Ball of Confusion: My Life as a Temptin' Temptation Paperback – Picture Book, July 15, 2014

provided a little extra info on the Temptations but really put negative actions by Otis as his main focus.

While a somewhat interesting read, the late Richard Street comes off as a very bitter man who wants to claim credit for things that he had little to nothing to do with. When one thinks of the lead singers of the Temptations, you think of Ruffin, Kendricks, Edwards and Paul Williams, not Richard Street. For sure he is a large part of the Temptations history but for the majority of his tenure, the Temptations had become an oldies act. He was an important part of Papa Was A Rollin' Stone as his voice fit that song perfectly, but that was really the Temptations last big hit and for Mr Street to try and claim that nothing would have happened with the Temptations if not for him is far overstated at best. For me his bitterness and ego ruined what could have been an interesting story told by someone who was there for at least some of it.

I have always been a fan of the Tempting Tempations, but one of my favorite was Richard Streets. I want to get to know the man that spent 25 years to this group yet was to me the only one not mention. I did as much research as I could. I always wanted to ask Otis what he had against him. Taking nothing away from Dr Otis. Great book.

I felt that Richard Street shared some interesting perspectives regarding the Temptations which had not been revealed before. Especially, the impact Otis Williams has had on the group with his controlling nature. All we have heard from before this book was Otis`s account of how things went and why legendary singers such as David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks left the group. Richard had a very unique way of speaking which was certainly different. The author should have continued to tell the remainder of the story up to and including the time when Richard left the group as well as the point of time when both Damon Harris and Richard himself passed away. The book was useful for gaining a different understanding and perspective about the group but could have gone into so much more detail.

Mr. Street has serious issues. I read Otis William's version and Richard Street's versions of some of the same events and must say the total truth lies somewhere in between the lines. This book paints Mr. Williams as something short of the Devil but the reality is the Temptations is still a performing group with many personnel changes but still drawing audiences with their music based on Mr. William's leadership. Mr. Street, on the other hand, is virtually unknown. His importance is magnified in his own mind. I reverse the right to make a judgement call. But, if you decide to read this book try being open- minded as I did and see where that gets you.

This book was an account of the group without any input from Otis Williams, so it was unbiased. The other 4 original members have a passed away so their views will never be written down.The only negative I can say is that the writing was way too religious for me. However I must thank Mr Street for his views and G-d bless him and all of the Temptations throughout the theirs for sharing their voices with us.

totally underwhelming! nothing of any consequence shared by Richard, only a bit of " shade " thrown towards Otis without any details of the disparities in royalty payments, performance fees, etc. what I found significantly missing was any mention of louis price ( an outstanding vocalist and individual ) and his tenure with the tempts. it would have been enlightening to know some detail of the interaction and dissonance Otis and/or the other tempts had with damon, louis, david, and paul which led to their exit/dismissals and most importantly, any conversations shared between Richard and his childhood friend, Melvin, whom he supposedly encouraged and mentored to be the singer and star he became. I was particularly looking forward to this book, as opposed to the other tepid and ( largely ) disingenuous books previously written by the like of Otis, Mary Wilson, the andantes, and other Motown alumni who, for, whatever reason, are reluctant or scared to share what really transpired and some of the reasons ( from their perspective ) for same. as I am the brother-in-law of ( one of ) david ruffin's former "personal managers" ( actually, the one who was eerily ( but accurately )) portrayed in the temptation's mini-series movie a couple of decades ago ( but was inaccurate in so many other aspects ), I was privy to a lot of activities and involved in a lot of scenarios with a lot of motowners, including all of the temptations, from 1967 on... Richard was a very complex, caring and intense person and I find it hard to believe that he would have endorsed this pathetic attempt on his behalf to represent " his story ", had he been living.

I just wish that their were pictures N it, you should have put some pictures of (him) Richard Street & his family witch includes his Ex-first wife & there son Richard Street Jr, aka (Rickey), his second wife whom he had (3)-three kids by& her (4)-four that she brought into the family which makes a total of (8)-eight kids all put together, & you should have some pictures of the grand kids as well. But other then that I loved the book.

I love Richard Street. His breathy and soulful voice always stood out with instant recognition, it always impressed me, especially live. So different to his predecessor Paul Williams but nonetheless, still brilliant in his own way.Not knowing him personally but I knew from interviews that he had a jovial nature and an easy to get along with personality. This does shine through here. This book however was such a let down. After his passing it's hard to be too negative as my respect for him is too great but my criticism is purely constructive. This book is, to me, a bit pointless, overall. It lacks detail, it lacks the insight the that we need from such an integral member of The Temptations. Sure, we have some nice anecdotes, some nice memories but what we don't have is a good enough counter to Otis's book, or, just something that spills a few more beans about his time as a Temptation. What we have is a pleasant account of minor details, a lot of name dropping and a lot of references to 'classic' Motown songs. Richard is/was so much better than this. He was and is still a part of Motown.We know Otis sacked him for not showing up for a show. We know it was because Richard was having a serious medical procedure. Richard still could have been more frank with the details. Without the details, this book lost creditability, for me anyway.What we have here, in this book, is a distinct example of Richards's good and deeply religious nature which in itself isn't a bad thing. It's not a good thing though that as a fan of his and of the Tempts, that we want answers and we want details, but in this respect, we are sadly short changed.This I guess was better than nothing.RIP Richard Street, a good guy and a great singer.

Can't say that I enjoyed reading this, using famous Motown and soul record titles on every other page was just a bit boring and something I tried as a teenager writing to a new girlfriend, it seemed like it was just adding to the words total.Richard Street did not have a good word to say about Otis Williams throughout the whole book which may not surprise those who know the Temptations story. You might think that he would have jumped ship long ago if life was so bad having to have OW as the leader of the gang.I waited for years for this book as Richard had promised he would put his story on paper, he even mentioned it when I met him in The Palm Beach casino in London in 2004. Our photo taken together was even published in Blues and Soul issue 24 a few weeks later.Would I buy this book again if I knew what I know now ? ............. I'm afraid not.Maybe this will prompt Dennis Edwards to put pen to paper !!!!

As an avid fan of the Temptations, I was interested to see what Richard Street's take on events was compared to Otis's book. Knowing Motown acts and songs helps as there are lots of lyric references, but it's an easy read and adds another perspective to the Temptations history. All fans should read it and make their own minds up as to what actually went on within the group and at Motown. The book rightly concentrates on Richard's upbringing and life in the music business, but there are sufficient revelations to keep all Temps fans happy.As we never got autobiographies from David, Eddie, Paul or Melvin, this is the closest you're going to get to finding out about the classic line up. Of course, what we really need now is Dennis Edward's autobiography to reveal more stories, but this is a nice little book to own.

It's a good read as far as it goes. It peters out at the finish though. Another view on the mid period Temptations to that of Otis Williams.

Awesome book please read it had e Luther edge icky seat couldn't put it down