In the 1960s Motown Records introduced white America to the great sounds of soul music, placing several of their artists on top of the pop charts. The Four Tops were among the most popular Motown groups and won over new audiences with their R&B grooves coupled with rich symphonic sound. Their songs became classics and are instantly recognizable today.

The four young men—lead singer Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton—came together at a party in their native Detroit where they sang for the lucky guests assembled. The new singing group had various gigs around town and recorded singles with many independent labels. When Motown finally picked them up, the Four Tops had a tight, professional act led by the baritone Levi Stubbs. Working with the songwriting team of Holland, Dozier and Holland, the group soon had a smash hit, the immensely popular “Baby, I Need Your Loving.” The song went all the way to #11 in the U.S. charts in 1964. Several other singles followed but didn’t place in the Top 40, until “Ask The Lonely” in 1965 made the grade in both pop and R&B charts.

True stardom came with two oft-played and re-recorded tunes, “I Can’t Help Myself”—also known as “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch”—and “It’s the Same Old Song”; the former was #1 in the pop and R&B charts and the latter made the Top 10 in both charts as well. Stubbs’s deep, soulful voice and the group’s beautiful harmonies took the world by storm and the Four Tops embarked on a European club tour. The hits kept on coming, mostly placing in the Top 20 of the pop charts until “Reach Out I’ll Be There” blew them all out of the water, reaching the #1 spot in the U.K. and the U.S. pop and R&B charts. It is considered the group’s finest performance, highlighted by Levi Stubbs’s straining, emotional rendition of the tender lyrics.

The Four Tops continued to produce Top 20 songs throughout the late 60s, with hits like “Bernadette”, “If I Were A Carpenter” and “Walk Away Renee”. The departure of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting trio from Motown Records in 1967 signaled a decline in output quality from the label’s artists but the Four Tops never strayed far from the charts. In 1971, collaboration with the Supremes produced the Top 20 hit cover of “River Deep, Mountain High”. The song did considerably better in the UK charts, reaching the #6 spot there.

Motown Records moved from Detroit to Hollywood in 1972, a fact that left the Four Tops with a difficult decision: move to the West Coast or show hometown loyalty? They decided to stay and subsequently switched to ABC Records. A string of Top 20 successes followed, including “Keeper of the Castle”, “Ain’t No Woman Like I’ve Got” and “Are You Man Enough?” The latter became the theme song for the movie Shaft in Africa. Yeah, dig it.

The Four Tops continued to record and tour in the 70s and scored a major hit with “When She Was My Girl” in 1981. Two years later, they returned to Motown and also toured with the Temptations (which they still continue to this day). Memorably in 1986, Levi Stubbs supplied the voice for the man-eating plant Audrey II in the movie musical Little Shop of Horrors. The group recorded and toured throughout the 90s, marking four decades together without a single lineup change. Unfortunately, that change came when Payton died, though his passing didn’t end the Four Tops’ commitment to their fans. Former Temptations member, Theo Peoples, replaced Payton and the group kept on performing their timeless classics into the 21st century.