The Vandals-In My Opinion

[Edie Antoinette]

1970 release on the Isley Brothers’ T-Neck label. The falsetto here belongs to Otis Harris, Jr., who had formed this singing group as a teenager in Baltimore. The group sang Temptations covers and called itself the Young Tempts – until Motown objected. They became the Young Vandals and then, simply, the Vandals.

Otis Harris joined the real-life Temptations in 1971, occupying the high-tenor slot originally held by Eddie Kendricks. Harris adopted the stage name “Damon Harris” in deference to the Temptations’ other Otis... group leader Otis Williams.

Damon Harris can be heard rocking the falsetto on “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.”

[Edie Antoinette]

He sure does look alot different Ricky. Whoa.

[Ricky Le Blanc]

Damn! Damon sure doesn't look like the slim young man that replaced Kendricks in the Temptations. He looks like he has been competing with Dennis Edwards to see who can eat the most.

[Edie Antoinette]

Revisiting.... love it!

[Edie Antoinette]

Wow....now this is priceless... Bless his heart. O know he needed to quit with them fines...LOL

Thanks Sole. I got some more stuff to add over at the Isley discussion..

[Shelley "SoleMann" King]

WOW....Look at Damon now

[Shelley "SoleMann" King]

WOW...Never knew Damon's name was Otis, i bet Otis Williams threatened to fine him 50 cent if he didn't change his name....ROFLMBO.

I had heard of them being The Vandals, but The Young Tempts is news to me also. He was so young when he joined The Temptations.

I'm digging this song also

[Edie Antoinette]

[Edie Antoinette]

Here's more info:

Biography by Andrew Hamilton

Members of the group later known as Impact burst onto the recording scene with the name the Young Tempts on the Isley Brothers' T- Neck label. The first single, "I've Been Good to You" b/w "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby," ripped the Temptations' earlier versions, and both tracks appeared on the Gettin' Ready album with Eddie Kendricks on lead. Impact's falsetto Otis Robert Harris Jr. sounded like a fuller Kendricks, but he lacked Kendricks' edge. Objecting to the name, Motown filed an injunction and had the record recalled; T-Neck renamed the act the Young Vandals and pressed more copies with the new moniker. After two more singles for T-Neck during 1970, the Baltimore natives disbanded when Otis Harris landed a gig with the Temptations, the group he admired so, later in 1970. (He changed his name to Damon since, as he said "the group already had an Otis"). What he thought was a lifetime gig, however, turned into a four-year stint for Damon. Dejected, but not for long, he re-formed the Young Vandals and renamed them Impact. The quartet consisted of the same members: Damon Harris, John Quinton Simms, Charles Timmons, and Donald Tighman (who's related to Sonny Til of the Orioles and whose real name was Earlington Tighman).

They signed with a Philadelphia production company who secured a masters' deal with Atco Records. An album titled Impact dropped first, followed by the single "Happy Man," a popular 1976 disco cut. Impact put as much work in their backing vocals as the lead, something peculiar with D.C./Baltimore-area groups; the background voices competed with the lead for attention, making the songs more exciting. In addition to Harris' buttery falsetto, Impact had a David Ruffin-ish tenor and both were a joy to hear.

The same procedure was followed with "Love Attack" and "One Last Memory." While the singles and the album had a winning sound, sales figures were less than projected and the Atco association terminated. They surfaced on Fantasy in 1977 with a new album, The Pac Is Back. Fantasy released two singles -- "Rainy Days" and "Smile Awhile" -- but with only minimal chart action and scant sales, they proved to be Impact's final releases. Harris later went solo and cut a couple of critically acclaimed albums that didn't do much. He later disappeared from the scene, moved to Reno, NV, to finish college, and still lives there. The whereabouts of the other members are unknown, but it's believed all live in the Baltimore/D.C. area.