Bronze Statue of Eddie Kendricks

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham native Eddie Kendricks was the sometimes-lead singer of the soul group The Temptations. He died in 1992, and on October 16, 1999, Birmingham erected a tribute to him, sculpted by Ronald Scott McDowell, in a tiny downtown park.

A plaque at the Eddie Kendrick (he dropped the "s" at some point) Memorial Park notes that his nickname was "cornbread," and the sculpture features the entire five-man Temptations line-up, standing on what appears to be a giant vinyl record.

Eddie is frozen in bronze, performing with microphone in hand, eyes cast heavenward, crooning one his trademark "Ooooooohs." His skinny frame stands in front of a granite wall engraved with musical notes and the titles of the Temptations' hits ("Just my Imagination," "Since I Lost My Baby," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," etc.). Quasi-3D sculptures of the rest of the group, in mid-performance strut, extrude from the wall.

The sculpture, challenged with rendering a dynamic pop figure in a medium that historically immortalizes generals and politicians, is unusual (and no doubt pleasing to Temptations fans, who can pose with Eddie). But anyone trying to freeze Eddie Kendricks in bronze faced a daunting task. McDowell repaired and refurbished the statue in 2013.