The Four Tops: Together Always

The story of the Four Tops can be summed up in just one word…harmony…both on and off stage. The Tops, as they were fondly called, was a group formed in high school which went on to survive more than four decades in the music industry without a single change in line up.

One of the cream of the Motown stable, the quartet was fronted by Levi Stubbs and included Duke Fakir, Renaldo Benson and Lawrence Payton. Stubbs’ deep voice was the centre stone of the group’s sound.

The quartet was formed in 1957 in Detroit, where its members went to high school. Calling themselves the Four Aims, the boys auditioned for Chess Records in 1956. They were signed on with their being changed to the Four Tops to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers.

The group released only one single with Chess, Kiss Me Baby. They then went on to change labels several times before they signed Motown where they were paired with songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland. Their much awaited first hit finally came in 1964 with Baby I Need Your Loving followed by the successful Ask the Lonely.

Between 1964-72, the quartet had more than 24 chartbusters. These included the No. 1 Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) (1964), Something About You (1966), Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever (1966) Bernadette (1967) and a duet with Supremes River Deep Mountain High (1971).The departure of songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland from Motown in 1967 affected the Tops’ successful streak somewhat but the hits kept coming nonetheless.

Reach Out I’ll Be There (1966) was a milestone for the group. Their second No. 1 hit, it was rated as one of the best singles to emerge from Motown. The Tops were also doing well as a live act and along with the Temptations, were considered to be Motown’s top soul stars.

Motown shifted base to LA in 1972 but the Four Tops chose to stay behind in Detroit. They signed with ABC-Dunhill where they started working with songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Beginning with the Top Ten hit Keeper of the Castle (1972) and the gold Ain’t No Woman ( Like The One I’ve Got) (1973), the group released one hit after another for the rest of the decade.

The Tops last recorded for ABC in 1978 and then disappeared from the charts for a while. In 1981 their first release with Casablanca She Was My Girl rocketed to the top of the R&B charts. Tonight, the album which contained the track however proved to be the group’s last top 40 hit.

In 1983 the Four Tops went back to Motown for a short stint to record two albums and team up with the Temptations to tour extensively. The group’s last hit album Indestructible was recorded with Arista in 1988.

Lawrence Payton succumbed to cancer in 1997. Former Temptations, Theo Peoples joined the group then. In 2000 Ronnie McNeir took Stubb’s place when he had to retire following a series of ailments.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the Tops celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2004. Later that year they participated in an anniversary concert, where Stubbs came on stage in a wheelchair, an emotional moment for his fans.

In 2005 Benson died due to cancer and in 2008 Stubbs too passed away. Benson’s place was taken by Payton’s son, Roquel.

The Four Tops were not men of great fashion nor were they slick dancers. Yet their strong impact on soul music is undeniable and their music lives on, with the group continuing to tour the oldies circuit.

TJ Grooves - Soul Music TV & Rare Soul Grooves.com