Elbridge Bryant (pictured with the group at left) was one of the original lineup of "Elgins" that auditioned at Hitsville for Motown's Mickey Stevenson, and became one of The Temptations. Even earlier, he was part of Otis' group in 1958, The Siberians, and then later, The Distants, when they recorded their first single "ComeOn" as far back as 1959.
"Al", as they called him, was quite a ladies man, and knew how to work his charm. Along with a drinking problem, and all the attention that was quickly going to his head, he developed a bad attitude, and he became a problem from early on.
One night, while the group was wrapping up a performance at Chappy's Lounge, Al and Paul got into it backstage, arguing about whether or not the group should go back out for an encore. The argument escalated and became violent with Al crashing a beer bottle down on Pauls face, narrowly missing his eye. Paul was rushed to the hospital where he was stitched up and had to spend the night.
Not long after, at the Fox Theaters' annual Christmas show in 1963, Al was fired from the group.
Years later, in 1968, at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Al just showed up at the stage door. His face was ashen, his eyes sunken in, and there was a deep sadness in his voice. He had apparently put together a little group of his own, but nothing had happened for them. About ten years later, Al died in Florida of cirrhosis of the liver.
