Not that desperation was the only color available to him. His vocal performance as the man-eating plant in 1986's Little Shop of Horrors revealed a Stubbs who could be seductive, lascivious, and menacing, and he also found a latter-day sideline performing voices for videogames. The original Tops lineup stayed together for 43 years, until Lawrence Payton died in 1997, followed by Renaldo "Obie" Benson in 2005. Stubbs' death this year at age 72 leaves Abdul "Duke" Fakir the last surviving Top.
We encourage you to watch the Four Tops in these clips:
The Four Tops with Levi Stubbs may have been one of Motown's biggest groups in the '60s, but they seemed to exist in a world beyond Motown
Unlike many of the label's own hand-groomed and manufactured bands, the quartet was around long before Motown started, and its original lineup continued decades after most Motown bands had become tribute acts filled with ringers.
Mostly, though, the band differed from other Motown acts thanks to the sheer drama of frontman Levi Stubbs' voice.
His baritone had a particular pleading, crying quality that marked hits both upbeat ("I Can't Help Myself," "Shake Me, Wake Me,") and grim and frightening ("Bernadette," "Standing in the Shadows of Love"). Not for nothing did Billy Bragg title his hit song "Levi Stubbs' Tears."
The group's best songs combined both approaches, as on their masterpiece "Reach Out I'll Be There," where each verse ends with an unbearable buildup of tension, a nail-biting pause, and finally a triumphant resolution. Stubbs sang that song, as he did so many others, like a man drowning in fear and anxiously awaiting rescue.
I Can't Help Myself
It's The Same Old Song
Baby, I Need You're Lovin'
FOR THE FIRST TIME ON DVD THE FOUR TOPS
22 legendary full length performances by the hit-making Motown group from rare local television clips to celebrated appearances on the national stage, this collection offers a stunning array of classic Motown music, with remastered sound and video--including the option to experience the Four Tops like never before, and hear unreleased a cappella mixes of such songs as "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Baby I Need Your Loving" and nine more, taken directly from their original Motown sessions reels.
As an extra special bonus, newly shot interviews with Duke Fakir, Roquel Payton, Smokey Robinson and Mickey Stevenson, as well as vintage interviews with the rest of the group are highlighted throughout, documenting the one-of-a-kind story of this Motown supergroup.
Hear the Four Tops a cappella
Previously unreleased Four Tops a cappella mixes
, taken from original Motown session reels and re-
synched to television performances, from the new documentary DVD Reach Out
:30 Clip preview From EW .Entertainment Weekly
This page was last updated: December 6, 2008
Aretha Franklin Tribute to Levi Stubbs
This DVD boasts an 80-minute documentary and more than 35 minutes of extras, including more exclusive interviews and bonus performances featuring post-Motown hits.All in digitally remastered 5.1 surround stereo!
At Amazon, $9.99 "Four Tops Reach Out" DVD
