The Featured Articles

Grammy Award-winning guitarist Peter Frampton is back on the road —the Never Say Never Tour will kick off atRose Music Center at The Heights on Wednesday, June 21.

“At the end of every Finale Tour show I did say, ‘Never Say Never’ and I am always full of hope for the impossible. I’m very pleased to let you know that I am feeling strong and my fingers are still roaming the fretboard. Every note I play now has more meaning and soul. I love playing live and this fighter wants to stay in the ring for as long as he can. I’m so happy to be able to see you all one more time this summer. Much love.” – Peter Frampton

Peter Frampton is one of the most celebrated artists and guitarists in rock history. In 2007, Frampton won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album for Fingerprints and in 2014 was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame. He received the prestigious Les Paul Innovation Award from NAMM’s TEC Awards in 2019 and his album All Blues was #1 for fifteen weeks on Billboard’s Blues Chart. In 2020 Frampton was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, his autobiography Do You Feel Like I Do?: A Memoir debuted on The New York Times Bestsellers list, and his 2021 album Frampton Forgets The Words was released to widespread critical acclaim. In November of last year, Frampton performed a sold-out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall which was filmed and is currently airing on PBS as part of their Pledge Drive. Most recently, Frampton announced that on July 28 Intervention Records will release Frampton@50, a numbered limited-edition vinyl box set featuring Frampton’s essential 1972-1975 studio releases Wind of Change, Frampton’s Camel and Frampton.

After 47 years, Frampton Comes Alive! remains one of the top-selling live records of all time selling over 17 million worldwide.

Grammy award-winning group The Temptations are teaming up with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame quartet The Four Tops for a night of legendary hits, signature dance moves, and unmistakable harmonies at Rose Music Center at The Heights on Friday, July 28.

THE TEMPTATIONS

The Temptations, often referred to as “American Music Royalty,” are world-renowned superstars of entertainment, revered for their phenomenal catalog of music and prolific career. The group celebrated their 60^thAnniversary throughout 2022. To mark this milestone, The Temptations released a brand-new album, Temptations 60, with nearly all-original songs in January of 2022 and toured in the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Ranked #1 in Billboard magazine’s most recent list of the “Greatest R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of All Time,” The Temptations also appear in the magazine’s 125^th Anniversary list of the “125 Greatest of All Time Artists.” In addition, Rolling Stone magazine named the group among the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” In September of 2020, the editors of Rolling Stone magazine commented that The Temptations are “Indisputably the greatest black vocal group of the Modern Era…,” and listed the group’sAnthology album among the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” The Anthology album has appeared in all three of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums’ lists.

The Temptations’ heritage, influence and contributions to, not only American culture and African American communities but also to the global music landscape are monumental. The influence that the Temptations have had on mainstream and global artists is undeniable. The group’s popularity is ever-increasing, and they are one of the most iconic, bestselling brands in the entertainment world today.

The group’s 60-year history spans both the 20th and 21st centuries and their music transcends generations. The Temptations’ story is a road map through American history. What began in Detroit, when a remarkable combination of soulful voices united, was the genesis of an epic journey that introduced multiple superstars to the world and produced some of the greatest music of our era.

Considered trailblazers in the 60’s, leading the way, not only for themselves, but for other R&B artists and successfully reaching mainstream audiences here and abroad, the Temptations’ rise to fame was meteoric. When the legendary “Classic Five,” (Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams and David Ruffin) released the single, “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” in 1964, which peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Chart and remained on the list for 11 weeks, it marked the beginning of a multitude of award-winning and chart-topping songs and albums that would be embraced by popular music audiences globally.

They were among the first African American musical artists to crossover into mainstream America and appear on popular, national mainstream television programs, such as The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Hollywood Palace. The group’s star power was so striking that these top-rated, national programs, and many others, scheduled appearances for the Temptations multiple times during a single year. At the time, this was an unparalleled accomplishment for African American entertainers.

The Temptations, throughout the group’s evolution, have produced 53 Billboard Hot 100 Hit singles, including four that became #1 Pop singles: “My Girl,” “I Can’t Get Next to You,” “Just My Imagination,” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.” Additionally, they released 43 Top 10 R&B hit singles, 14 of which were #1 R&B hits, including timeless classics such as “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” “I Wish It Would Rain,” and songs influenced by their funk/psychedelic soul sound including “Happy People,” and “Shakey Ground.” The group also has 16 #1 R&B Albums. The Temptations’ music, then and now, continues to raise the spirit of the country and uplift a nation searching for common bonds and glimmers of hope and humanity.

The Temptations are the recipients of numerous awards and honors. The group has been awarded more than 50 Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum awards all combined. They have been awarded five Grammy® Awards (and have received nine Grammy® nominations), including the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Grammy® Award at the 56^thAnnual Grammy® Awards (2013). In 1989, The Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group was also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013. They were invited back to the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017 to receive “The R&B Male Group of the 20th Century” Award. They received the NAACP Image Award “Hall of Fame Award” in 1992. On September 14, 1994, the Temptations were given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, and on June 7, 2019 given a star on the Apollo Theater’s Walk of Fame in Harlem in New York City.

The Temptations always look forward to serenading fans with their soulful voices, lighting up stages with their famous Temptations’ Walk, and bringing joy to audiences of all ages.

THE FOUR TOPS

The legendary quartet, originally called the Four Aims, made their first Motown hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving” in 1964, made them stars and their sixties track record on the label is indispensable to any retrospective of the decade.

Their songs, soulful and bittersweet, were across-the-board successes. “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” a no. 1 R&B and Pop smash in 1965, is one of Motown’s longest-running chart toppers; “It’s The Same Old Song” (no. 2 R&B/no. 5 pop), no. 1 “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Love” (no. 2 R&B/no. 6 pop) and “Bernadette” (no. 3 R&B/no. 4 pop). Other Tops hits include “Ask The Lonely,” “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over),” “Something About You,” “You Keep Running Away,” “7-Rooms Of Gloom” and many more.

In 1990, with 24 Top-40 pop hits to their credit, the Four Tops were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Though they would no longer have hits on record, the group continued to be a hit in concert, touring incessantly, a towering testament to the enduring legacy of the Motown Sound they helped shape and define.

“The Four Tops will always be one of the biggest and the best groups ever. Their music is forever.” – Smokey Robinson

Tickets for both shows will go on sale to the public beginning at 10am on Friday, April 14 at Ticketmaster.com and the Rose Music Center Box Office.