The Temptations' Otis Williams shares decades of wisdom with young Detroit artists

In his 60-plus years with the Temptations, Otis Williams has certainly experienced his share of highs and lows.

There have been more ups than downs for the storied Motown group, to be sure — but they all add up to a lifetime of hard-earned wisdom for the Detroit-raised star.

The Temptations founder, back home for his group’s Thursday Fox Theatre show with the Four Tops, stopped by the Motown Museum on Wednesday to dispense some of that knowledge to a very eager audience.

Williams held court for more than an hour with 13 aspiring artists who participate in the museum’s Hitsville Next programs, including workshops such as Amplify (singing), Motown Mic (spoken word) and the Lyric Project (songwriting). The young metro Detroiters enthusiastically soaked in the nuggets of industry insight and personal advice from the singer, who will turn 82 later this month.

During the event, which was hosted by museum Chairwoman and CEO Robin Terry, Williams emphasized themes such as staying humble, striving for greatness and never taking anything for granted — lessons he credits for his enduring Temptations career.

He earned an appreciative round of applause when it was pointed out he’d kept the Tempts going for 61 years.

“But I never closed my mind to learning more,” Williams said.

The mood was at times lighthearted and occasionally serious: He choked up at one point as he recalled a recent phone call with an ailing, elderly fan who said God could take her now that she’d met Williams.

"That's the importance of music and Motown," Williams said. "So don't take it for granted."

Williams recounted meeting Barack Obama in the White House — the president joined the Temptations in an impromptu rendition of “Silent Night” — and recalled the Tempts’ Eddie Kendricks getting his trousers ripped off by zealous female fans at an L.A. concert in the 1970s.

And he paid tribute to his fallen groupmates, particularly citing the deaths of his fellow “Classic Five” Temptations: Paul Williams, David Ruffin, Kendricks and Melvin Franklin.

“Those kinds of things really hit hard, but like we said on ‘Ball of Confusion’ — like Melvin said — ‘And the band played on,'” Williams said.

Other remarks from Williams during his morning at the Motown Museum:

On confronting the internal drama within the Temptations: “The one thing that started to change was when we started having hit after hit, making money. That’s when you start finding out what you really are. … I loved David, Eddie, Paul, Melvin — all the guys that have helped make this group so well-loved. You know what got in our way? Life. You’re talking about five brothers that came from nothing and started making money-a-go-go, traveling. I mean, we’ve been going to the White House since Nixon was in power."

On playing a concert in Poland while the country was still under U.S.S.R. rule: “We go out on stage and we’re doing ‘Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone’ and ‘My Girl’ and ‘I Can’t Get Next to You’ and what have you. They were singing it word for word right along with us. We were saying, ‘For them not to have a radio station, how do they know about our music?’ When we finished, I talked with one of the fans: ‘I know the Iron Curtain is not far from y’all — how do you know about Motown?’ (It was) the black market. Motown had been so impressive, they sought us out.”

On the impact of Motown in Detroit: “Motown never left. It’s still here. It’s a new generation of people, like this wonderful lady here (Robin Terry). She calls me anytime when it comes to enhancing talent, improving talent. The spirit of Motown ... here we are in the 21^st century. Berry (Gordy) would never have imagined that in 1959, but it’s still there. You’ve just got to believe in what’s happening now. It’s a new cultivation of what’s happening. This young lady can call on me, Smokey, Stevie, any of the cornerstones — she can call any of us and say, ‘What do you think?’ Because we have built this for everybody to come.”

On whether he still gets nervous before shows: “Frank Sinatra was one of my all-time (favorites). Somebody asked him the same question. Sinatra said, ‘I get nervous.’ You never want to lose it, because that’s what is going to make you better. Even now, as long as we’ve been in the business, we get edgy. We’ve got a rep to live up to, and the people expect for that to be there. The desire and the feeling of being great is still there — a lot of people think if you’ve been around as long as we have, you become relaxed. No, don’t do that, because you’re talking about people that have to give up their hard-earned money. … If they come to see you, so you’ve got to give it to them.”

The Temptations and the Four Tops

7:30 p.m. Thu.

Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward, Detroit

$30-$75

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Temptations' Otis Williams shares career wisdom with young artists