Richard Allen Street (October 5, 1942 – February 27, 2013) was an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of Motown vocal group The Temptations from 1971 to 1993. Prior to joining the Temptations, he had been a member of Otis and The Distants in the 50s, a vocal group that was led by Otis Williams.
Early life
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Street was the first member of the Temptations to actually be a native of the city which served as Motown's namesake and hometown; all of the previous members were born and at least partially raised in the southern United States.
Career
Otis Williams and the Distants
Street was the lead singer of an early Temptations predecessor, Otis Williams & the Distants, and takes the spotlight on their local hit "Come On". The Distants also included future Temptations Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin (who referred to Street as his cousin), and Elbridge "Al" Bryant, who left The Distants and their record deal with Johnnie Mae Matthews' Northern Records to form The Elgins (later The Temptations) with Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. After their departure, Matthews had Street briefly lead a new Distants group in the early 1960s.
The Monitors
During the mid-1960s, Street performed with a Motown act called The Monitors, to its name. They also had a smaller hit in 1965 by the name of "Say You", which The Temptations also recorded for their Gettin' Ready album.
The Temptations
Street knew the Temptations and Otis Williams, in particular, having worked for Motown in quality control and through his vocal work with the Distants and the Monitors. By the late-1960s, Street was being called upon to travel with The Temptations and sing Paul Williams' parts from off-stage, while Paul Williams, who suffered from both alcoholism and sickle-cell disease, "Masterpiece" (1973), and was featured solo on "Hey Girl (I Like Your Style)" (1973) as well as the album cuts "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Heavenly" (1973), and "Firefly", from the All Directions (1972), 1990 (1973), and A Song for You albums (1975), respectively. Street and Damon Harris traded leads on "Heavenly". He and old Distants bandmates Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin endured a number of lineup changes over the two decades Street was a Temptation, during which time Dennis Edwards, Ricky Owens, Damon Harris, Glenn Leonard, Louis Price, Ron Tyson, and Ali-Ollie Woodson all served as members of the group at various times.
According to Street's own website, he left the group after the "family feeling" of the Temptations deteriorated. He fell out with Otis Williams in 1993 after missing a show because Street entered the hospital to have seventeen kidney stones removed. When the information wasn't relayed to Otis Williams, he confronted Street, demanding to know why he missed his last performance. Street felt that Williams seemed to show a lack of concern, and decided to move on. He was replaced by Theo Peoples. Street had four children. He had one son, Richard Street Jr., from his marriage to Gill and had three children from additional relationships: Brandi Chapman, Januari Street, and Brandon Street. Richard Street was married to Cynthia Ramirez Street when he died. They were married for 7 years.
At the time of his death, Street was completing his autobiography, Ball of Confusion (referring to the Temptations song "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)", which Street did not appear on as he joined The Temptations in 1971, the year after it was released). Completed by his co-author, Gary Flanigan, Ball of Confusion: My Life as a Temptin' Temptation was published in 2014. It is the second autobiographical account of The Temptations, the first being Otis Williams' Temptations book from 1988.
Death
Richard Street died on February 27, 2013, at the St. Rose Dominican Hospital of a pulmonary embolism. His death occurred nine days after fellow former Temptation Damon Harris's death.