Levi Stubbs, 72, Powerful Voice for Four Tops, Dies - The New York Times The New York Times Music |Levi Stubbs, 72, Powerful Voice for Four Tops, Dies Search Continue reading the main story DETROIT — Levi Stubbs, the gravelly-voiced, imploring lead singer of the Motown group the Four Tops, who stood out in 1960s pop classics like “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” and “Bernadette,” died on Friday at his home here. He was 72. His death was confirmed by the office of the Wayne County Medical Examiner. No cause was given. Mr. Stubbs had had a series of illnesses, including a stroke and cancer, that forced him to stop performing in 2000, although he briefly participated in the Four Tops’ 50th-anniversary concert in 2004, which was broadcast on public television. Formed while its 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 1965. Hugely popular abroad as well as in the United States, the group became a linchpin of Motown Records, the Detroit label started by Berry Gordy Jr., and was second only to the Temptations, with whom it was often compared, in popularity among its male artists. In 1990 the Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Unlike the Temptations, whose members regularly changed, the Tops exhibited extraordinary loyalty, with the original four remaining together for more than 40 years. In fact, they began their singing career almost a decade before joining Motown in 1963. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In 1953 Mr. 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. (Mr.

Fakir, who continues to perform with the Tops’ current lineup, is now the last surviving member.) Originally calling themselves the Four Aims, they were rechristened the Four Tops in 1954 and signed with Chess Records, the Chicago rhythm and blues label, in 1956. Photo The Four Tops in the mid-60s. Clockwise from bottom left, Levi Stubbs, Obie Benson, Abdul Fakir and Lawrence Payton. It was clear from the beginning that Mr. Stubbs, with his booming, rough-edged baritone, would be the lead singer, Mr. Fakir said in a 2004 interview. Yet many of his songs were written in a tenor range that pushed his voice higher and made it sound urgent and pleading. Mr. 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 more important appointment got first pick, Mr. Fakir recalled.

The Tops added choreography to their act, but were advised to drop it when they toured with the jazz balladeer Billy Eckstine, who told them to master their singing. In 1963 Mr. 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.” Mr. 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 shape their sound and deliver them a hit song. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up It took a year before the group recorded “Baby, I Need Your Loving,” followed by their first No. 1 hits, “I Can’t Help Myself” in 1965 and “Reach Out” in 1966. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We didn’t know what bag to put them in,” Mr. Dozier said in 2004. The three songwriters concluded that Mr.

Stubbs’s booming voice should be most prominent, backed by the Tops’ harmonies; layered with vocals by a female group, the Andantes; and supported by the Motown studio band known as the Funk Brothers. The combination worked. “Stubbs’s 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. Photo The Four Tops, from left, in 1990: Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir and Lawrence Payton. Credit Ron Frehm/Associated Press 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 Mr. Berry moved it to Los Angeles.

The Tops continued to record during the 1970s and ’80s, 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 on June 6, 1936, a cousin of the soul singer Jackie Wilson. His younger brother, Joe, sang with the Falcons and the Contours, two rhythm and blues groups. Mr. Stubbs is survived by his wife of 48 years, Clineice; five children, Deborah, Beverly, Raymond, Kelly and Levi Jr.; and 11 grandchildren. Mr. Stubbs took on a side project to become the voice of a man-eating plant, Audrey II, in the 1986 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. Advertisement Continue reading the main story By 1995, Mr. Stubbs’s health had begun to fail, forcing him to curtail his performances. Mr.

Payton died in 1997, and Mr. Benson in 2005. Mr. Fakir has continued singing with Mr. Payton’s son Roquel; a former Temptation, Theo Peoples; and Ronnie McNair, a veteran Motown singer. Before his death, Mr. Benson said in an interview that he was saddened by performing without Mr. Stubbs and Mr. Payton. “It’s like having one body with two limbs missing,” he said. A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: Levi Stubbs, Powerful Voice for the Four Tops, Dies at 72.

Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Levi Stubbs - Telegraph Levi Stubbs Lead singer with the Four Tops and one of the most distinctive and powerful voices in Motown The Four Tops (including Levi Stubbs, seated left) pictured in the mid-60s 10:11PM BST 17 Oct 2008 Levi Stubbs, who died yesterday aged 72, was one of the most distinguished soul singers of his generation and, as lead singer with the Four Tops, a pioneer of the Motown sound that dominated the pop charts in the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1968 the Tops enjoyed 12 Top 20 American hits, including I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honeybunch), It's The Same Old Song and Bernadette.

But perhaps the group's – and Stubbs's – finest moment was Reach Out I'll Be There, a number one record in 1966 which characterised the Motown sound at its most sublime, with its galloping rhythm and symphonic orchestrations, and Stubbs's soulful, beseeching baritone pitched somewhere between a cry for help and a prayer against the silken harmonies of the other Tops. Like most of the group's greatest hits, that song was written and produced by the team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland, the most consistently inventive and successful partnership at the Motown "factory". H-D-H also produced five consecutive number ones for the Supremes, as well as hits for Martha and the Vandellas, the Isley Brothers and Marvin Gaye. For the Four Tops they produced songs that were perfectly measured to Stubbs's declamatory, pleading style – love songs tinted with desperation and melodrama in which Stubbs was usually cast as a wounded lover, begging for release or redemption. "He would feel that type of thing, and he'd be able to sell it because he's basically a dynamic singer anyway," Eddie Holland once recalled. "He's very forceful in his attitude.

We knew that, so we wouldn't give those songs to someone else to sing." The English songwriter Billy Bragg would pay tribute to the emotional force of Stubbs's voice in his 1986 song Levi Stubbs' Tears: "She takes off the Four Tops tape and puts it back in its case/When the world falls apart some things stay in place/Levi Stubbs' tears… " Related Articles Levi Stubbs, Four Tops lead singer, dies in Detroit 17 Oct 2008 Levi Stubbs was born in Detroit on June 6 1936 into a family with a strong musical tradition. The soul singer Jackie Wilson was a cousin, and his brother Joe Stubbs sang with the Detroit R&B group the Falcons. Stubbs's singing career began in 1954, when he started performing with three other high-school students, Lawrence Payton, Abdul "Duke" Fakir and Renaldo "Obie" Benson, as the Four Aims. Two years later the group signed to Chess records, changing their name to the Four Tops, supposedly to avoid confusion with another popular vocal group, the Ames Brothers.

Drawing on a repertoire comprised mostly of showtunes and standards, and singing in a close-harmony jazz style, the Tops performed in supper-clubs and lounges, and made records for Red Top, Riverside and Columbia, with no great success. They had recently completed a tour with Billy Eckstine when, in 1961, they were approached by a young entrepreneur named Berry Gordy. An erstwhile boxer, Ford production-line worker and songwriter, Gordy had recently founded his own record label, Motown, gathering around him a crop of fresh young local talent that included Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells and the Temptations. By comparison, the Four Tops were seasoned veterans, but Gordy was determined to bring them to the label. "Smooth, classy and polished, they were big stuff," Gordy remembered. "I wanted them bad. I could see how loyal they were to each other, and I knew they would be the same to me and Motown." The Tops were initially sceptical, particularly when they learned of Gordy's policy of not allowing his putative signings to take contracts away from the office and study them at their leisure. They persuaded Gordy to make an exception in their case.

It was two years before they came back, explaining that while the contract was satisfactory they had doubts that a small, black-owned label like Motown would be able to survive. Their first Motown recording, a vocal jazz album, Breakin' Through, on a dedicated label, Jazz Workshop, disappeared without trace, and for a while the group marked time providing backing vocals for other Motown acts, including the Supremes. It was not until they were teamed with Holland, Dozier and Holland that they abandoned their jazz stylings, adopting the Motown "house style". Their first H-D-H production, Baby I Need Your Loving, in 1964, reached number 11 in the American charts, and they enjoyed their first number one, I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch), the following year. The group would become particularly popular in Britain, where for a while they enjoyed the distinction of being Motown's biggest-selling act. Like Eddie Kendricks with the Temptations, and Diana Ross with the Supremes, Stubbs might easily have elected to leave the group and pursue a solo career.

But he remained loyal to his friends, arguing that the group could never break up – "We'd be lost, babye_SLps lost without each other turning up for a game of cards or a sing-through." The group would retain the same personnel until 1990, with the death of Lawrence Payton. In 1967 Holland, Dozier and Holland fell out with Berry Gordy over profit-sharing and royalties, leading to an acrimonious lawsuit and their departure from the company. Deprived of their reliable supply-line of hits, the Four Tops' fortunes suffered, and in 1972 they too left Motown following a contractual dispute. Over the following years, recording for ABC and Casablanca, they enjoyed hits with Keeper of The Castle, Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got) and When She Was My Girl, all of which displayed the group's customary polish without ever reaching the heights of their Motown work.

A glowing exception was the duet which Stubbs recorded with Aretha Franklin, I Want To Make It Up To You, in 1982 for her album Jump To It – a smouldering call-and-response in which Stubbs's voice had never sounded richer, smoother or more seductive. In 1983 the Four Tops returned to Motown, where they were briefly reunited with Holland, Dozier and Holland for one side of a come-back album, Back Where We Belong, and where they shared the stage with a host of Motown artists for a refulgently sentimental television special celebrating the label's 25th anniversary, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, which drew an audience of 47 million viewers. But the homecoming was shortlived, and they moved on to Arista, for which they recorded the grating novelty song Loco In Acapulco, which gave the group their last British Top 10 hit, in 1988.

Their recording career effectively over, the Four Tops continued to tour and perform, often in conjunction with another group of Motown veterans, the Temptations, the shows culminating in a "battle of the bands" in which the two groups would trade their greatest hits. Ill health finally led to Stubbs retiring from the group in 2000. Levi Stubbs is survived by his wife, Clineice, whom he married in 1960, and five children. Levi Stubbs, lead singer of the Four Tops, dies at 72 - LA Times Levi Stubbs, lead singer of the Four Tops, dies at 72 The Four Tops Associated Press The Four Tops in 1990, from left, Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Levi Stubbs, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir and Lawrence Payton. Benson died in 2005, Payton in 1997. The Four Tops in 1990, from left, Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Levi Stubbs, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir and Lawrence Payton. Benson died in 2005, Payton in 1997.

(Associated Press) Valerie J. NelsonLos Angeles Times Staff Writer Levi Stubbs, the lead singer of the legendary Motown group the Four Tops whose tough yet soulful voice was showcased on dozens of singles, including "Baby I Need Your Loving" and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," has died. He was 72. Stubbs died Friday at his home in Detroit, the Wayne County Medical Examiner's office confirmed. A series of illnesses that included a stroke and cancer had caused him to stop performing in 2000. "We have lost one of the great voices of the 20th century," said Otis Williams of another Motown hit-maker, the Temptations. "A few years ago in Las Vegas, I told Levi, 'You are our black Frank Sinatra .' Levi could phrase a song just as beautifully." In a statement, Motown record label founder Berry Gordy Jr.

called Stubbs "the greatest interpreter of songs I've ever heard" and the Four Tops "the greatest and most loving group." The Four Tops were applauded for such hits as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" and "Bernadette" and -- as the decades rolled by -- for their longevity. The original members came together in 1953 while in high school in the Detroit area. They spent the ensuing 44 years performing without a change in the lineup, and then only because founding member Lawrence Payton died in 1997. Another original member, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, died in 2005. The only surviving member, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, leads a version of the Four Tops that includes Payton's son, Roquel. Stubbs "could easily have made it as a solo star," Gordy said, "but his love and loyalty" kept the four men "together longer than any group I know.

His integrity and character were impeccable." Author and music historian David Ritz told The Times that Stubbs had "one of the great soul voices of the last 50 years." "You could hear the tear in his voice -- there was a kind of plaintive cry and an anguish and a pain," Ritz said. "He's going to live forever in the annals of American pop music." He was born Levi Stubbles on June 6, 1936, into a large family in Detroit and grew up poor. His father was a foundry worker. At a friend's birthday party, the quartet first sang together and were soon performing as the jazz vocal quartet the Four Aims, backing up such names as Count Basie and Della Reese. By 1956, they had changed their name to the Four Tops to avoid being confused with another quartet, the Ames Brothers. "We were aiming for the top," Stubbs once said as an explanation for the group's new name. He also shortened his last name about this time, according to "Contemporary Musicians" (1994).

After about a decade of relative obscurity, they signed with Motown Records after Gordy saw them perform on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson . They found a family atmosphere where "everybody was rooting for each other," Stubbs said in 1982 in the Washington Post . "We would sing background vocals for the Supremes , Marvin Gaye . . . . If one of the Temptations wasn't there, one of us would take his place. It was great." The Four Tops had completed a jazz release when Gordy scrapped it and refocused them on R&B, pairing them with the noted Motown producing and songwriting team of Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier. Levi Stubbs | FamousDEAD Levi Stubbs Born: 1936-06-06 - Died: 2008-10-17 Cause of Death: Cancer & Stroke Death Summary: Levi Stubbs was diagnosed with cancer in 1995, shortly after he also suffered a stroke effectively stopping his touring days. Stubbs passed away in his sleep at his Detroit home on October 17, 2008 after his long illness.

Who was Levi Stubbs : Stubbs was a baritone singer who is best known for being the lead vocalist of the Motown R&B supergroup The Four Tops. The Four Tops began as a small “supper-club” act but eventually signed with Motown Records in 1963. By the end of the 1960’s The Four Tops had over a dozen hits to their name some of which include "Baby I Need Your Loving", "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)", "It's the Same Old Song", "Reach Out I'll Be There", "Standing in the Shadows of Love", "Bernadette", "Still Water (Love)", and "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)". Little known fact: Stubbs was the voice of Mother Brain in the animated TV series Captain N: The Game Master. Popular YouTube videos about Levi Stubbs Loading... 13 Signatures in Levi Stubbs's guestbook terri December 21st, 2008 at 2:07 am God bless you.Rest in peace.

joseph cardillo Says: March 27th, 2009 at 12:53 am Levi, your voice made me so happy, no one will ever fill the void that you have left in the music industry. We will meet again in a better place where you will be singing with the angels. Love you BRO godfrey j stubbs July 1st, 2009 at 2:26 am rest in peace cus (cat island) grim July 6th, 2009 at 5:41 pm was it gang related Says: July 26th, 2009 at 12:01 am I grew up listening to Motown and R&B. I have loved this music all my life and I am now 54. The Four Tops were my favorite group and Levi Stubbs voice was the most genuine and carismatic I have ever heard. There will NEVER be another voice that will touch my heart as did his. Levi may you rest in peace and know that your music will live in my heart forever and I will never tire of listening to your songs. I love you and miss you very much.

Pam Says: August 15th, 2009 at 3:36 pm Three words to describe The Four Tops,Talent,Artistry and CLASS! Rest in peace Mr.Stubbs,your beautiful voice will always live. kathy mitchell mcalphin Says: December 10th, 2009 at 3:52 am i remember coming toMr. Stubbs house while visiting my cousin, denise freeman while on vacation from arkansas. I always felt welcomed & at home there. Will always remember the Stubbs family in my prayers Pam Says: December 24th, 2009 at 10:55 pm A true artist and the best singer of my youth! I fell in love with Levi Stubbs beautiful voice and remain in love with it. RIP Mr. Stubbs and God Bless your family and Four Tops family. proud to be black Says: December 6th, 2010 at 11:32 am 1st off…much respect to Mr. Stubb’s, and may you rest in peace. You were a part of one of the most talented and influencial singing groups by far.

I still listen to the music of the group till this day…Now on the topic of “GRIM”, whoever you are, your name describes you well. You need to get off all of these memorial sites and crawl back into the hole you creeped out of. You are a racist, biggot, and a hateful person. You must have not one “living” person that cares about you in your pathetic life, and for that you spend all your waking minutes (if you ever do go to sleep because of all of your misery) disrepecting the people who can obviously not defend themselves against all of your filth. I only wish you would have a spot here when you croak. I’d like to leave you a few lines….ah maybe not your not worth a second of anybody’s time!!! GET A LIFE and set an example for the race you think to be superior!!!

Stuart B Says: July 19th, 2011 at 2:31 am Heard your voice when I was only Severn years old,it change the way I listen to music forever.god bless you levi Val Baker August 21st, 2011 at 9:49 pm One of the finest vocalists ever,unforgettable. Now at rest with the angels tye gunn October 6th, 2011 at 8:53 pm RIP Levi Stubbs A Motown and vocal Legend. Mike Jackson Levi Stubbs - Biography | Billboard Levi Stubbs Detroit, MI 1936 Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1936, deep-voiced singer Levi Stubbs began his professional singing career in his hometown when he and friends Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, and Lawrence Payton formed the Four Aims vocal group in 1954 (some accounts put the date a year earlier).

The group worked as a supper club act for a couple of years, changing their name to the Four Tops and, following unsuccessful recording stints with Chess and Columbia, signed to Berry Gordy's then-fledgling Motown Records in 1963. They completed a debut LP for Motown in their polished and jazzy supper club style but it wasn't really what Gordy was looking for and he switched their style to a harder, more pop-flavored R&B sound, wisely placing them in the hands of the in-house Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. Pure magic happened.

With Stubbs singing lead, his natural baritone pitched at the top of his range to create a sense of vibrant urgency, the Four Tops delivered an impressive run of hits for Motown, beginning with "Baby I Need Your Loving" in 1964 and following it with "Ask the Lonely," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," and "It's the Same Old Song" in 1965, and "Something About You," "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)," "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever," and the soul symphony "Reach Out, I'll Be There" in 1966. "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "Bernadette" followed in 1967. Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown over a financial dispute at the end of the year, though, and the Four Tops suffered for it, eventually leaving the label themselves in 1972 and signing with ABC-Dunhill, where they were teamed with producers/songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who did their best to re-create the group's trademark Motown sound.

The first single, "Keeper of the Castle," was a hit, as was "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" early in 1973, but the creative well was running dry for the group, at least as a chart-topping act. They continued to tour and perform shows, occasionally notching a song in the lower reaches of the charts. Benson died in 1995 and Payton passed away in 1997. Theo Peoples joined the group and took over the lead vocal work when Stubbs was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to continue touring. Aside from his work as a singer, Stubbs also did some acting, appearing in several television shows (usually as himself) and provided the voice for the carnivorous plant in the movie musical version of Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and the voice of Mother Brain in the animated TV series Captain N: The Game Master (1989). Levi Stubbs passed away at his home in Detroit on October 17, 2008. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi News and Features Imponderables: Levi Stubbs, R.I.P.

October 17, 2008 Levi Stubbs, R.I.P. Can an interpreter be a great artist? I have no doubt that the answer is yes when I note with great sorrow the death of Levi Stubbs , the lead singer of the Four Tops. Motown had on its roster phenemonal singers who were also fabulous writer-producers (Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder spring to mind) and writer-performers (Michael Jackson), but no one had a better voice than Levi Stubbs, and no group sang better live than the Four Tops. The Four Tops output was subject to the vagaries of Motown. Perhaps because they weren't the dancers that the Temptations were, and perceived as less sexy, the Tops were never the marquee act at Motown, even during their commercial peak, with hits like Reach Out, I'll Be There, It's the Same Old Song, etc. The other three tops sang like angels, and could sound like a woman's choir (from the evidence of live performances I've caught, maybe there weren't female voices among the background singers on Bernadette).

But even amidst the brilliance of Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir and Lawrence Payton, Stubbs stood out. I saw the Four Tops in London in 1972 right after Stubbs broke his leg. He came on stage on crutches, and couldn't execute the classic choreography to I Can't Help Myself and his other hits, but it barely mattered. Stubbs dominated anyway. Here are a couple of my favorite Stubbs performances. As I think about them, it occurs to me that the Tops, always seemed older than their real age (it's hard to believe that this mature performer is in his mid-20s).

This is the first Tops song I ever heard, and it was their first big hit: Baby, I Need Your Lovin' And here's my favorite Stubbs' vocal, albeit with horrible sound (you can find more pristine versions on You Tube with static images) Critic Dave Marsh just wrote this obituary, and he captures the Four Tops and Stubbs so well: SOMETHING ABOUT YOUï¿½When I was 15, I met the Four Tops on a downtown Detroit street, where they were doing a photo shoot with the Supremes. The groupï¿½especially Duke Fakirï¿½were extraordinarily kind to a trio of white kids totally out of their element. I love the Four Tops for that, but I would have loved them anyway. They are the voice of adolescent angst and adult heartbreak, the pure, the absolute joy that humans can take in one another. Call them love songs ï¿½Iï¿½d say it was more like lifelinesï¿½but call them silly and youï¿½ve branded yourself as a fool. Phil Spector once said that ï¿½Bernadetteï¿½ was a black man singing Bob Dylan.

The name of that black man was Levi Stubbs. And for those of you who are Bruce Springsteen fans, go find the Tops greatest album, The Four Tops Second Album, and listen to ï¿½Love Feels Like Fireï¿½ and ï¿½Helpless,ï¿½ two of my alltime Motown tracks (and they werenï¿½t even singles). Youï¿½ll feel the same thing. Those crazed sax breaks are as close to free jazz as Motown ever let itself come, and they got away with it there solely because the Tops were such a perfect machine with the most powerful voice of its time at the fore. I could never figure out whether Levi was the toughest or the tenderest singer at Motown, so I finally accepted that he was both. Yeah, a lot of the Tops is formula Holland Dozier Holland. Sometimes even I think itï¿½s the Supremes when the intro to ï¿½Itï¿½s the Same Old Songï¿½ or ï¿½Something About Youï¿½ comes on. So what? To begin with, HDH created the greatest formula in the history of rock and soul.

Now: Go listen again to ï¿½Reach Outï¿½ and see if you can think of a Supremes record that could grab you in the gut that way. Itï¿½s the ï¿½Like a Rolling Stoneï¿½ of soulï¿½with a flute and hand percussion leading the way! The group always got Eddie Hollandï¿½s greatest lyrics (and he the most under-rated lyricist of the ï¿½60s) and thatï¿½s one. They got those songs because Levi could sing the most impossible stuff. Any other soul singer I know would have insisted on editing. The great, long, image rich lines in ï¿½Bermandetteï¿½ and ï¿½Ask the Lonelyï¿½ were too long, that they needed more space to really sing. Not Levi. He charged into those words and wrestled everything out of them, and somehow, he sounded graceful as he did.

ï¿½Loving you has made my life sweeter than everï¿½ is so multisyllabic that they had to shorten it for the title: ï¿½Loving You Is Sweeter Than Everï¿½ fit the label better, I guess. The Tops got away with that as a group because they knew how to work with such vocal intricacy. By the time they had their first Motown hit theyï¿½d already been together for ten years. Duke told me recently that their earlier sojourn at Columbia Records in the late ï¿½50s came after a brief appearance at the Apollo. The talent scout who signed them was John Hammondï¿½the same guy who found Bob, Bruce, and Aretha. Thatï¿½s the company the Four Tops, and Levi Stubbs, in particular belong in. Who else could turn ï¿½Walk Away Reneeï¿½ into soul music? Who else could get away with ï¿½7 Rooms of Gloomï¿½ as a love song without a hint of irony, let alone comedy? I will testify. Levi and the Tops were among the graces of my own soul.

When I get nervous before an interview, I always remember how kind those guys were to that 15 year old kid, and I feel beyond harm. When I listen to ï¿½The Same Old Song,ï¿½ I remember once again the sweetness of sour. ï¿½Bernadetteï¿½ calls to my mind the futility of believing youï¿½re in control, and how easy it is to confuse passion with obsession. ï¿½Reach Outï¿½ is simply as colossal an extravaganza as rock and soul music have ever produced, as monumental in its way as ï¿½Like a Rolling Stone.ï¿½ The focal point of all that musical gingerbread and the mighty Funk Brothers is not the groupï¿½itï¿½s one man, Levi Stubbs, pushed not to his limit but way past it. But thereï¿½s not a hintï¿½not a secondï¿½where Levi Stubbs sounds like anything but a guy from down the street, across the way or in your mirror. Imagine a Pavarotti on the corner. There he is. All of it helped, somehow, make my own life possible.

This is no case of ï¿½Shake Me, Wake Me (When Itï¿½s Over).ï¿½ Levi Stubbs was 72 years old. He hadnï¿½t been in good health for several years. This isnï¿½t Marvin Gaye or David Ruffin or Tammi Terrell. This is a man who made his full contribution to our culture, our lives. That doesnï¿½t make it all that much easier to hear the word. At the Topsï¿½ golden anniversary show in Detroit several years ago, he sang from a wheelchair. ï¿½There wasnï¿½t a dry eye in the house,ï¿½ his friend and attorney, Judy Tint, told me this afternoon. Ainï¿½t any in this house today, either.--Dave Marsh Greene County Gold | Levi Stubbs Lead singer of the Four Tops 1936-2008 Levi Stubbs was born in Detroit, MI in 1936.

He began his professional singing career in his hometown when he and friends Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton formed the vocal group the “Four Aims” in 1954. The group worked as a supper club act for a couple of years, eventually changing their name to the “Four Tops”. They recorded a number of forgettable singles for Chess and Columbia. In 1963 the “Four Tops” were signed the new Motown Records. It wasn’t long until a string of hits followed, including “Baby I Need Your Loving” and “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”. The “Four Tops” would go on to rack up more than 50 hits. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Levi appeared in a number of TV shows, and even lent his voice to the carnivorous plant “Audrey II” in “Little Shop of Horrors”. Sadly, Levi was diagnosed with cancer in 1995 and suffered a stroke in 2000. Levi Stubbs passed away on October 20, 2008.

He was 72 years young. Levi Stubbs | New Music And Songs | Levi Stubbs About Levi Stubbs Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1936, deep-voiced singer Levi Stubbs began his professional singing career in his hometown when he and friends Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, and Lawrence Payton formed the Four Aims vocal group in 1954 (some accounts put the date a year earlier). The group worked as a supper club act for a couple of years, changing their name to the Four Tops and, following unsuccessful recording stints with Chess and Columbia, signed to Berry Gordy's then-fledgling Motown Records in 1963. They completed a debut LP for Motown in their polished and jazzy supper club style but it wasn't really what Gordy was looking for and he switched their style to a harder, more pop-flavored R&B sound, wisely placing them in the hands of the in-house Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. Pure magic happened.

With Stubbs singing lead, his natural baritone pitched at the top of his range to create a sense of vibrant urgency, the Four Tops delivered an impressive run of hits for Motown, beginning with "Baby I Need Your Loving" in 1964 and following it with "Ask the Lonely," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," and "It's the Same Old Song" in 1965, and "Something About You," "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)," "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever," and the soul symphony "Reach Out, I'll Be There" in 1966. "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "Bernadette" followed in 1967. Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown over a financial dispute at the end of the year, though, and the Four Tops suffered for it, eventually leaving the label themselves in 1972 and signing with ABC-Dunhill, where they were teamed with producers/songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who did their best to re-create the group's trademark Motown sound.

The first single, "Keeper of the Castle," was a hit, as was "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" early in 1973, but the creative well was running dry for the group, at least as a chart-topping act. They continued to tour and perform shows, occasionally notching a song in the lower reaches of the charts. Benson died in 1995 and Payton passed away in 1997. Theo Peoples joined the group and took over the lead vocal work when Stubbs was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to continue touring. Aside from his work as a singer, Stubbs also did some acting, appearing in several television shows (usually as himself) and provided the voice for the carnivorous plant in the movie musical version of Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and the voice of Mother Brain in the animated TV series Captain N: The Game Master (1989). Levi Stubbs passed away at his home in Detroit on October 17, 2008.

~ Steve Leggett, Rovi Hear more of Four Tops Vocalist Levi Stubbs Dies At 72 | Billboard Four Tops Vocalist Levi Stubbs Dies At 72 COMMENTS Arguably the most powerful voice in Motown's storied history has been silenced. Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs, Jr., died today (Oct. 17) at his home in Detroit after a long series of illnesses. Arguably the most powerful voice in Motown's storied history has been silenced. Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs, Jr., died today (Oct. 17) at his home in Detroit after a long series of illnesses -- including cancer and a stroke -- that forced him to stop performing in 2000. He was 72. Funeral arrangements are pending for Stubbs, who is survived by Clineice, his wife of 48 years, and five children. "He had one of the most prolific and identifiably voices in American history," the Motown Alumni Association's Billy J. Wilson tells Billboard.com.

"It's a deep loss, to the entire Motown family and to the world." Stubbs' death leaves Abdul "Duke" Fakir as the Tops' only living member from the original quartet, which formed in 1954 as the Four Aims and signed with Motown nine years later. Laurence Payton passed away in 1997, and Renaldo "Obie" Benson died in 2005. Fakir continues to lead a version of the Tops that includes Payton's son Roquel, former Temptations member Theo Peoples and Motown veteran Ronnie McNeir. Stubbs -- born Levi Stubbles in Detroit -- gave voice to enduring hits such as "Baby I Need Your Loving," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Bernadette" and others. The Tops have sold more than 50 million records and racked up 45 chart hits for the Motown, ABC Dunhill, Arista and Casablanca labels, and the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Stubbs also provided the voice of Audrey II, the man-eating plant in the film version of the musical "Little Shop of Horrors" in 1986, and of Mother Brain in the 1989 animated TV series "Captain N: The Game Master." Stubbs' last public appearance with the group came at the group's 50th Anniversary Concert on July 28, 2004 at Detroit's Opera House. Reaction to Stubbs' death has been pouring forth as the word spread. The Temptations' Otis Williams told Billboard.com that the wheelchair-bound Stubbs came to see his group perform with the current Four Tops a couple of times this year, in Toledo and in the Detroit area. "We had him in the dressing room and sang 'Baby I Need Your Loving' ... He would try to sing along with us, and as he was singing you could see tears well up in his eyes. He just longed to be on stage and do what he was known to do." Williams called Stubbs "our black Frank Sinatra. Frank not only had the voice but what made Sinatra unique was the way he'd phrase the song.

Levi had that same kind of talent; whatever he was singing he would phrase it so uniquely that you would just stand there in awe." War's Lonnie Jordan told Billboard.com he was "blessed" to meet Stubbs once during his career and felt that "his voice was so good he was just, like, from another planet. That's what I told him." In a statement, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr., called Stubbs "the greatest interpreter of songs I've ever heard." Gordy also revealed that Stubbs was his first choice for the romantic lead in the Diana Ross film vehicle "Lady Sings the Blues" but that he turned down the role "because he thought it would interfere with the group's future success." Brian and Eddie Holland, who co-wrote many of the Tops' hits with partner Lamont Dozier, said in a statement that "Working with Levi was one of the most inspirational aspects of the time we spent at Motown. Just listening to the way he was able to deliver the HDH songs brought more beauty to them than we could have imagined ... He was an inspiration to us as songwriters and producers." Smokey Robinson commented that Stubbs "was one of the great voices of all times.

He was very near and dear to my heart," while Daryl Hall said that "not only was Levi a nice guy, but he had one of the most distinctive voices of all of the Motown artists. He created a style so unique that it actually was never really imitated. And, the songs that he sang, like all great songs, will remain timeless." Funeral services for Stubbs will take place at 11 a.m. Monday at Detroit's Greater Grace Temple. Public viewings will take place Friday and Saturday at the city's Swanson Funeral Home. The Contours | SoulTracks - Soul Music Biographies, News and Reviews Soul Music Biographies, News and Reviews The Contours Contours featuring Sylvester Potts official website Artist Biography Joe Billingslea, Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs, and Billy Rollins founded a singing group called The Blenders in their native Detroit, Michigan in 1959. The group soon added Leroy Fair (in place of Billy Rollins) and bass singer Hubert Johnson and changed the name to The Contours. In the fall of 1960, the group auditioned for Berry Gordy's Motown Records.

Gordy turned the act down, prompting the group to pay a visit to the home of Johnson's cousin, R&B star and Gordy associate Jackie Wilson. Wilson in turn got The Contours a second audition with Gordy, at which they sang the same songs they had at the first audition, the same way, and were signed to a seven-year contract. The group's first single, "Whole Lotta Woman," was released in January 1961 and failed to chart. Within months of its release, Leroy Fair was replaced by Benny Reeves, brother of Martha Reeves. Shortly thereafter, Benny Reeves left to serve in the United States Navy and he was replaced by Sylvester Potts. In 1961 the group's second single, "The Stretch", was released and it also failed to chart. In early 1962, Gordy had The Contours record "Do You Love Me," a composition originally meant for The Temptations. The resulting record, with its shouted lead vocals from Billy Gordon, became a number-two hit in1962.

Although The Contours never quite repeated the extraordinary success of "Do You Love Me," they returned to the charts three times during 1963 and 1964 with "Shake Sherry," "Can You Do It" and "Can You Jerk Like Me." In 1964, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and Sylvester Potts all left Motown. Berry Gordy hired Council Gay, Jerry Green and Alvin English to back Billy Gordon, making the Contours a quartet. Within a year, Sylvester Potts returned to the group (replacing Alvin English), and Billy Gordon departed shortly thereafter. Gordon was replaced by Joe Stubbs, brother of Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs. Stubbs soon quit the act and was replaced by Dennis Edwards. With all of the original members gone by the mid-1960s, The Contours recorded several records which received R&B radio play (notably "First I Look at the Purse" and "Just a Little Misunderstanding"), but were considered secondary to Motown's major male vocal groups, The Temptations, the Four Tops, and The Miracles.

The group's seven-year contract with Motown expired in 1967 and when lead singer Dennis Edwards was recruited to replace the departed David Ruffin as lead singer of The Temptations in early 1968, The Contours disbanded. Edwards later became a solo hits maker as well. Although they charted up a hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1970 with a re-release of "Just A Little Misunderstanding," The Contours' real claim to fame lies with "Do You Love Me." Both these tracks and others Contours work can be found on various Motown compilation albums. In the early 1970s, Joe Billingslea resurrected the group with himself, Council Gay, Arthur Hinson, Martin Upshire and C. Autry Hatcher as its members, and began performing at local clubs around Detroit. During the seventies and early eighties, the group's popularity increased and they began playing dates throughout the US and even some international dates. In 1984, Charles Davis replaced Hinson and a week later Potts rejoined the group replacing Gay. In 1987, Hatcher left the group and Arthur Hinson returned.

In 1988, Darell Nunlee was added when Martin Upshire left. The same year, "Do You Love Me" was prominently featured in the film Dirty Dancing. In 1988, a reissue of "Do You Love Me" sent the song back to the Billboard pop charts for eight weeks, peaking at number eleven. The movie and the record spawned a 1988 "Dirty Dancing Concert Tour" followed by a new recording contract for Ian Levine's Motorcity Records where the group recorded two albums Flashback and Revenge although the latter was not released although the songs came out on a later compilation. In 1992, Hinson and left the group, and it continued as a quartet until 1993 when Nunlee left. Al Chisholm (formerly with The Falcons) and Gary Grier were recruited in 1993. This configuration - Joe Billingslea, Chisholm, Davis, Grier and Potts - continued from 1993 until 2004.

In 2004, Sylvester Potts left to form his own group with the four members (Leroy Seabrooks, Kim Green, Tony Womack and Darell Nunlee) of a local Detroit group named Upscale, which immediately began performing as 'The Contours'. Billingslea sued and Potts countersued, each claiming the rights to the name. These suits were resolved in an out-of-court settlement which provided for the existence of both groups to be identified as "Joe Billingslea and The Contours" and "The Contours featuring Sylvester Potts," respectively. Seabrooks has since left the Potts' group making it a quartet. In 2006, Joe Billingslea and The Contours filled the vacant bass singing spot created by Potts' departure with Odell Jones. Both groups are currently performing. Joe Billingslea and The Contours are among the acts featured in a DVD released by Motown in January 2007 called "Motown: The Early Years," featuring their appearances on the Public Broadcasting System specials. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License . It uses material from the Wikipedia article The Contours . Video

Question: Levi Stubbs was lead singer with which act?
Answer: Four Tops