Four Tops - Reach Out 2002 [EAC - FLAC] (oan)

The Four Tops - Reach Out I'll Be There 2002 [EAC - FLAC] (oan)



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The Four Tops [often billed by Motown as 'Four Tops'] are an American vocal quartet, whose

repertoire has included doo~wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard

rock, and showtunes. Founded in Detroit, Michigan as The Four Aims, lead singer Levi

Stubbs [born Levi Stubbles, a cousin of Jackie Wilson and brother of The Falcons' Joe

Stubbs], and groupmates Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton

remained together for over four decades, having gone from 1953 until 1997 without a single

change in personnel.



Among a number of groups who helped define the Motown Sound of the 1960s, including The

Miracles, The Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, The Temptations, and The Supremes,

the Four Tops were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer; most groups

of the time were fronted by a tenor. The group was the main male vocal group for the

songwriting and production team of Holland~Dozier~Holland, who crafted a stream of hit

singles, including two Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits: "I Can't Help Myself [Sugar Pie

Honey Bunch]" and "Reach Out I'll Be There". After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in

1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson. When

Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, the Tops stayed in Detroit and

moved over to ABC Records, where they continued to have charting singles into the late-

1970s. Since the 1980s, the Four Tops have recorded for, at various times, Motown,

Casablanca Records and Arista Records. Today, save for Indestructible [owned by Sony

Music Entertainment], Universal Music Group controls the rights to their entire post-1963

catalog [through various mergers and acquisitions], as well as their 1956 single, "Could It Be

You".



A change of line-up was finally forced upon the group when Lawrence Payton died on June

20, 1997. The band initially continued as a three-piece under the name The Tops, before

Theo Peoples [formerly of The Temptations] was recruited as the new fourth member.

Peoples eventually took over the role of lead singer when Stubbs suffered a stroke in 2000

with his position assumed by Ronnie McNeir. On July 1, 2005, Benson died of lung cancer

with Payton's son Roquel Payton replacing him. As of 2006, Fakir, McNeir, Payton, and

Peoples were still performing together as the Four Tops. Levi Stubbs died on October 17,

2008. Fakir is now the only surviving founding member of the original group.Early years

All four members of the group began their careers together while they were high school

students in Detroit. At the insistence of their friends, Pershing High students Levi Stubbs and

Abdul "Duke" Fakir performed with Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton from

Northern High at a local birthday party. The quartet decided to remain together, and

christened themselves The Four Aims. With the help of Payton's songwriter cousin Roquel

Davis, The Aims signed to Chess Records in 1956, changing their name to Four Tops to

avoid confusion with The Ames Brothers. Over the next seven years, The Tops endured

unsuccessful tenures at Chess, Red Top, Riverside Records and Columbia Records. Without

any hit records to their name, The Tops toured frequently, developing a polished stage

presence and an experienced supper club act. In 1963, Berry Gordy, Jr., who had worked

with Roquel Davis as a songwriter in the late~1950s, convinced The Tops to join the roster of

his growing Motown record company.

01. I Can't Help Myself ~ 2:43

02. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever ~ 2:50

03. Reach Out I'll Be There ~ 2:57

04. Bernadette ~ 3:04

05. Walk Away Renee ~ 2:45

06. Yesterdays Dreams ~ 2:57

07. Do What You Gotta Do ~ 4:03

08. Its All In The Game ~ 2:47

09. Still Water [Love] ~ 3:09

10. Simple Game ~ 2:57

11. MacArthur Park ~ 6:33

12. Cherish ~ 3:14

13. River Deep Mountain High ~ 4:33

14. Helpless ~ 2:42

15. Ask The Lonely ~ 2:40

16. Climb Ev'ry Mountain ~ 3:11

17. I Got A Feeling ~ 2:54

18. Just Seven Numbers [Can Straighten Out My Life] ~ 3:08

19. In These Changing Times ~ 4:51

20. For Once In My Life ~ 2:47



Playing Time.........: 01:06:45

Total Size...........: 381.29 MB





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