The Temptations Plot Return to Motown for Next Album

Despite releasing their 49th album, 'Still Here,' this week and with a world tour set for the rest of 2010, the Temptations have even bigger things on the horizon. Sure they've won Grammys and recorded massive R&B hits, effectively introducing the entire world to the notion of classic soul music, but they're already thinking ahead to their 50th album. And they might celebrate that golden anniversary with Motown.

"I'm already brainstorming," founding Temptations member Otis Williams tells Spinner. "I want to enlist the help of Mr. [Berry] Gordy. We're going to sit down and get this spearheaded. I'll sit down and tell him he's in charge. Even though he's not still in the business, he's a force and a creative person and I want tap into those energies and wonderful ideas. It's been awhile since we've worked together."

But it doesn't stop there. Most know that the early Temptations sessions were recorded at none other than Hitsville, U.S.A., and Williams says that he'd like to reconnect with that era as much as possible. And it sounds like he's serious about it.

"I want to use Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' as the benchmark for this 50th CD," he says. "It should be just more than regular songs. It should be a conversation piece. I'm trying to enlist some of the greats: I'd like to get Paul Riser, because he was very instrumental in the Temps sound, writing the string arrangements for 'My Girl.' And if possible, get Smokey to write one."

Smokey Robinson, of course, penned such classics as the aforementioned 'My Girl,' along with 'The Way You Do the Things You Do' and 'Stay,' so as far as we're concerned, Williams knows a good thing when it came his way.

The Temptations return to road duty on May 21 in Sikeston, Mo., and will play a wide range of casinos and colleges throughout the year, with numerous dates shared with the Four Tops. 'Still Here' is out now on Hip-O Records.