Post by Motorcity on Oct 21, 2008 21:34:11 GMT -5
Levi Stubbs, lead singer of the Four Tops, dies at 72
10/18/2008 1:30:40 PM
By Micheline Maynard
New York Times News Service
DETROIT -- Levi Stubbs, the gravelly-voiced, plaintive lead singer of the Motown group the Four Tops, the group's front man in 1960s pop classics like "Reach Out (I'll Be There)," and "Bernadette," died Friday at his home here. He was 72.
His death was confirmed by the office of the Wayne County Medical Examiner. No cause of death was stated. Stubbs had had a series of illnesses, including a stroke and cancer, that forced him to stop performing with the group in 2000, although he briefly participated in the Tops' 50th-anniversary concert in 2004, which was broadcast on public television.
Formed while its four original members were in high school, the Four Tops were one of the most successful groups of the 20th century. They had more than 40 hits on the Billboard pop charts, including their first No. 1 single, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" in 1964.
Hugely popular in Europe and other continents as well as in the United States, the group became a linchpin of Motown Records, the Detroit label started by Berry Gordy Jr., second only to the Temptations, with whom they were often compared, in popularity among its male artists. In 1990, the Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Unlike the Temptations, whose members regularly changed, the Tops exhibited an extraordinary loyalty, with the original four members remaining together for more than 40 years. In fact, they began their singing career almost a decade before joining Motown in 1963.
In 1953, Stubbs, a student at Pershing High School in Detroit, and his friend Abdul Fakir, known as Duke, attended a birthday party at which they met two other founding members of the group, Renaldo Benson, known as Obie, and Lawrence Payton, who were students at Northern High School.
(Fakir, who continues to perform with the Tops' modern incarnation, is now the last surviving member of the original group.)
Originally calling themselves the Four Aims, they were rechristened the Four Tops in 1954 and signed with Chess Records, a Chicago rhythm-and-blues label, in 1956.
It was clear from the beginning that Stubbs, with his booming, rough-edged baritone, would be the front man, Fakir said in a 2004 interview. Yet, many of his songs were written in a tenor range that made his vocals sound urgent and pleading.
Stubbs and the group did not plan a pop career, but began as jazz singers. Leaving Detroit in the mid-1950s, they headed for New York, bouncing around the nightclub circuit.
The four singers shared a studio apartment and rotated three daytime suits among them; whoever had the most important appointment got first pick, Fakir recalled.
The Tops added choreography to their act, but were admonished to drop it when they toured with the jazz balladeer Billy Eckstine, who told them to master their singing. In 1963, Stubbs and the other Tops appeared on "The Tonight Show," then hosted by Jack Paar, singing a jazz arrangement of "In the Still of the Night."
Gordy, who saw their performance, told his staff to sign them up, and assigned the songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland to find them a hit song.
It took a year before the group recorded "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'," followed by their first No. 1 hits, "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out."
"We didn't know what bag to put them in," Dozier said in 2004. The three songwriters concluded that Stubbs' plaintive voice should be most prominent, backed by the Tops' harmonies, layered with vocals by a female group, the Andantes, and supported by studio musicians collectively known as the Funk Brothers.
The combination worked.
"Stubbs' bold, dramatic readings of some of Holland-Dozier-Holland's choicest material set a high standard for contemporary soul in the mid '60s," the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame said when the Tops were inducted.
Snappily dressed, even offstage, the Tops toured extensively throughout the United States and around the world, recording more hits like "It's the Same Old Song" and "Standing in the Shadows of Love."
In 1971, the group joined the Supremes to record a cover version of the Ike and Tina Turner song "River Deep Mountain High." But by then, relations with Motown were strained, and the group left the label after Gordy moved it to Los Angeles.
The Tops continued to record during the 1970s and 1980s, often touring with the Temptations. Their biggest post-Motown hit was "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," in 1973.
Levi Stubbles was born in Detroit June 6, 1936. He was a cousin of the soul singer Jackie Wilson. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Clineice; five children, Deborah, Beverly, Raymond, Kelly and Levi Jr.; and 11 grandchildren.
Stubbs branched off from the group in 1986 to become the voice of a man-eating plant, Audrey II, in the musical film "Little Shop of Horrors," and also was the voice of Mother Brain, an evil character on the cartoon show "Captain N: The Game Master," from 1989 to 1991.
By 1995, Stubbs' health had begun to fail, forcing him to curtail his performances. Payton died in 1997, while Benson died in 2005. Fakir has continued singing with Payton's son Roquel, a former Temptation, Theo Peoples, and Ronnie McNair, a veteran Motown singer.
Before his death, Benson said in an interview that he was saddened by performing without Stubbs and Payton.
"It's like having one body with two limbs missing," he said.
10/18/2008 1:30:40 PM
By Micheline Maynard
New York Times News Service
DETROIT -- Levi Stubbs, the gravelly-voiced, plaintive lead singer of the Motown group the Four Tops, the group's front man in 1960s pop classics like "Reach Out (I'll Be There)," and "Bernadette," died Friday at his home here. He was 72.
His death was confirmed by the office of the Wayne County Medical Examiner. No cause of death was stated. Stubbs had had a series of illnesses, including a stroke and cancer, that forced him to stop performing with the group in 2000, although he briefly participated in the Tops' 50th-anniversary concert in 2004, which was broadcast on public television.
Formed while its four original members were in high school, the Four Tops were one of the most successful groups of the 20th century. They had more than 40 hits on the Billboard pop charts, including their first No. 1 single, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" in 1964.
Hugely popular in Europe and other continents as well as in the United States, the group became a linchpin of Motown Records, the Detroit label started by Berry Gordy Jr., second only to the Temptations, with whom they were often compared, in popularity among its male artists. In 1990, the Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Unlike the Temptations, whose members regularly changed, the Tops exhibited an extraordinary loyalty, with the original four members remaining together for more than 40 years. In fact, they began their singing career almost a decade before joining Motown in 1963.
In 1953, Stubbs, a student at Pershing High School in Detroit, and his friend Abdul Fakir, known as Duke, attended a birthday party at which they met two other founding members of the group, Renaldo Benson, known as Obie, and Lawrence Payton, who were students at Northern High School.
(Fakir, who continues to perform with the Tops' modern incarnation, is now the last surviving member of the original group.)
Originally calling themselves the Four Aims, they were rechristened the Four Tops in 1954 and signed with Chess Records, a Chicago rhythm-and-blues label, in 1956.
It was clear from the beginning that Stubbs, with his booming, rough-edged baritone, would be the front man, Fakir said in a 2004 interview. Yet, many of his songs were written in a tenor range that made his vocals sound urgent and pleading.
Stubbs and the group did not plan a pop career, but began as jazz singers. Leaving Detroit in the mid-1950s, they headed for New York, bouncing around the nightclub circuit.
The four singers shared a studio apartment and rotated three daytime suits among them; whoever had the most important appointment got first pick, Fakir recalled.
The Tops added choreography to their act, but were admonished to drop it when they toured with the jazz balladeer Billy Eckstine, who told them to master their singing. In 1963, Stubbs and the other Tops appeared on "The Tonight Show," then hosted by Jack Paar, singing a jazz arrangement of "In the Still of the Night."
Gordy, who saw their performance, told his staff to sign them up, and assigned the songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland to find them a hit song.
It took a year before the group recorded "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'," followed by their first No. 1 hits, "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out."
"We didn't know what bag to put them in," Dozier said in 2004. The three songwriters concluded that Stubbs' plaintive voice should be most prominent, backed by the Tops' harmonies, layered with vocals by a female group, the Andantes, and supported by studio musicians collectively known as the Funk Brothers.
The combination worked.
"Stubbs' bold, dramatic readings of some of Holland-Dozier-Holland's choicest material set a high standard for contemporary soul in the mid '60s," the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame said when the Tops were inducted.
Snappily dressed, even offstage, the Tops toured extensively throughout the United States and around the world, recording more hits like "It's the Same Old Song" and "Standing in the Shadows of Love."
In 1971, the group joined the Supremes to record a cover version of the Ike and Tina Turner song "River Deep Mountain High." But by then, relations with Motown were strained, and the group left the label after Gordy moved it to Los Angeles.
The Tops continued to record during the 1970s and 1980s, often touring with the Temptations. Their biggest post-Motown hit was "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," in 1973.
Levi Stubbles was born in Detroit June 6, 1936. He was a cousin of the soul singer Jackie Wilson. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Clineice; five children, Deborah, Beverly, Raymond, Kelly and Levi Jr.; and 11 grandchildren.
Stubbs branched off from the group in 1986 to become the voice of a man-eating plant, Audrey II, in the musical film "Little Shop of Horrors," and also was the voice of Mother Brain, an evil character on the cartoon show "Captain N: The Game Master," from 1989 to 1991.
By 1995, Stubbs' health had begun to fail, forcing him to curtail his performances. Payton died in 1997, while Benson died in 2005. Fakir has continued singing with Payton's son Roquel, a former Temptation, Theo Peoples, and Ronnie McNair, a veteran Motown singer.
Before his death, Benson said in an interview that he was saddened by performing without Stubbs and Payton.
"It's like having one body with two limbs missing," he said.