David Melvin English

 David Melvin English (October 12, 1942 – February 23, 1995)

He was better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin, or his nickname "Blue", was a bass singer. Franklin was best known for his role as a founding member of Motown singing group The Temptations from 1960 to 1994.Taking on his stepfather's surname for his stage name as a teenager, David English—now Melvin Franklin—was a member of a number of local singing groups in Detroit, including The Voice Masters with Lamont Dozier and David Ruffin, and frequently performed with Richard Street. Franklin often referred to Street and Ruffin as his "cousins". In 1958, a classmate of Franklin's at Northwestern High School, Otis Williams, invited Franklin to join his singing group, Otis Williams and the Siberians. Franklin joined the group as its bass singer, and remained with Williams and Elbridge Bryant when they, Paul Williams, and Eddie Kendricks formed The Elgins in late 1960. In March 1961, the Elgins signed with Motown Records under a new name; The Temptations. He had a fondness for the color blue, and so he was nicknamed "Blue" by fellow singers. Otis and Melvin were the only founding Temptations who never left the group. In the late 1960s, Melvin was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, the symptoms of which he combated with cortisone so that he could continue performing. The constant use of cortisone left his immune system open to other infections and health problems; as a result Melvin developed diabetes in the early 1980s and later contracted necrotizing fasciitis. In 1978 he was shot in the hand and in the leg while trying to stop a man from stealing his car in Los Angeles. On February 15, 1995, after a series of seizures, Melvin collapsed into a coma and remained unconscious until his death on February 23, 1995. He is interred at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills.