BMC #9 THE TEMPTATIONS Pt1

BMC #9 THE TEMPTATIONS Pt1
In 1958, Otis Williams, at the time a teenager, is running to meet his friend Elbridge "Al" Bryant at a musical performance by The Cadillacs, where Otis and the singer lock eyes, which he credits as the moment he devoted his life to music. After the concert, Otis and Al go to a barber where they get the Tony Curtis and DA-style process. Later, Otis arrives home for dinner, where his stepfather is angered by his hairstyle and pressures him to go to work at the assembly line instead of going into music, which Otis heatedly rejects. Six months later, Otis, Al and two new band members, are singing on a street corner when they see another group of singers, the Voicemasters, across the street, and are impressed by one singer's bass voice type. The next day after school, Otis spots the singer leaving to walk home, and decides to follow him. The singer sees Otis and begins to run away, thinking him to be a gang member. Otis eventually catches him and introduces himself, finding out that the singer's name is Melvin Franklin, and invites him to join his group, Otis Williams & the Siberians. Melvin agrees, on the condition that his mother approves. After talking to her, Otis convinces Melvin's mother to let him join.
The group, now with five members, are practicing their singing after school one day when they notice a group of girls watching them sing. Upon seeing this, the group follows them while singing "Earth Angel". The girls go their separate ways until one girl, Josephine, remains, and Otis asks her out on a date. The next Saturday, the group are making out with the girls in a milk truck when they hear for their group to come to the radio station, and hastily drive to the station, which turns out to be a run-down apartment. Johnnie May Matthews, the owner of the pirate radio studio in the basement, declares herself their new manager and producer, and also changes their name to Otis Williams and the Distants. In April 1960, the group are waiting to perform at a party where they meet Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, singers for The Primes, Diana Ross, lead singer for the Primettes, Smokey Robinson, lead singer of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, and Berry Gordy, founder and owner of Motown Records. Al arrives late at the party and shows hostility towards Eddie and Paul, while hitting on Diana. The Primes and Primettes perform and the Distants are impressed by their sound. After they perform, Otis and Melvin see Berry Gordy entering the bathroom and follow him. After some talking, Berry gives them a business card to contact him later on. Once the party ends, Johnnie shows up in a new car, bought with the money earned from their record, while also showing off rolls of money. Awestruck, they ask about when they get paid, which angers Johnnie and she immediately fires them, kicks them out of the car and drives away. Al and two other members promptly quit the group, leaving Otis and Melvin as the only two remaining members.