Four Tops

What began with the soul-candy gloss of the Motown Sound found its voice in the Holland/Dozier/Holland songwriting squad and a crew of guys who'd sung together since high school. The result was the Four Tops, one of the greatest vocal groups of our — or any other — time; a group anchored by the burnt-sugar shout of the late, great Levi Stubbs and launched into the stratosphere by a staggering string of hits that threaded through three decades and, in the process, demolished the walls between R&B and pop. We're talkin' about smashes like "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and the sweet sensation "Reach Out I'll Be There," a wonder of a song that, 40 years later, still makes a case for being the only lifesaver you'll ever need.

Reach out to our Next Steps for "7-Rooms of Gloom," as many lonely nights, and even more from Motown's finest foursome.

With the Four Tops, you just can't have the sweet without the salty. Dig out some chart candy like "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" — you can practically hear the mohair suits and smooth-steppin' dance moves. But no amount of Motown sugar is gonna glaze the down-and-dirty Detroit grit of "7-Rooms of Gloom." And how about "Love Feels Like Fire" — complete with Obie Benson, Duke Fakir, and Lawrence Payton's unearthly harmonies, and, of course, Levi Stubbs' bittersweet baritone — which delivers listeners somewhere between soul salvation and a more earthbound kind of rapture.

But we're still just getting started; come along with us to Deep Cuts, where we'll wade into the Tops' many rivers of soul satisfaction.

When it's the Four Tops, deep just goes without saying. Deep, as in more than 40 years' worth of the real deal, of Motor City grit wrapped in soul satin. Deep, as in grooves that move from '60s Motown Sound love calls ("I'll Turn to Stone") to the earthy tones of '70s new beginnings ("Reflections") to the smooth-talkin' come-ons of '80s slow-dance specials ("Tonight I'm Gonna Love You All Over"). And deep, as in an age-of-iTunes remix of their signature cut, "Reach Out I'll Be There," that finds a son (Montez Payton, son of Lawrence) paying tribute his late father's legacy.

Here's one way to make it into the Hall of Fame: get your group together in high school, then stay together for more than 40 years without a single lineup change. Spend ten of those years fine-tuning your sound before you score even your first hit. Make sure that sound is something different, something edgy — smooth-as-silk harmonies, sure, but maybe you can make the baritone the lead; you know, the guy who sounds like he's spilling his guts every time he opens his mouth. Then, land a gig with one of the hottest new labels around — say, Motown — and wax life-changing soul-pop singles written by one of the finest teams in the business, Holland/Dozier/Holland. Finally, spend the better part of three decades on the charts, and you're there. Hey, it worked for the Four Tops, who were rightly named by Rolling Stone magazine as among the "100 greatest artists of all time" — and who, with the passing of their voice, the legendary Levi Stubbs, still remind us why they're the very sound of soul.