Ron Tyson

Ron Tyson has been The Temptations' first tenor for the last 29 years. Born February 8, 1948, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was raised in Monroe, North Carolina. Ron was influenced at an early age by gospel music. While singing with his grandfather's gospel group, Southern Gospel Six, he recorded his first record at the age of 7. The grandfather of pop recording duo "K-Ci and Jo Jo," founding members of the group JODECI, also sang lead with Southern Gospel Six. Ron's grandfather, Horace Presson, Sr., had a radio show that promoted gospel music. Ron traveled around, performing with his grandfather. This experience enabled him to develop an appreciation for gospel music and taught him a great deal about the music business in general.

Ron later returned to Philadelphia and attended Thomas Edison, Olney, and the Granoff School of Music where he studied opera and the guitar. The guitar lessons were short lived, but the techniques he learned in his opera classes are often used in his performances now, such as breathing techniques, scales, and being able to determine a perfect pitch.

Before joining The Temptations, Ron was lead singer of The Ethics, with Carl "Nugie" Enlow, Andrew "Bike" Collins, & Joe Freeman. The Ethics represented a combination of remarkable vocal blending and versatile natural talents. The group originated during 1967 in Philadelphia and was produced and managed by Thaddeus Wales in conjunction with Salassi Productions, Inc. One of so many groups reaching for the "big time," they were signed to Vent, a small local Independent company. Despite the standard problems so many small labels ran into, the music was good enough to sell very well. Songs like "Searching," "Farewell," and "Tell Me," carry on that melodic vein and features Ron's ethereal falsetto to great effect. After Vent's demise, they carried on, changing the group's name to Love Committee. The lineup for Love Committee included Norman Frazier, Larry Richardson, Joe Freeman, and Ron Tyson. Later on, Michael Bell replaced Larry Richardson. They recorded for "TSOP" and scored disco hits in the 1970s for Ariola International, Salsoul, and Gold Mind, popular for the R&B hit "Law and Order."

In addition to being a great singer/performer, Ron was also a hit making songwriter and producer in Philadelphia. He wrote or co-wrote the majority of the songs for The Ethics and Love Committee. He worked with such artists as The O'Jays, First Choice, the Salsoul Orchestra, Gloria Gaynor, Loleatta Holloway, Double Exposure, The Trammps, The Three Degrees, and Bunny Sigler. He also worked with The Four Tops, Curtis Mayfield, The Dells, Linda Clifford, Archie Bell & The Drells, Blue Magic, and Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes' .

On Loleatta Holloway's LP, "Love Sensation," Ron co-wrote and co-produced "I'll Be Standing There" and on Curtis Mayfield's LP, "Heartbeat," Ron co-produced along with Norman Harris, "Tell me, tell me, how ya liked to be loved" and "Victory," "The Harris Machine," which included Norman Harris, Ron Kersey, Allan Felder, & Ron Tyson, co-wrote and produced The Dells' "Betcha Never Been Loved (like this before)," "Teaser," "Our Love," "Rich Man Poor Man (peace)," "Waiting for you" & the title track "They Said it Couldn't Be Done (but we did it). On the O'Jays LP "Survival", Ron co-wrote "What Am I Waiting For" in and on The Trammps' LP "Disco Inferno", he co-wrote "The Night the Lights Went Out", "Starvin'," and "Don't Burn No Bridges". Ron also co-wrote and co-produced "Private Property," "How Can One Man Be So Lucky," and "Love Connection," from The Dells' LP, "Love Connection," along with Ed Moore, Allan Felder, and Norman Harris. Ron also worked with the Legendary Joe Simon on his LP "Love Vibrations/Happy Birthday Baby." On this LP Ron co wrote and co-produced "I Can't Stand a Liar," "Somebody for everybody," "If you got the time (I got the place)," "It must be love" & "I.O.U." Joe Simon was a great inspiration for Ron. Ron learned how to read music and special counts bars from Joe who was very influential in helping Ron to become a great songwriter. He taught Ron many different things about the art of songwriting. Bishop Joe Simon and Ron are still great friends today. Ron also worked with Harris-Baker-Young, Philadelphia's disco rhythm section that consisted of guitarist Norman "The Machine" Harris, drummer Earl Young, and bass player, Ron Baker. During the course of his many collaborations in Philly, Ron proved himself to be a hard worker, very determined, and a talented, sought after vocalist, writer, and producer. Ron Tyson's first appearance with the Temptations was on the "Motown 25, Today, Yesterday, Forever" television special in 1983. His entry into the group was delayed for a couple of days because of a bad snowstorm, so easing him into the group slowly never worked out. The call asking The Temptations to perform on Motown 25 came in and Ron had to get to work. He had been working with a choreographer to learn the routines but after receiving the call to perform, he had to go with what he knew. After practicing a few moves (including the famous "Temptations Walk") while waiting in the wings backstage, a very nervous but excited Tyson went on stage and performed. He hit all the right notes and made all the right moves and has been an integral part of the Motown Legendary Group for over 22 years. Before that, he wrote the majority of songs on The Temptations' "HEAR to Tempt You" LP 1977, including the two singles, "In a Lifetime" and "Think for Yourself." Ron co-wrote songs and sang background on both Norman Harris produced Eddie Kendricks' albums, "He's A Friend" and "Goin' up in Smoke." On "Goin' up in Smoke" Phil Hurt, Bunny Sigler, & Carl Helm also sang background with Ron. Ron also sang background vocals on several of the sessions in Philly. Ron has quite a vocal range. Although he is known for singing in his sweet falsetto voice, he is very capable of singing bass as well.

Tyson handles the vocals once performed by Eddie Kendricks. Ron was a big Temptations fan while growing up and patterned his style after the late great Eddie Kendricks, his idol, so becoming the 13th member of this legendary Motown group and taking the place of Eddie was one of the greatest things that ever happened for him. Ron was the fourth replacement for Eddie Kendricks after he left the group in 1971. Before Tyson, there was Ricky Owens, Damon Harris, and Glenn Leonard. Tyson has seen the group through some lean years, and at last his perseverance and hard work is paying off. On May 16th, 2000, Motown released The Temptations' 57th album, "EAR-Resistible." The group received a Grammy in the best R & B Traditional CD category on February 21, 2001 at the 43rd Annual Grammy Ceremony. Ron sings several leads and shared leads on this CD including, "Got to Get on the Road", "Proven and True," "Kiss Me like You Miss Me." Ron also co-wrote the song, "Party" on this CD. Tyson comes alive on stage . . . and his fine tenor voice is capable of a "shimmering" falsetto.

Quite the entertainer, Ron serves as master of ceremonies for The Temptations' shows. By encouraging audience participation, Ron keeps everyone "pumped up" throughout the entire performance and he lends his expert showmanship to the "My Girl" segment of the show. Always a crowd pleaser, two lucky individuals are chosen to show their talents by "wiggling their hips" to the beat and singing a portion of "My Girl", The Temptations' signature song, as Ron offers them the microphone. He is very amusing with his great sense of humor, keeping the audience laughing with his quick wit and his different comedy routines

In addition to his work as tenor for The legendary Temptations, Ron has found the time to co-write and record his own solo CD entitled, "Christmas...My Favorite Holiday". The CD includes both traditional and original holiday songs. There are also several collaborations with vocalists, friends, and associates including Al McKenzie, Oji Pierce, & Eugene "Lamb Chops" Curry. With Ron's wide ranging experience and phenomenal talent, this is definitely a CD everyone can enjoy. Ron Tyson's Christmas CD is a feast of music that spans the history of Christmas carols from its beginnings to the present day and a joyful delight and addition to the Christmas season.

Ron has released his 2nd solo CD project entitled "Recipe 4 Love". Both CD's are available from Ron Tyson's website rontyson.com, the CD BABY website, cdbaby.com, or it can be downloaded from itunes.com or amazon.com. This recording showcases both gifts, as it includes some future classics along with a guest artist duet with legendary soul diva Freda Payne. Ron collaborates with the CD's producer, award-winner Preston Glass, along with having 2 new songs contributed by hit-making writer Vinnie Barrett (whose credits include "Love Won't Let Me Wait"; "Sideshow" & "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely"). This is truly a Recipe 4 Love, and a concoction for a fantastic CD!

Twenty nine years later, Ron Tyson is still counting his blessings and very thankful to be a part of this wonderful and legendary group.