The Four Tops Biography
Levi Stubbs (6 June 1936, Detroit, Michigan, USA), Renaldo "Obie" Benson (b. 14 June 1936, Detroit, Michigan, USA, d. 1 July 2005, Detroit, Michigan, USA), Lawrence Payton (b. 2 June 1938, Detroit, Michigan, USA, d. 10 June 1997, USA) and Abdul "Duke" Fakir (b. 26 December 1935, Detroit, Michigan, USA), first sang together at a party in Detroit in 1954. Calling themselves the Four Aims, they began performing at supper clubs in the city, with a repertoire of jazz songs and standards. In 1956, they changed their name to the Four Tops to avoid confusion with the popular singing group the Ames Brothers, and recorded a one-off single ("Kiss Me Baby") for the R&B label Chess Records. Further unsuccessful recordings appeared on Red Top, Columbia Records and Riverside between 1958 and 1962, before the Four Tops were signed to the Motown Records jazz subsidiary Workshop, in 1963. Motown boss Berry Gordy elected not to release their initial album, Breaking Through, in 1964, and suggested that they record with the label's Holland/Dozier/Holland writing and production team. The initial release from this liaison was "Baby I Need Your Lovin'", which showcased the group's strong harmonies and the gruff, soulful lead vocals of Levi Stubbs; it reached the US Top 20. The following year, another Holland/Dozier/Holland song, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)", topped the charts, and established the Four Tops as one of Motown's most successful groups. Holland/Dozier/Holland continued to write and produce for the Four Tops until 1967. The peak of this collaboration was "Reach Out, I'll Be There", a transatlantic hit in 1966. This represented the pinnacle of the traditional Motown style, bringing an almost symphonic arrangement to an R&B love song; producer Phil Spector described the record as "black [Bob] Dylan'. Other major hits such as "It's The Same Old Song" and "Bernadette" were not as ambitious, although they are still regarded as Motown classics today.
In 1967, the Four Tops began to widen their appeal with soul-tinged versions of pop hits, such as the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee" and Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter". The departure of Holland, Dozier and Holland from Motown later that year brought a temporary halt to the group's progress, and it was only in 1970, under the aegis of producer/writers like Frank Wilson and Smokey Robinson, that the Four Tops regained their hit status with a revival of the Tommy Edwards hit "It's All In The Game", and the socially aware ballad "Still Water (Love)". That same year, they teamed up with the Supremes for the first of three albums of collaborations. Another revival, Richard Harris' hit "MacArthur Park", brought them success in 1971, while Renaldo Benson also co-wrote Marvin Gaye's hit single "What's Going On". After working with the Moody Blues on "A Simple Game" in 1972, the Four Tops elected to leave Motown when the corporation relocated its head office from Detroit to California. They signed a contract with Dunhill Records, and immediately restored their chart success with records that marked a return to their mid-60s style, notably the theme song to the "blaxploitation" movie Shaft In Africa, "Are You Man Enough". Subsequent releases were less dynamic, and for the remainder of the 70s the Four Tops enjoyed only sporadic chart success, although they continued touring and performing their Motown hits. After two years of inactivity at the end of the decade, they joined Casablanca Records, and immediately secured a number 1 soul hit with "When She Was My Girl", which revived their familiar style. Subsequent releases in a similar vein also charted in Britain and America. In 1983, the group performed a storming medley "duel" of their 60s hits with the Temptations during the Motown 25th Anniversary television special. They re-signed to the label for the aptly titled Back Where I Belong, one side of which was produced by Holland/Dozier/Holland. However, disappointing sales and disputes about the group's musical direction led them to leave Motown once again for Arista Records, where they found immediate success in 1988 with the singles "Indestructible" and "Loco In Acapulco", the latter taken from the soundtrack to the movie Buster. Two years later the group was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The Four Tops retained a constant line-up from their inception up until Payton's death in June 1997. He was replaced on tour by former Temptations vocalist Theo Peoples who subsequently took over lead vocal duties as Levi Stubbs fell ill, with Ronnie McNeir also drafted into the line-up. The group's immaculate choreography and harmonies ensured them ongoing success as a live act, notably in the UK and Europe, where they have always been held in higher regard than in their homeland. Benson succumbed to lung cancer in July 2005 and was replaced by Roquel Payton, the son of Lawrence Payton.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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