Melvin Franklin

David Melvin English (October 12, 1942 – February 23, 1995), better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin or his nickname "Blue", was an American bass singer. Franklin was best known for his distinctive very deep voice and role as a founding member of Motown singing group The Temptations from 1961 to 1995.

David English was born in Montgomery, Alabama to Rose English, a teenage mother from nearby Mobile. His biological father was the preacher of the English family's church in Mobile; he impregnated her through rape. Following David's birth, Rose English married Willard Franklin and moved to Detroit. Her grandmother however insisted on raising young David and was left behind in her care. David English later moved to Detroit with his mother and stepfather in 1952 at age ten.

Taking on his stepfather's surname for his stage name as a teenager, David English—now Melvin Franklin—was a member of a number of local singing groups in Detroit, including The Voice Masters with Lamont Dozier and David Ruffin, and frequently performed with Richard Street. In 1959, the Voice Masters signed with Anna Records, a label co-founded by Berry Gordy's sister Anna. The group recorded several singles, including "Needed" and "Hope and Pray". Franklin often affectionately referred to Street and Ruffin as his "cousins" (although they were not related). Around this time, Franklin romantically pursued future Supremes singer Mary Wilson.

In 1958, Otis Williams, a classmate of Franklin's at Detroit's Northwestern High School, had formed his own singing group, Otis Williams and the Siberians. The group were negotiating a contract with record producer Johnnie Mae Matthews to record singles. However, Arthur Walton, the group's bass singer, departed the group to finish high school.

To replace him, Williams remembered Franklin from the Voice Masters. He spotted Franklin walking along a nearby neighborhood and rushed him with an offer to join the group as their bass singer. Franklin responded, "Well, I don't know you. You have to ask my momma." Williams explained the situation to Rose Franklin, who agreed to have her son join the group. Vernard Plain, the group's lead singer, also departed the group, in which Franklin brought in Street to replace him.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.