Otis Williams literally is The Last Temptation, the sole surviving original member and group leader of The Temptations, the quintessential Motown vocal group known for its rich harmonies and smooth choreography.

"We're still having fun, and that's the key to our success," said Williams, 65, who has no inclination to stop after 45 years with The Temps.

Williams was speaking from Los Angeles, en route to a three-night stand in Honolulu. The Temptations join the Honolulu Symphony Pops Thursday through Jan. 20 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall (the Thursday performance was added by popular demand). The group also performs Jan. 21 on Maui.

"For us, and I think for our fans, these songs that we do are timeless and nonoffensive. We leave a lot to the imagination; people can sing along. When we pick our music, we consider the melody and the lyrics; if the combination is endearing, it works. And our songs have transcended time. It's definitely not like a lot of today's music, which is loud and often offensive. In fact, a lot of it is pitiful."

For much of the group's history, Williams has been a background singer, but he's content being the tenor in the middle of all those classic streetcorner-type serenades that distinguish the Temps' sound.

"I did sing lead at the beginning, but when you have a bunch of strong voices, like David (Ruffin), Eddie (Kendricks) and Dennis (Edwards), you move aside. Whoever had the vocal ability would do lead; besides, the producer decided," he said.

The catalog of hits by The Temptations include "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Get Ready," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Cloud Nine," "I Can't Get Next to You," "Psychedelic Shack," "Just My Imagination," "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" (with Diana Ross and The Supremes), "I'll Try Something New" (also with The Supremes), "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" and "Glass House." Of course, the signature is "My Girl."

The group had to adjust to changes and challenges triggered by exiting members and deaths that threatened its survival. Its ability to move on, hone the voices, keep the choreographics, has been a hallmark not easily duplicated. "Part of the business," Williams said.

The classic five members included Williams, plus Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams (no relation to Otis), Melvin Franklin and David Ruffin. Paul Williams committed suicide in 1971, Ruffin died in 1991 after years of substance abuse, Kendricks died in 1992 after a bout with lung cancer and Franklin succumbed in 1995 after a brain seizure.

"We have gone through problems, for sure," Williams said. "But life is like that. When something happens, you get up and dust yourself, and move on. It seems that every so many years, something new would unfold. But that's the rhythm of life. You continue on."

The Temptations were one of Motown Records' powerhouse acts, thanks to the string of hit records that defined the 1960s. The group was formed in 1961 with the merger of two Detroit acts, the Primes and the Distants.

Its label was a Berry Gordon spinoff, Gordy Records, and the group's first charted disc was "The Way You Do the Things You Do," which peaked at No. 11. The first No. 1 song was "My Girl."

The Temptations' success, like that of The Four Tops, The Supremes, The Commodores, The Miracles and other Detroit peers, didn't have anything to do with what was in the drinking water. "It was one of those blessed events because Motown came along in the '60s," Williams said of that artistic mecca.

"When I think back and review what happened, the whole evolution was God's intervention. Motown was a two-story house that would be home to so many talented people — singers, producers, artists. There never will be another Motown entity with that kind of force."

And, he repeated, the fun factor "keeps me going; I'm often asked how long I'll continue doing this. Well, I'm going to ride the hair of the horse; I will get off the horse when the horse is bald. I'm just having too much fun."

The gigs with the Honolulu Symphony reflect an occasional departure from the normally soulful groove the act follows in conventional concerts. "We do quite a few symphony shows a year," Williams said. "Most recently, it was in North Carolina. What I like are the beautiful-sounding strings, which make our songs sound like the records."

While their hits age with grace and respect, their fans continue to grow younger. "Everywhere we go, the people receive us well; they pass on (their support) to the family members, making it a shared thing. I think what has helped us is the miniseries we did (NBC profiled The Temptations in a four-hour telecast in two-hour airings in 1998) that was shown over and over."

The series had actors portraying the singers and was based on a 1998 book, "Temptations," authored by Williams and Patricia Romanowski and updated in 2002, which was both an autobiography and history of the act.

"The book dealt with a lot of the machinations going on behind the scenes ... to show what we do to get on stage," Williams said.

Touring now is far easier than touring then, he said of life on the road. "We travel by one of two modes; we fly, or we take tour buses loaded with creature comforts like satellite TV, microwaves and other stuff. Back in the 1960s and '70s, we'd often have five or six acts on one bus, resulting in a ball of confusion."

The tour buses don't flash the group's name, the way country- music stars journey across America. "You're asking for trouble when you do that," he said.

ANSWERS

1 — c
2 — c
3 — b
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5 — a

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.