Steeped in Gospel, the most iconic among Motown bands is coming to Monterey.

The world went so gaga for “My Girl” that The Beatles sent a telegram with congratulations. Also, it was The Temptations who first sang “War (What is it good for?)” during the Vietnam War.

Tempted? Keep reading.

There have been 28 Temptations members, but Otis Williams is the first and the last-remaining original Temptation, proclaimed the band leader upon being most punctual of the early bunch. Despite officially being from Detroit, The Temptations remained “Southern boys,” as Williams always emphasizes in interviews. Their honey-dripping harmonies testify to their church upbringing. An irresistible concoction of spiritual and sexy draws from both Southern anguish and Southern coziness that arrived in New York, Chicago and Detroit along with the Black Migration (1916-1970). Great music migrated, too.

“There are so many that I admire,” Williams says, when asked about his musical heroes. After a pause, he lists The Dixie Hummingbirds, the Swan Silvertones, Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson.

Before he decided to become a Temptation, Williams was a Texas country boy “running up and down the gravel road,” barefoot with hot water cornbread in his hand, as he said in another interview. He relocated to Detroit when he was 14 and was determined to avoid a career at Ford, waking up at 5am on a bone-cold Michigan morning to do factory work. He had other ideas: He’d seen what five performers on stage can do with a crowd of 5,000 girls and was sold on the idea. It took a great deal of perseverance, it turned out.

“I’m a Southern boy raised by two strong grandmothers and they taught me to follow through,” Williams says, attributing a happy 60 years in the industry (he turned 80 in October) to his family and faith. “We are not much into drinking,” he says about the band’s current habits and rituals. “But we pray each time before we go on stage.”

This tour is the first after two years of pandemic hiatus. “What I’ve learned is that mind and body have to be in synchrony,” Williams says of the break from performing. (He used the time to sketch, read and hit the gym more often.) “Especially if you do harmony. It has been a month and I’m still adjusting.”

THE TEMPTATIONS perform at 8pm Saturday, Nov. 20 at Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $39-$79. 649-1070. goldenstatetheatre.com