From 1964-1967, the group recorded some of the greatest and most popular Holland-Dozier-Holland compositions, including "Reach Out, I'll Be There," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," "Standing in the Shadows of Love," "Bernadette," and "Baby I Need Your Loving." Available with an Apple Music subscription. The Four Tops rejoined Motown in 1983, the year of the company's 25th anniversary, and toured extensively with the Temptations. • Four Tops biography by John Bush, discography and album reviews, credits & releases at AllMusic The Four Tops were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at … Abdul "Duke" Fakir (first tenor vocals), Renaldo "Obie" Benson (baritone, bass vocals, 1953-2005), Levi Stubbs (lead vocals, 1953-2000), Lawrence Payton (second tenor vocals, lead vocals, 1953-97), Theo Peoples (lead vocals, 1998-2011), Ronnie McNeir (second tenor vocals, 2000-present), Roquel Payton (baritone, bass vocals, 2005-present), Spike Deleon (lead vocals, 2011-present) That was really an accident. An additional 21 have reached the UK Top 40 with ten reaching the top ten and one reaching #1 on the chart. Four Tops discography and songs: Music profile for Four Tops, formed 1953. "7-Rooms of Gloom" and "You Keep Running Away" reached the Top 20, but toward the end of the year, Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown over a financial dispute. The Four Tops Clockwise from top left Levi Stubbs, Abdul (Duke) Fakir, Lawrence Payton, Renaldo )Obie) Benson. On July 4, 1987 performed on "Welcome Home (Viet Nam Veterans"), an all day music special seen on HBO US cable. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees in 1990, the group released their last studio recording in 1995, remained intact until Payton's death two years later, and continued through the deaths of Benson and Stubbs the following decade. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Levi was interested in music ever since he was in high school. The Four Tops: "Four" is for the modesty of a tight group of friends. Share. In 1953, Stubbs, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, Lawrence Payton and Renaldo Benson formed a group called "The Four Aims", and signed a contract with Chess Records. Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir went to Pershing, and met Northern students Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton at a friend's birthday party, where the quartet members first sang together. Biography In addition to their own albums, The Four Tops were paired with The Supremes, who had just replaced lead singer Diana Ross with Jean Terrell, for a series of albums billed under the joint title The Magnificent Seven: The Magnificent Seven in 1970, and The Return of the Magnificent Seven and Dynamite! The Four Tops (often billed by Motown as 'Four Tops') are an American vocal quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard rock, and showtunes. I never thought that that would happen to me. Biography by Andy Kellman. FOUR TOPS. Biography; p>Sign in / sign up and request update access to the The Four Tops page. Benson attended Northern High School in Detroit, Michigan with Lawrence Payton.The pair met Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir while singing at a friend's birthday party in 1954 and decided to form a group called the Four Aims. It began in … The Four Tops, Soundtrack: Four Brothers. “We couldn’t get him to go to the hospital,” Payton recalls. Albums include Reach Out, Reach Out I'll Be There / … Is of Ethiopian Ancestry. The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard rock, and showtunes. The hits continued into 1966, with "Something About You" "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)," and "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" all coming in succession. The Four Tops' story is one of longevity and togetherness: these Motown legends teamed up in high school and spent over four decades without a single personnel change. Theo Peoples, who had recently spent six years with the Temptations, was eventually added to the lineup. They followed it in early 1973 with "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," a gold-selling smash that proved to be their final Top Five pop hit. The Four Tops were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Read Full Biography. Watch later. Biography by Andy Kellman. They formed in 1953 and still perform. The Four Tops are a vocal quartet formed during 1953 in Detroit, Michigan, USA, who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the '60s. Copy link. When Motown moved to Los Angeles in the early '70s, the Tops remained in Detroit and enjoyed a renaissance with the ABC-Dunhill imprint, highlighted in 1973 by "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," among several additional Top Ten R&B hits. Cousin of Jackie Wilson. The Four Tops kicked off 1967 with the dramatic Top Ten smash "Standing in the Shadows of Love," which was followed by the Top Five "Bernadette." Payton's cousin Roquel Davis, a budding songwriter who sometimes sang with the group during its early days, helped them get an audition with Chess Records in 1956. Four Tops. Is of Ethiopian Ancestry. He formed a musical group with his classmate Abdul Fakir and two others in 1954, named Four Aims. |  After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson. During this period, the Tops also earned a reputation as one of Motown's best live acts, having previously honed their performances for years before hitting the big time. Jul 24 Sat: Four Tops Maryland Hall For The Creative Arts The Four Tops excelled both at melodrama, as in Baby I Need Your Loving (1964) and Reach Out I'll Be There (1966), both marked by Levi Stubbs' blues lament and highly emotional harmonies, and at sprightly party dance music, such as I Can't Help Myself (1965) and Same Old Song (1965). Amazingly they remained together for over four decades, having gone from 1953 until 1997 without a single change in personnel. Mr. Stubbs, the gravelly voiced, plaintive lead singer of the Motown group the Four Tops, sang pop classics like “Reach Out (I’ll Be There),” and “Bernadette.” Several more R&B chart hits followed over the next few years, with the last being 1976's "Catfish"; after a final ABC album in 1978, the Tops resurfaced on Casablanca in 1981. From 1963 to 1972, the group reached the R&B charts 28 times, and all but a very few are presented here (among the missing are three decidedly unnecessary covers: "MacArthur Park," "If I Were a Carpenter," and "River Deep -- Mountain High"). Early the next decade, a stroke sidelined Stubbs and prompted the addition of Ronnie McNeir, who had been group's musical director. This is from a live concert performance of the Four Tops in Miami in 2004. One of Motown's most consistent hitmakers and its longest lived lineup (40 years), the Four Tops were the most stable and consistent vocal groups to emerge from Motown Records in the '60s, charting with scores of upbeat love songs featuring Levi Stubbs' rough hewn lead vocals. In 1953, Stubbs, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, Lawrence Payton and Renaldo Benson formed a group called "The Four Aims", and signed a contract with Chess Records. The Met Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA . The Four Tops' entry is arguably the best in the series, since the 25 tracks prove the perfect length to summarize the group's decade at Motown. In 1997, Lawrence Payton passed away due to liver cancer, ending the astonishing longevity of the original lineup. Info. Brook Benton. In between, they became one of the top-tier acts on a label with no shortage of talent, ranking with the Temptations and the Supremes as Motown's most consistent hitmakers. Where many other R&B vocal groups spotlighted a tenor, the Four Tops were fronted by deep-voiced Levi Stubbs -- who had all the grit of a gospel-trained soul belter -- yet the Tops' creamy harmonies, filled out by Duke Fakir, Obie Benson, and Lawrence Payton, were smooth enough for Motown's pop-soul productions. And those who could didn't stop singing. Roquel Billy Davis, who was Payton's cousin, was a fifth member of the group for a time and a songwriter for the group. Biography In addition to their own albums, The Four Tops were paired with The Supremes, who had just replaced lead singer Diana Ross with Jean Terrell, for a series of albums billed under the joint title The Magnificent Seven: The Magnificent Seven in 1970, and The Return of the Magnificent Seven and Dynamite! Profile: American folk quartet from Hollywood, California, who met in the 1950's while attending the same high school. In between, they became one of the top-tier acts on a label with no shortage of talent, ranking with the Temptations and the Supremes as Motown's most consistent hitmakers. The Four Tops: "Four" is for the modesty of a tight group of friends. Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Four Tops) in 1990. Early 1965 brought the follow-up ballad hit "Ask the Lonely," and from then on there was no stopping them. The Four Tops excelled both at melodrama, as in Baby I Need Your Loving (1964) and Reach Out I'll Be There (1966), both marked by Levi Stubbs' blues lament and highly emotional harmonies, and at sprightly party dance music, such as I Can't Help Myself (1965) and Same Old Song (1965). A Witch for a Third Roommate :15 - GEICO Insurance. Animation, TMS Entertainment, Amblin Television, Jerry Bruckheimer Television, American Zoetrope and Dino De Laurentiis Company). On July 4, 1987 performed on "Welcome Home (Viet Nam Veterans"), an all day music special seen on HBO US cable. Tags. He is a founding member of the Motown act the Four Tops, from 1953 to the present day. The Four Tops next caught on with Arista, where in 1988 they scored their last Top 40 pop hit, the aptly titled "Indestructible." Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. They signed with ABC-Dunhill and were teamed with producers/songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who did their best to re-create the group's trademark Motown sound. The Four Tops' story is one of togetherness and success. The Four Tops have been held up. When Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, the Tops stayed in Detroit and moved over to ABC Records, where they continued to have charting singles into the late-1970s. These Motown legends teamed up in high school, spent over four decades together without a personnel change, and in between became a top-tier act on a label with no shortage of talent, ranking with the Temptations and the Supremes as its most consistent hitmakers. American Detroit vocal quartet who were amongst a number of groups that helped define the legendary Motown sound of the 1960s. The Tops' next two hits, 1968's "Walk Away Renee" and "If I Were a Carpenter," were both covers of well-known recent songs (by the Left Banke and Tim Hardin, respectively) and made the Top 20. They're putting their make-up on. After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson. The first single for their new label, "When She Was My Girl," went all the way to number one on the R&B chart, just missing the pop Top Ten. The Four Tops Biography Founded in Detroit, Michigan as The Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, a cousin of Jackie Wilson and brother of The Falcons’ Joe Stubbs), and groupmates Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, having gone from 1953 until 1997 without a single change in personnel. Lawrence Albert Payton (March 2, 1938 – June 20, 1997) was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops. ‎The original members of Four Tops helped define the Motown sound during a deeply influential 44-year run that made them one of the most iconic vocal quartets of the 20th century. They signed with Columbia in 1960 and were steered in a more upscale supper-club direction, singing jazz and pop standards, and during this period toured with Billy Eckstine. It … The Four Tops Biography. They are a Jazz quartet from Detroit, USA.