With performances of the new musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations now under way at New York’s Imperial Theatre, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) is planning the release of the show’s original Broadway cast recording this spring.
Featuring the Temptations’ top hits, from “My Girl” and “The Way You Do The Things You Do” to “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” and “Cloud Nine,” the newly-recorded album is available for pre-order with a CD release on March 21, sold exclusively at the Imperial, with the digital album available March 22. The CD will be available in wide release April 19, with a 2LP vinyl release to follow June 7. The cast recording of the song “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” is available for streaming and immediate download with album pre-orders.
Ain’t Too Proud began playing the Imperial (249 West 45th Street) on February 28, and an official opening night is set for Thursday, March 21. The musical follows the Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and unmistakeable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts, creating an amazing 42 Top 10 hits, with 14 reaching Number One. The rest is history — how they met, the ground-breaking heights they hit, and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the United States fell into civil unrest.
After breaking house records at Berkeley Rep, the Kennedy Center, CTG’s Ahmanson Theatre, and Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre, Ain’t Too Proud – which was written by three-time Obie Award winner and MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant recipient Dominique Morisseau, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys), and featuring choreography by Tony nominee Sergio Trujillo – has now brought the tale of the Motown supergroup’s life and times to Broadway.
In 2018, the Temptations released their first new album in eight years, All The Time, via UMe. It features their renditions of songs by Sam Smith, Bruno Mars, John Mayer, Maxwell, Ed Sheeran, Michael Jackson, and The Weeknd, and three new Temptations originals. The Tempts continue to actively tour, performing throughout 2019.
