R.I.P.: Richard Street of The Temptations Was 70

Richard Street

Richard Street, who served with the Temptations during the group’s second heyday in the 1970s and ’80s, has died in Las Vegas.

He was 70, reports the Detroit Free Press.

Street, a Detroit native, formally joined the Tempts in 1971 after a long association with the group, having performed with Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin in the ‘50s vocal group the Distants. Before joining the Temptations, he wore several hats at Motown during the 1960s, working in the label’s quality control department, recording with his group the Monitors and periodically filling in for ailing Tempts baritone Paul Williams.

He became a full-time Tempt upon Paul Williams’ departure, and was part of the Grammy-winning lineup that scored big on the pop charts with hits such as “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (1972) and “Masterpiece” (1973).

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