The Temptations Review will bring songs of the original group to two shows July 25 at Isle Casino

The musical group The Temptations has been around for five decades, and although Dennis Edwards, once the lead singer, has formed a different group, The Temptation Review, concertgoers can expect the same level of entertainment they have come to expect from the original group.

Edwards said although the name is slightly different, people can count on hearing all their favorite tunes, such as "Just My Imagination," "Pappa Was a Rollin' Stone," "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg."

The group will perform July 25 at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau, 777 N. Main St.

Edwards said playing Cape Girardeau is a natural for him for a couple of reasons.

"It's like home. One of my daughters went to school there," Edwards said.

Also, Edwards resides in St. Louis.

Playing in a casino is a favorite venue of his, he said.

"We work all over the world, but we're more relaxed in casinos, because people are there just to have a good time, and the atmosphere is so right," Edwards said.

The music of the group carries a message that is universal, he said.

"Our music is actually about the love between a man and a woman, and the struggles we go through," Edwards said.

He said he is proud to be a part of the group, which has evolved through a time when the music industry was different, and The Temptations Review has held to the basics of the Temptations' original style.

"I respect my era," said Edwards, 72. "It's a clean era. You don't have to worry about hearing four-letter words. We always have had a classy act."

That's largely because of the influence of Barry Gordy, founder of the Motown record label.

"It wasn't a big black industry at that time," he said. "One of Barry's rules was that the act had to be classy."

To accomplish that goal, Edwards said Gordy put the band members through a sort of cultural training, during which they were coached on how to act when meeting people, how to conduct themselves in public and ways to show fans the respect they deserve.

"It seemed silly back then, but now I appreciate that training, because it made us who we are today," he said.

Some of the acts played by younger musicians could benefit from similar training, Edwards reflects.

"They don't sign autographs; they don't respect their fans," he said. "We owe them that. They made us."

Edwards said he makes it a point to interact with his fans whenever he can, and unless he's in a hurry, he's always happy to sign autographs.

Though Edwards is the only member of the Temptations who is in The Temptations Review, there is another member who has close ties to the group: Paul Williams Jr., son of original band member Paul Williams.

Originally, Edwards said he was a bit concerned about the age difference between Williams and the other group members.

"When you're on the road, you don't want someone who is too young," he said. "But the fact is he looks like his dad, and he sounds like his dad, and he has proved himself to be mature."

The Temptations Review will play two shows July 25 -- at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m., and at 9 p.m., with doors opening at 8:30 p.m.

General admission tickets are $30, priority seating in the second and third rows is $50, and front row seats are $75.

People younger than 21 will not be admitted. Tickets may be purchased online at cape-girardeau.isleofcapricasinos.com.

Pertinent address:

777 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.