Tribute To One Of The Greats

Levi Stubbs, the lead singer for the Motown group The Four Tops , popular in the 60’s died in his sleep at his home Friday, 10/17/08. He was 72 years old. Many of you younger members & vistors to this forum may not know, or have even heard of The Four Tops, but their contribution to the music industry cannot be denied and undoubtedly influenced & inspired many who came after.

We older folks still remember hearing all their hits for the first time in the 60’s, and probably still associate certain fond memories when we hear “Reach Out”, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)”, “Baby, I Need your Loving”, or any one of their other 20 - Top 40 Hits recorded over 10 years.

Here is a link to unfortunate news article that came out yesterday. You can also read The Four Tops impressive bio and view their extensive discography here.

The world will be a far emptier and sadder place without Levi in it. Heaven’s gain is truly our loss. Thankfully, digital & mp3 technology will ensure his and his partner’s voices will never be silenced. Thank you SanDisk & the many others for making this possible. We can truly hold a piece of musical history in the palms of our hands.

Whether you’re old enough to remember the Four Tops or not, I encourage you to beg, borrow, or buy a CD or download of these impressive vocalists and experience for yourself (or re-discover) their unique, dynamic voices and emotional, smooth harmonies that earned them an induction into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. You will not be disappointed.

Rest in peace, Sir Stubbs. You will be missed.

Left to right:

Renaldo “Obie” Benson, Levi Stubbs, Abdul “Duke” Fakir and Lawrence Payton

Way to go Tape