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Necrology: Four Tops' Levi Stubbs, 72
- Thread starter RicoGregg
- Start date
M
MusicMaestro
Guest
This is very, very sad news--Mr. Stubbs had one of the most recognizable voices in music history. The Tops had 24 Top 40 Pop & 45 Top 40 R&B singles, 9 Top 10 Pop/24 Top 10 R&B singles, & "I Can't Help Myself"(June 1965) & "Reach Out-I'll Be There"(October 1966) were #1 Pop & #1 R&B singles, while their comeback single in 1981, "When She Was My Girl" hit #1 R&B & #11 Pop. He will be sorely missed. :'(
His humility was his most famous personal trait, exceeded only by his rich baritone voice.MusicMaestro said:
“You are our black Frank Sinatra.”
Temptations singer Otis Williams told him “You are our black Frank Sinatra.”
His name wasn’t as-familiar-as Motown labelmates Smokey Robinson of the Miracles or Supreme Diana Ross or Temptation David Ruffin. Motown founder Berry Gordy called Levi Stubbs “the greatest interpreter of songs I ever heard;” and Gordy figures he “could easily have made it as a solo star, but his love and loyalty” kept the Four Tops “together longer than any group I know.”
For 44 years, Stubbs stood shoulder-to-shoulder with gifted Lawrence Payton, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Abdul “Duke” Fakir. Their 12 number one hits adorned then-Top 40 AMs which are now Talk stations; and included Holland-Dozier-Holland classics such as “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” “Bernadette,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Love,” and “Reach Out (I’ll Be There).” Stubbs’ single noteworthy solo was as the voice of the man-eating plant in the movie “Little Shop of Horrors.”
I got chills when I heard The Four Tops sing the national anthem before a NBA game when the Detroit Pistons played in Washington in the 80s. Smokey Robinson called him “one of the great voices of all times.”
Levi Stubbs was 72 when he lost a long battle with cancer, which had already claimed fellow ‘Tops Payton and Benson. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Clineice, five children, and 11 grandchildren. Next time you’re in Detroit, pay the $8. Tour The Motown Museum, 2648 West Grand Boulevard. You can stand in the very room where such immense talents crafted the soundtrack of Baby Boomers’ teen years (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c_KsSbOGkg).
HC
www.HollandCooke.com
Temptations singer Otis Williams told him “You are our black Frank Sinatra.”
His name wasn’t as-familiar-as Motown labelmates Smokey Robinson of the Miracles or Supreme Diana Ross or Temptation David Ruffin. Motown founder Berry Gordy called Levi Stubbs “the greatest interpreter of songs I ever heard;” and Gordy figures he “could easily have made it as a solo star, but his love and loyalty” kept the Four Tops “together longer than any group I know.”
For 44 years, Stubbs stood shoulder-to-shoulder with gifted Lawrence Payton, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Abdul “Duke” Fakir. Their 12 number one hits adorned then-Top 40 AMs which are now Talk stations; and included Holland-Dozier-Holland classics such as “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” “Bernadette,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Love,” and “Reach Out (I’ll Be There).” Stubbs’ single noteworthy solo was as the voice of the man-eating plant in the movie “Little Shop of Horrors.”
I got chills when I heard The Four Tops sing the national anthem before a NBA game when the Detroit Pistons played in Washington in the 80s. Smokey Robinson called him “one of the great voices of all times.”
Levi Stubbs was 72 when he lost a long battle with cancer, which had already claimed fellow ‘Tops Payton and Benson. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Clineice, five children, and 11 grandchildren. Next time you’re in Detroit, pay the $8. Tour The Motown Museum, 2648 West Grand Boulevard. You can stand in the very room where such immense talents crafted the soundtrack of Baby Boomers’ teen years (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c_KsSbOGkg).
HC
www.HollandCooke.com
A
andreajesus
Guest
Dude, you NAILED this one!! 
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