45th Annual "A Capitol Fourth" 4th of July Concert Celebrates American Music Legends The Beach Boys, The Temptations
by Mark Gabrish Conlan • Copyright © 2025 by Mark Gabrish Conlan • All rights reserved Last night PBS telecast the 45th annual A Capitol Fourth concert from the Capitol Mall at Washington, D.C., and it was actually more fun than usual. The show started with Lauren Daigle, one of the better “baby divas” cluttering up the modern music scene, singing “America, the Beautiful” and Yolanda Adams churning out a powerful version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Then there was a four-song set by The Temptations, the current lineup with one surviving member (Otis Williams) from the original group. Williams, at least according to Wikipedia, owns the name “The Temptations,” and the rest of them are whoever he says they are. The songs they played last night were “Get Ready” and “My Girl,” and the current lead singer on “My Girl” (probably Tony Grant) is a quite good soul belter but doesn’t have the plaintive, understated quality the late David Ruffin brought to the original recording in 1964. Then...