As 2008 draws to a close (6)
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Artist:
When, in 1986, he sought to create an arresting image of domestic despair easily recognisable to everyone, Billy Bragg hit on "Levi Stubbs' Tears".
There's no doubt that, during the classic years when the Four Tops sang the songs of Holland Dozier and Holland, written to be sung at the very top of Levi Stubbles' (as he was born) vocal range, they touched peaks of emotion rarely equalled and perhaps never surpassed in popular music. After twelve years tyogether, the Four Tops sheer professionalism and the creativity of Motown's in house production team ensured a constant string of hits. A few ill-juged later moves diminished their success, and eventually time caught up with the veterans, as it always does, although not before Levi took on a vocal role in The Little Shop of Horrors. As at the time of writing, only one of the original Four Tops, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, is still with us.
I've chosen one of their tunes that was less heard on the radio than most this past October.
Levi "Stubbs" Stubbles died on 17th October, aged 72.
Locating MOG account...
Comments (4)
The Four Tops had some incredible "deep tracks", and this is certainly one of them.
i dig the frosty photo you've adopted. is that a pic from the Hudson Bay area?
Same latitude, molli, but a few thousand miles east. Minus four these nights here, and seven hours daylight.
On my 8th birthday, my daddy bought me my first vinyl LP. WoW! I was so excited, I could play MY own music in the living room and cavort madly around the living room.Yeah you guessed it ...it was a Four Tops album..Reach Out with great songs such as Bernadette.