, sang in local talent shows with other up-and-coming Birmingham, AL, artists including
).
came to Cleveland, OH, in the late '50s and performed around the area.
and Fred Fluellen but never recorded. With no great haps in Cleveland, manager Milton Jenkins took over the reins and persuaded
to move to Detroit.
joined them in Detroit; it's unclear whether Waller trekked from Birmingham too, but Detroiters don't recall him being on the scene. Jenkins christened the trio
The Primettes struck recording blood first at Lupine Records, backing artists like Don Revel and
Gene Martin, and even recorded a single, "Pretty Baby." Tiring of gigging in small clubs,
Kendricks left for Birmingham but returned shortly afterward; around the same time,
Osborne left
the Primes to go solo. Two of
the Distants -- whose downsized lineup consisted of Otis Williams,
Melvin Franklin, and
Al Bryant -- quit, which led to openings for
Paul and
Eddie, who had befriended
the Distants at a house party.
The Distants became
the Elgins, and secured a deal with Motown, upon which they became
the Temptations; already on board was their former sister group,
the Primettes, now
the Supremes.
The Temptations cut their first Motown release on the Miracle label, "Oh Mother of Mine" b/w "Romance Without Finance," and the rest is history. None of the singles
Kell Osborne cut on various labels ever charted, though he possessed a marvelous voice that ranged between
Eddie's falsetto and
Paul's baritone. Some of
Osborne's output includes "Little Darling" on Cenco, "The Bells of St. Mary's," and recordings on Brunswick Records. As talented as
the Cavaliers/
Primes were, no recordings by them are known to exist.
–
Andrew Hamilton, Rovi