He spotted Franklin walking along a nearby neighborhood and rushed him with an offer to join the group as their bass singer.

[9] The Siberians (now renamed Otis Williams and the Distants)—Williams, Franklin, Street, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and James "Pee Wee" Crawford—recorded at Matthews' Northern Records, releasing singles such as "Come On" (1959) and "Alright" (1960).

[12] After losing the Distants name, the remaining members aligned with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks to form the Elgins.

One of the most famous bass singers in music throughout his career, Franklin's deep vocals became one of the group's signature trademarks.

Franklin was usually called upon to deliver ad-libs, harmony vocals, and, during the psychedelic soul era, notable sections of the main verses.

Franklin memorably sang the line "and the band played on" from The Temptations' 1970 hit single "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)".

[16] In the fall of 1978, Franklin was shot in the hand and leg while trying to stop a carjacking outside of a hair salon in West Hollywood.

[17][18][19] The incident prevented Franklin from participating in the Temptations' upcoming tour of Poland, which at the time was still behind the Iron Curtain.

[20] The constant use of cortisone left his immune system open to other infections and health problems; as a result, Franklin developed diabetes in the early 1980s and later contracted necrotizing fasciitis.

[27] In January 1995, while recording the album For Lovers Only, Ali-Ollie Woodson and Williams noticed bleeding from Franklin's ankle on his sock.

[28] Franklin's funeral was widely attended, with Smokey Robinson commemorating him with the song "Really Gonna Miss You" (a moment recreated for The Temptations miniseries).

Franklin is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.

[34] The lawsuit was joined with several ongoing litigation cases against the miniseries' creators, in which the judges ruled in favor of the defendants.