Levi Stubbs the lead singer of the Four Tops died yesterday in Detroit. His soulful voice will be missed. We live in a time where love songs or strong singing and vocal harmonies seem erased from the pop-cultural landscape. Motown's unique R&B lyrics and memoriable melodies evaporated over the years. The Four Tops represented a class act with great songs and soothing vocal harmonies.
Here is a sweet tribute by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, to Levi Stubbs. Although Levi is wheelchair bound, he's overwhelmed by this sincere song. The members of the Four Tops support his vocals and help him with the lyrics.
Adam Bernstein from the Washington Post writes, The original members -- the baritone Mr. Stubbs, first tenor Abdul "Duke" Fakir, second tenor Lawrence Payton and baritone Renaldo "Obie" Benson -- continued to perform together until Payton's death in 1997. Afterward, the group sang as "The Tops."
As one of the most formidable groups after the Temptations, another Motown hit machine, the Four Tops were responsible for setting "a high standard for contemporary soul in the mid-Sixties," according to their 1990 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
This is a clip of Levi Stubbs singing "I Believe in You and Me," when he was young and healthy. Rest in Peace, my brother. We'll miss ya' Levi Stubbs.
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