Otis "Damon" Harris, a former member of the group The Temptations, has passed away at age 62. Harris sang on the group's popular 1972 hit, "Papa was a Rolling Stone," died on Monday at the Joseph Richey Hospice on Monday after fighting prostate cancer for 14 years, the Baltimore Sun reported on Friday.
Harris, who was a native of Baltimore, auditioned to join The Temptations in 1971 at 21 years old after the group's original lead singers, Eddie Hendricks left. Upon joining the group, he changed his name from Otis to 'Damon' because, in his own words, the group "already had an Otis." He grew up admiring the group, formed a group as a teenager with his high school friends called Young Tempts, which covered Temptations songs.
A member of the group until 1975, The Temptations won three Grammy awards with Harris, who contributed on hit songs "Take a Look Around" and "Masterpiece." Though he was the youngest member of the group during his four-year stint with The Temptations, Harris sang lead vocals on "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)", "Take a Look Around", the #1 pop hit "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (three-time Grammy award winner), #1 R&B song "Masterpiece", "Plastic Man" and "Love Woke Me Up This Morning." According to Otis Williams' book, "The Temptations," Harris was booted from the group in 1975 because of inappropriate statements he made that negatibely affected the public's perception of the group.
Harris was in a long battle with prostate cancer prior to his passing, and according to family spokesman Chuck Woodson, by the end of last summer, the cancer had "gotten pretty bad." Diagnosed at age 47, Harris was a strong proponent for annual prostate exam checkups and "didn't want anyone to suffer the consequences that he suffered for not doing that," Woodson said. He founded the Damon Harris Cancer Foundation in 2001, with a special focus in reaching African-Americans, who have a higher chance of contracting prostate cancer and are twice as likely to die from the disease in comparison to Caucasian men.
