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45s.com -- Recording Artist Information: The Four Tops
Date Formed 1953 Location Detroit, Michigan Music R&B group Charted Pop/Rock Hits 45 Period Active August 15, 1964 to 1983 Biggest Hits I Can't Help Myself; Reach Out I'll Be There; Ain't No Woman; Bernadette; It's The Same Old Song. Music List and Data Search Music List Notable Information The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Original Members Levi Stubbs, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, Abdul "Duke" Fakir. Other Names Four Aims Other Web Sites Yahoo! Music: Four Tops (The) The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The following information was obtained from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
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.
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