Sad news out of MoTown today. It was announced that Levi Stubbs had passed away at the age of 72. Many of you probably have no idea who Levi Stubbs was, but he was one of my favorite singers. As the lead singer for The Four Tops, he was one of the great voices of 60's pop. Another perhaps little-known fact is that he was the voice of Audrey, the man-eating venus flytrap in the movie version of "Little Shop of Horrors". He had a great baritone voice, and it is really displayed in one of my all-time favorite songs, the Tops classic "(Reach Out) I'll Be There". Another memorable one is "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)".
Considering all the craziness and line-up changes The Supremes and The Temptations went through, it's really cool that The Four Tops stayed with the same line-up for over 40 years, and that Mr. Stubbs stayed married to the same woman for almost 50 years. If you were to judge groups based on longevity, and group unity, The Four Tops certainly do come out on "top". They may not have been the most popular of the classic MoTown groups, but they were certainly the classiest.
Considering all the craziness and line-up changes The Supremes and The Temptations went through, it's really cool that The Four Tops stayed with the same line-up for over 40 years, and that Mr. Stubbs stayed married to the same woman for almost 50 years. If you were to judge groups based on longevity, and group unity, The Four Tops certainly do come out on "top". They may not have been the most popular of the classic MoTown groups, but they were certainly the classiest.
Comments