The Four Tops

Induction Year: 1990

Induction Category: Performer

"The Four Tops deserve to be recognized both for their achievements and their longevity. On the latter count, the group performed for over four decades together without a single change in personnel - a record of constancy that is mind-boggling in the notoriously changeable world of popular music. As for their accomplishments, the Four Tops cut some of Motown’s most memorable singles during the label’s creative zenith, including “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself,” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “Bernadette.” The Four Tops’ greatest records were recorded at Motown with the in-house songwriting and production team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland between 1964 and 1967.

The foursome arrived at Motown in 1963 as seasoned veterans, having already logged nearly a decade in show business. The Detroit-based vocal group - consisting of lead vocalist Levi Stubbs, first tenor Abdul “Duke” Fakir, second tenor Lawrence Payton and baritone Renaldo “Obie” Benson - began singing together as the Four Aims soon after graduating high school in 1954. Modeling themselves on the Ink Spots, the Aims evolved into a versatile nightclub act. They recorded for the Chess, Red Top and Columbia labels before Motown founder Berry Gordy lured them to Motown. Stubbs’ bold, dramatic readings of some of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s choicest material set a high standard for contemporary soul in the mid-Sixties. Subsequent to their glory days at Motown, the Four Tops remained an in-demand live act. Periodically, they found themselves back on the charts during the Seventies and Eighties with such hits as “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got)” and “When She Was My Girl.” After the death of Payton in 1997, the remaining members continue to perform as the Tops.”

TIMELINE

December 26, 1935: Abdul “Duke” Fakir of the Four Tops is born in Detroit, MI.

June 6, 1936: Levi Stubbs, lead singer for the Four Tops, is born in Detroit, MI.
June 14, 1937: Renaldo “Obie” Benson of the Four Tops is born in Detroit, MI.

March 2, 1938: Lawrence Payton of the Four Tops is born in Detroit, MI.

1953: Levi Stubbs, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, Abdul “Duke” Fakir and Lawrence Payton form a vocal group, the Four Aims, in their hometown of Detroit. A year later they will change their name to the Four Tops.

March 1963: The Four Tops sign to Berry Gordy’s Motown Records.

October 3, 1964: The Four Tops hit #11 with “Baby I Need Your Loving,” the first of many songs written for them by the crack Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.

June 19, 1965: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” becomes the Four Tops’ first #1 hit.

October 15, 1966: The Four Tops reach #1 for the second time in their career with “Reach Out, I’ll Be There.”

December 4, 1965: The Four Tops hit #19 with “Something About You”.

October 15, 1966: The Four Tops earn their second Number One single and the biggest hit of their career with “Reach Out, I’ll Be There.”

March 18, 1967: “Bernadette,” by the Four Tops, enters the Top Forty. It will rise to #4, becoming their fifth Top Ten hit in two years.

April 7, 1973: “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got,” by the Four Tops, peaks at #4. It is their 20th Top Forty hit in ten years at Motown.

March 25th, 1983: The Four Tops appear on Motown’s 25th Anniversary TV special. They also re-sign with the label, which they left in 1972.

October 1, 1988: The Four Tops enter the Top Forty for the 24th and final time with “Indestructible,” which NBC-TV uses for its coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics.

January 17, 1990: The Four Tops are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the fifth annual induction dinner. is their presenter.

February 20, 1997: The Four Tops receive the Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement at the eighth annual Rhythm & Blues Foundation dinner in New York.

June 20, 1997: Lawrence Payton of the Four Tops succumbs to liver cancer at his home in Southfield, MI.

July 1, 2005: Renaldo “Obie” Benson, the bass singer for the Four Tops, dies at age 69 after a brief battle with cancer.

2000: Levi Stubbs is forced to stop touring with the Four Tops after having suffered a series of strokes.

October 17, 2008: Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs dies at his home in Detroit at age 72.

Essential Songs

I Can’t Help Myself
Reach Out I’ll Be There
It’s the Same Old Song
Baby I Need You’re Loving
Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got)
When She Was My Girl
Standing in the Shadows of Love
Bernadette
7 Rooms of Gloom
Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)