HAPPY BIRTHDAY Damon Harris (born Otis Robert Harris, Jr., July 17, 1950 – February 18, 2013 was a soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1975. Twenty years old when he joined the group, Harris was the youngest member of The Temptations during his tenure in the group. As a teenager Harris had formed a Temptations tribute band named The Young Tempts (aka The Young Vandals). The group had charted singles released on T-Neck Records, and later had a few minor hits under the name Impact. He also was instrumental in his former singing group partner, Billy Griffin, getting the opportunity to replace Smokey Robinson in The Miracles. Harris later founded and CEO of The Damon Harris Cancer Foundation dedicated to promoting the awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer. As a teenager growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, Otis Harris, Jr. was a major Temptations fan, and idolized in particular the groups falsetto, Eddie Kendricks. Patterning himself after Kendricks, Harris and his friends John Quinton Simms, Charles Timmons (also known as Kareem Ali, who went on to perform with Glenn Leonards Temptations Revue), and Donald Knute Tighman, formed a Temptations-inspired vocal group during his high school years called The Young Tempts (Tempts being a nickname for the Temptations). The Young Tempts recorded covers of two 1966 Temptations songs, Ive Been Good to You (a song originally recorded by The Miracles), and Too Busy Thinking About My Baby, for The Isley Brothers T-Neck Records in 1970. Motown Records filed an injunction against T-Neck because of the groups name; the 45 was withdrawn and re-issued with the group credited as The Young Vandals, and reached #46 on the R&B charts. After two more T-Neck singles, In My Opinion and Im Gonna Wait For You, The Young Vandals broke up, because Harris felt that college would be a more sensible endeavor than a singing career. In April 1971, a friend convinced Harris to audition for The Temptations, who were doing a series of shows in nearby Washington, D.C.. The group had just replaced Eddie Kendricks with Ricky Owens from The Vibrations, who was giving uneven performances, and The Temptations were again looking for a replacement. Harris performed first for Temptations Melvin Franklin, Richard Street, and Dennis Edwards before auditioning for group leader Otis Williams. Williams was hesitant about taking on the young singer, who was nearly a decade younger than the rest of The Temptations. Franklin, Street, and Edwards voted to accept Harris, however, and he made his onstage debut a few weeks later as first tenor/falsetto. Around this time, Billy Griffin replaced Smokey Robinson in The Miracles. When Damon joined the Temptations, he changed his name to Damon because in his words, the group already had an Otis. In 1973, Damon married Christina Combs of New York City and from that marriage two children were born, Otis Robert III and Dominique Chris-Ann. Harris continued to perform with the Temptations for four years, providing Kendricks-esque lead vocals on hits such as Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are) (1971), Take a Look Around (1972), the #1 pop hit Papa Was a Rollin Stone (1972, a three-time Grammy Award winner), the #1 R&B hit Masterpiece (1973), and Plastic Man (1973).He sang lead on Love Woke Me Up This Morning from the All Directions album (1972) and is featured prominently on The Temptations Live in Japan (1973). According to Otis Williamss book The Temptations, Harris was fired from the group in 1975 because of inappropriate statements he made that affected the perception of the group in the eyes of the public. After leaving the group, the dejected Harris decided to reform The Young Vandals with Simms, Timmons (Kareem Ali), and Tilghman, renaming the group Impact, and signing a deal with Atco Records in 1976. Working with a Philadelphia soul production team, Impact recorded a number of minor soul and disco hits, including Happy Man and the #5 disco hit Give a Broken Heart a Break. The group released only one album on Atco, 1976s Impact, before being dropped from the label because of low sales. Impact signed with Fantasy Records in 1977 and issued the album The Pac is Back, which also suffered from slow sales. The group disbanded and Harris recorded some solo singles of his own including 1978s Its Music, and the album Silk. Damon Harris soon retired from music and moved to Reno, Nevada to complete college. In the 1990s, he returned to music and began touring, sometimes billing himself as The Temptations Review Starring Damon Harris. Richard Street, another ex-Temptation, periodically performed with Harris Temptations review until he formed his own Temptations group. He also briefly toured with former Temptations David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks and Dennis Edwards before Ruffin and Kendricks died. At the age of 47, Harris was diagnosed with prostate cancer, while making a comeback into the music industry. After being treated for the disease, Harris founded The Damon Harris Cancer Foundation in 2001. The organization is a non-profit company, designed to heighten awareness of prostate cancer diagnoses and treatments. The organization has a special focus in reaching African-American audiences, as African-American men have an approximately 60% higher chance of contracting prostate cancer than white men, and are twice as likely to die from the disease . On Saturday May 5, 2001 South Jersey radio host Tim Marshall organized the first Damon Harris Cancer Foundation Benefit Gala held in Mount Laurel NJ. Entertainers including Ms. Marilyn Marshall and The Delfonics paid tribute to Harris who was honored for his charitable works Harris received a Proclamation from the New Jersey Legislature presented by State Senator Diane Allen. Harris was also a regular guest co-host on R&B Showcase Radio Show on WBZC FM in South Jersey. Harris died at a Baltimore hospice February 18, 2013 of prostate cancer. He was 62.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 09:55:56 +0000
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