The Four Tops, the #94 Artist of the Rock Era

"Soul magic!"

"I love this group--great singers...just fantastic."

"Shivers down my spine.  Soul shakin', what a group."

"Music to the ears, soul words we can relate to.:

"Amazingly great songs that span generations and musical preferences.

"Awessome....never can be equalled....totally magical."

"Pure talent. Class act."

"One of the great groups from an amazing time in music."

"Their music is pure bliss."

"Great for the soul!"



Led by one of the greatest lead singers in history, this group became famous with a string of smash hits and wonderful choreography!

The four members of this group formed when Levi Stubbs and Abdul Faki of Pershing High School in Detroit, Michigan performed together with Reanldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton from Northern High at a local birthday party.  Liking their sound, they named themselves the Four Aims.  Payton's cousin, Roquel Davis, was a songwriter and helped the Aims sign a recording contract with Chess Records in 1956.  To avoid people confusing them with the Ames Brothers, they renamed themselves the Four Tops.

The group recorded, unsuccessfully, at Chess, Red Top, Riverside and Columbia Records.  Nevertheless, they had an impressive stage show and continued to tour.  In 1963, Berry Gordy, Jr., who had worked with Davis as a songwriter before, talked the group into signing with Motown.

The Tops recorded jazz-based material and sang backing vocals for other Motown acts such as the Supremes ("Run, Run, Run" and Martha and the Vandellas ("My Baby Loves Me").

 

When the lead songwriting production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote an instrumental track that they didn't complete, the trio decided to write the song for the Four Tops.  The group recorded it and "Baby I Need Your Loving" became their first big hit at #11 in the U.S. and #4 in Canada.  It is one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

In 1965, the group released their self-titled album, which generated another hit, "Ask The Lonely", another underrated popular song at #24, which was able to sneak into the R&B Top 10.

 

Later in the year, they released The Four Tops Second Album, which contained one of the all-time classics of the last 60 years, the #1 smash "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)".

"It's The Same Old Song" proved to be a strong follow-up, climbing to #2 R&B and #5 overall in the United States and 33 in Canada.

The following year, the group was On Top with a new release but it failed to generate much airplay outside of R&B.

 

In 1967, the Four Tops released On Broadway and Reach Out, the latter their biggest career album at #11.  "Reach Out I'll Be There" became the group's biggest international hit, going to #1 in the U.S. and the U.K., #4 in Ireland and #6 in Canada and the Netherlands.

 

The Tops released the single "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", a #6 song in both the United States and the U.K.

"Bernadette" became another of the group's strongest songs, rising to #4 in the U.S. and #8 in the U.K.

 

The group scored two more minor hits from Reach Out.  Both were bigger hits by other artists--"Walk Away Renee" became the only big hit by the Left Banke.

 

"If I Were A Carpenter" reached #8 for Bobby Darin, #20 for this supergroup.

The group released their Greatest Hits album, which went Gold.  

But shortly after one of their biggest hits, the go-to team of Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown and the Four Tops were forced to look elsewhere for material.  They tried Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Norman Whitfield, Johnny Bristol and Ivory Hunter, with little success.  The group's next three albums failed to generate significant interest.

 

In 1970, the Four Tops landed a minor hit with Still Water (Love)" at #11.

 

Later in the year, two superstars combined for a great song that was underrated at #14.  The Tops joined the Supremes for "River Deep - Mountain High".

When Gordy decided to move the Motown offices from Detroit to Los Angeles to move into movies and television as well, he required his artists to move there as well.  The Four Tops were one of the groups which refused, so they signed with ABC-Dunhill Records.  At Motown, the label was beginning to focus on new acts such as the Jackson Five and Diana Ross's solo career, but at ABC, they worked with Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter.

 

With Keeper of the Castle in 1972, the Four Tops were able to regain momentum, and the title song climbed to #7 on the R&B chart and #10 overall.  

 

 

The single "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I Got)", a #4 smash, gave the group their first Gold record since "Reach Out I'll Be There".

It seemed the group was back, but they still missed the golden team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, and as a result, missed with 13 consecutive singles.  Their time at ABC was over.

 

In 1981, the Four Tops signed with Casablanca Records, which had suddenly become hot with Donna Summer and KISS.  The Tops released the album Tonight! and lead single "When She Was My Girl", which led the way on the R&B chart and made it to #11 overall.

That was the last major hit for the group, however, as five more releases at Casablanca, a return to Motown for four more singles and four with Arista Records all failed to generate interest.

The Four Tops continued to tour with their lineup intact until Payton died of liver cancer in 1997.  Former Temptation Theo Peoples took his place, and when Stubbs too found out he had cancer, Ronnie McNeir filled in.  Stubbs died in 2008.

The Tops collected 43 career hits, with seven going Top 10 and two huge #1 songs.  According to Ebony magazine, they have sold over 20 million records worldwide.

The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.  They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997.

The group received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammy Awards in 2009.  The Grammys also inducted the big hit "Reach Out I'll Be There" into their Hall of Fame.

The group sang the U.S. national anthem prior to game 5 of the 2011 American League Championship Series in Detroit.

Over their amazing career, the Four Tops scored 41 career hits, with 7 of those reaching the Top 10 and the two classics, "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" going to #1.