Former Temptations lead singer Ali-Ollie Woodson died Sunday in Southern California, according to Spinner. Diagnosed in 2008 with leukemia, he had a lengthy battle with the disease before it took his life. He was 58.
Having served as the lead singer beginning in 1984 (replacing Dennis Edwards), he was with the Temptations for several incarnations, as well as the Temptations Revue from 2006-2008. He had writing and producing credits on, as well as sang, “Treat Her Like a Lady”, the 1984 comeback hit that reached #2 on the U.S. R&B chart. He also sang on R&B top-5 hit “Lady Soul”. His last album with the group was For Lovers Only in 1995, after which he embarked on a solo tour.
During this time, he also had his first run-in with cancer, a throat cancer for which he underwent multiple surgeries.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Motown Alumni Association president Billy Wilson said, “He had this swagger about himself, he was cool. He had a coolness about himself that was really very inviting.
“If we ever asked him to do anything, he never said, ‘Well, it’s going to cost you.’ He’d always say, ‘Yeah, let’s go’. He was just a star performer. Wonderful person. Wonderful, wonderful person. He was very kind.”
Woodson was an occasional film and T.V. actor, having notably appeared in The Jamie Foxx Show as a mental patient. He leaves behind wife Juanita and several children.
