I CAN'T HELP MYSELF
I LOVE YOU
AND NOBODY ELSE...
The Four Tops
are an
American
vocal group
formed in
Detroit, Michigan
in 1953 as
the Four Aims.
They were one
of the most
commercially successful
American
pop music groups
of the 1960s
and helped
propel
Motown Records
to international fame.
The group's repertoire
has incorporated
elements of soul,
R&B,
disco,
adult contemporary,
doo-wop,
jazz,
and
show tunes.
Lead singer
Levi Stubbs,
along with
backing vocalists
Abdul "Duke" Fakir,
Renaldo "Obie" Benson
and
Lawrence Payton
remained together
in the group
for over four decades,
performing until 1997
without a change
in personnel.
Along with fellow
Motown groups
the Miracles,
the Marvelettes,
Martha and the Vandellas,
the Temptations,
and
the Supremes,
the Four Tops
helped to establish
the
"Motown sound";
pop-friendly
soul and R&B
with a clean,
polished production quality.
They were notable
for having Stubbs,
a baritone,
as their lead singer,
whereas most
other male
and mixed
vocal groups
of the time
were fronted
by
tenors.
The group was
the primary
male vocal group
for the highly successful
songwriting and
production team of
Holland–Dozier–Holland,
who wrote
numerous hit singles
for Motown.
These included two
Billboard Hot
100 number-one hits
for the Tops:
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"
in 1965
and
"Reach Out I'll Be There"
in 1966.
The group continued
to chart singles
into the 1970s,
including the
million-seller
"Ain't No Woman"
(1973).
The Four Tops
were inducted into
the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
in 1990, t
he Vocal Group
Hall of Fame
in 1999,
and the
National
Rhythm & Blues
Hall of Fame
in 2013.
In 2010,
Rolling Stone
ranked them
No. 79
on its list of the
"100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
On
July 20, 2024,
the last
surviving
original member,
Fakir, retired.
He died two days later.
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