Melvin Franklin, Bass For The Temptations

LOS ANGELES - Melvin Franklin, an original member of The Temptations whose deep voice anchored harmonies on such hits as "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "My Girl," died yesterday. He was 52.

Mr. Franklin died of heart failure, a week after he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following a series of seizures, hospital spokesman Ron Wise said.

"He sustained significant neurological damage, which was complicated by diabetes and other medical problems," Wise said.

Born David English on Oct. 12, 1942, in Montgomery, Ala., Mr. Franklin sang with The Elgins, renamed The Primes, who began recording for Detroit's Motown Records in 1960.

Two years later, the group reformed as The Temptations with Mr. Franklin, Otis Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams and Eldridge Bryant. David Ruffin replaced Bryant in 1964, and the group signed with Motown.

Mr. Franklin's basso profundo was the heart of The Temptations, with much of the group's harmonizing overlaying his bass. Last September, The Temptations got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The group's first hit was "The Way You Do the Things You Do" in 1964. Their smooth, toe-tapping rock and soul sound would eventually sell an estimated 22 million records during their career.

The group exuded confidence, and with good reason. Mr. Franklin once boasted that The Temptations needed only "a light, a microphone and a plain wood floor" to captivate an crowd.