Damon Harris
Damon Harris (born Otis Robert Harris, Jr., July 17, 1950 – February 18, 2013) was an African-American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1975. Twenty years old when he joined the group, Harris was the youngest member of The Temptations during his tenure in the group. As a teenager Harris had formed a Temptations tribute band named The Young Tempts (aka The Young Vandals). The group had charted singles released on T-Neck Records, and later had a few minor hits under the name Impact. He also was instrumental in his former singing group partner, Billy Griffin, getting the opportunity to replace Smokey Robinson in The Miracles. Harris later founded, and became the CEO of, The Damon Harris Cancer Foundation dedicated to promoting the awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer.
Biography
The Young Tempts/The Young Vandals
As a teenager growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, Otis Harris, Jr. was a major Temptations fan, and idolized in particular the group's falsetto, Eddie Kendricks. Patterning himself after Kendricks, Harris and his friends John Quinton Simms, Charles Timmons (also known as Kareem Ali, who went on to perform with Glenn Leonard's Temptations Revue), and Donald Knute Tighman, formed a Temptations-inspired vocal group during his high school years called The Young Tempts ("Tempts" being a nickname for the Temptations). The Young Tempts recorded covers of two 1966 Temptations' songs, "I've Been Good to You" (a song originally recorded by The Miracles), and "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby," for The Isley Brothers' T-Neck Records in 1970. Motown Records filed an injunction against T-Neck because of the group's name; the 45 was withdrawn and re-issued with the group credited as The Young Vandals, and reached #46 on the R&B charts.
