at heart." Kendricks, however, initially decided to stay in the group because he was worried he would not get the support he needed if he left the group. Kendricks also expressed the fact that his relationship with Berry Gordy was less than cordial. "Berry Gordy is a man I don't know, I only met him about three times," he said, but "I know he didn't particularly care for me." Kendricks stated that he did not agree with many decisions that were made.
Following one final altercation with Williams and Franklin during a run at the Copacabana nightclub in November 1970, Kendricks walked off after the first night and didn't return, and it was mutually decided he would leave the group. While working on his first solo album, Kendricks recorded one last hit single with the Temptations, 1971's "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)". By the time the record reached #1 on the US pop charts in April 1971, Kendricks had signed a solo deal with Motown's Tamla imprint and was preparing the release of his first solo album, All By Myself. However, many of his problems with Motown would reoccur.
Skippin Work Today
Eddie Kendricks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Skippin′ work is on my mind they′ll look for me oh I'll be hard to find my boss will be mad but I′ll be oh so glad today maybe not tomorrow
There must be something that I can say a reason to take off today I know my boss thinks that I'm insane but today′s too nice a day to let pass my way that's why
Skippin′ work is on my mind they'll look for me and oh I'll be hard to find J-B and life is just a game we play skippin′ work will bring me sorrow I, I could lose my job tomorrow, I′m skippin' work, I′m skippin' work, I′m skippin' work today
In Eddie Kendricks's song "Skippin Work Today," the singer expresses his desire to skip work and do something he'd rather do. He acknowledges that he just took two days off and his boss might be mad if he takes another day off, but he can't resist the temptation of the lovely day outside. He contemplates what reason he can come up with to take the day off, even though he knows his boss thinks he's insane. The singer knows he might face consequences for skipping work, but he still chooses to do so because the joy of being free and doing what he wants is worth the risk.
The lyrics can be interpreted in different ways, but in general, they express the desire for freedom and the struggle between the responsibilities of work and the pleasure of leisure. The singer feels like he's trapped in a cycle of work and wants to break free to enjoy life. The idea that life is just a game adds another layer of meaning to the song. The singer feels like he's playing by the rules of the game, but he wants to break them and enjoy the present moment regardless of the consequences.
Overall, "Skippin Work Today" is a light-hearted and relatable song that speaks to anyone who's ever felt like skipping work to do something fun. The song captures the moment of decision-making when you have to choose between the responsibilities of work and the pleasures of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Out of bed grabbed my shoes off to work no time to lose
I woke up and rushed to work without wasting any time.
Last night I had fun but I′m the sleepy one today
I enjoyed last night, but now I'm feeling tired and sluggish.
So it's off to work how I hate to go
I really dislike going to work today.
But I just took off two days ago
I recently took time off from work, so I feel guilty for wanting to skip today.
It's such a lovely day how I'd like to stay away
The weather is beautiful, and I wish I could take the day off to enjoy it.
And do somethings I'd like to do
I have a list of enjoyable activities I want to do instead of working.
Skippin′ work is on my mind
I am seriously considering skipping work today.
They′ll look for me oh I'll be hard to find
My colleagues will have trouble finding me if I do skip work today.
My boss will be mad but I′ll be oh so glad today maybe not tomorrow
My boss will be angry, but I will feel happy to have taken the day off, although I may regret it tomorrow.
There must be something that I can say a reason to take off today
I need to come up with an excuse to justify my absence from work today.
I know my boss thinks that I'm insane
My boss believes that I am crazy for wanting to skip work.
But today′s too nice a day to let pass my way that's why
The weather is too beautiful to ignore, and that is why I want to skip work.
J-B and life is just a game we play skippin′ work will bring me sorrow
Life is unpredictable, and I may regret not working today, which would bring me sorrow.
I, I could lose my job tomorrow
There is a chance that I may lose my job if I skip work today.
I′m skippin' work, I′m skippin' work, I′m skippin' work today
I have made up my mind to skip work today, and I am excited about it.
Writer(s): J. Christopher Fox
Contributed by Ruby S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@reneemixon3994
Shared this little golden nugget with my son(26) just yesterday. He absolutely loved it and put it in his old school rotation. “Intimate Friends” by Eddie is his favorite, blast it all day, everyday.
@markjohnson-sl9qf
My older brother use to sing this song everything he skip work. RIP Ricky Love you see you one day.
@janetlouw842
Tell her Love has felt the need...and Skipping work is the best of him,I used to skip work ❤️💯
@stephen4248
Miss this guy.. very deep singer
@nursemcfarlane6655
So, true. Underrated!!!
@anthonyjones7197
One of my favorites.....Definite sleeper
@gordonmckenzie2920
From start to finish, simply beautiful work of art, and the background vocalists are SANGING!!
@jessiemontgomery5365
Sooo smooth😄
@fjgomes62
SHOW!!
@weotalks2810
Legend..RIP