Your Vinyl Destination

I have a great announcement- I have joined up with the team at http://www.rockitradio.net/ as a writer and have already been published. I am very fortunate to be part of their team and just hope that I can write up some good material for them! Here is what they have to say on their "DJ" page:

"To spice up the Rock-it Radio Listener's Club Newsletter - Rock-it Radio in the 24 October, 2008 issue was able to get one of the top authorities on Collecting Vinyl Records to start writing articles on rare vinyl - Collecting and Preserving Old Records. We are lucky to have him! And we look forward to reading many new exciting articles of Robert's in the future."

Their format is right up my alley, as I have a true love for the 'oldies' and especially the doo wop sounds of yesteryear.

So come on over and listen to Your Online Station since 1995 with 1950's and Early 1960's Rock and Roll, Doo Wop, Rockabilly and Rhythm and Blues!
http://www.rockitradio.net/

My feature is called "Your Vinyl Destination" and here is something I wrote up about a classic rock/soul group (after the passing of Levi Stubbs):

The Four Tops

With the late Levi Stubbs leading their musical parade, the Four Tops are one of Motown’s fabulous success stories. This American vocal quartet has a compelling musical repertoire including recordings in many genres including doo wop, jazz, soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary and show tunes.

Originally called The Aims, the quartet of Levi Stubbs, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton started singing in high school at a local birthday party. They were signed to Chess Records in 1956, where they changed their name to the Four Tops (to avoid confusion with the then-popular Ames Brothers). After unsuccessful stops with Chess, Red Top, Riverside Records and Columbia Records, Berry Gordy Jr. convinced the group to join his growing Motown record label.

The result is pop music history, with the group amassing a catalog of soul standards that continue to inspire and bring pleasure to millions to this day. The group was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and it is estimated that the Four Tops have sold over 50 million records.

Their storied career started taking shape when the group signed on with Motown in 1963, where they recorded jazz standards and sang background on other Motown singles. In1964, Motown’s songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland created an instrumental track and crafted the song for the Four Tops. The result? The Four Tops’ breakthrough single and now a soul standard “Baby I Need Your Loving” (#11 in 1964).


After a couple of follow up singles did not have the same success (although “Ask The Lonely” was a Top 30 pop hit and a Top Ten R&B hit), the Four Tops success improved dramatically and the group contributed such pop/soul hits as the #1 hit “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” (#1 in 1965), “It’s The Same Old Song” (#5 in 1965), “Something About You” (#19 in 1965), “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over),” which charted at #18 in 1966.

But their signature song, “Reach Out I’ll Be There” (#1 in 1966) put the Four Tops on the top of the Soul/Motown world and the group followed this remarkable record with two other Top Ten hits- “Standing In the Shadows Of Love” (#6 in 1966) and the classic tale of lust and jealousy in the 1967 #4 hit “Bernadette.”

Other Top 20 hits followed and the group was one of the most successful male Motown acts in the US and UK (second only to the Temptations). The Tops began experimenting with mainstream pop hits and scored with their versions of “If I Were A Carpenter” (#20 in 1968) and a song originally a hit for the Left Banke “Walk Away Renee” (#14 in 1968). But when the Holland-Dozier-Holland team left Motown in 1967, the quartet, along with most of Motown began to suffer.

The group worked with a wide variety of Motown producers during the late 60’s without any significant chart success. But their career was rejuvenated when they started working with producer Frank Wilson and their 1970 album called “Still Waters Run Deep” became an early ancestor to the concept album, and served as inspiration for the 1971 album by Marvin Gaye called “What’s Going On” (the title track was co-written by Obie Benson). They also scored Top 40 hits with “It’s All In The Game” (#24 in 1970), “Still Water” (#11 in 1970) and were paired with the Supremes in a remake of the classic Ike & Tina Turner hit “River Deep-Mountain High” (#14 in 1970).

However this was a transitional phase for Motown as the music giant began to change. In the early 70’s older acts such as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas and the Marvelettes were slowly being pushed aside so the label could focus on the newer acts like the Jackson 5, Rare Earth and Diana Ross (who had launched a solo career). Additionally, the company was in the process of moving its operations from Detroit to Los Angles (where Gordy had hoped to break into the motion picture and television industries). By 1972, Motown announced that the entire company would move to LA hoping all of its recording artists would follow. Some did, but many opted to stay in Detroit, including the Four Tops.

The group then singed with ABC-Dunhill and was assigned to the songwriting/producing team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. With this team and their own Lawrence Payton serving as producer/arranger, the Four Tops were revitalized and scored their first Top Ten hit since 1967 with the song “Keeper Of The Castle” (#10 in 1972) and followed that with the now classic soul tune, “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I Got),” which went to #4 on the Billboard charts in 1973. The group also had top ten R&B hits with “Are You Man Enough” (which also went to #15 on the Billboard charts), “Sweet Understanding Love” (#33 Billboard Top 40), “Midnight Flower” and “One Chain Don’t Make No Prison.” But after these hits in the early 70’s the group disappeared into obscurity in the late 70’s.

But after signing on with Casablanca Records in 1980, the Four Tops made a short comeback in 1981, scoring a #1 R&B hit with the cut “When She Was My Girl” (#11 Billboard Top 40).

In 1983, the Four Tops rejoined Motown and were featured on the company’s television special “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.” There they hooked up with the Temptations and decided that the Temptations/Four Tops pairing would be a great touring draw and the two groups (as of 2007) continued to play together.

Back with Motown, the group released the LP “Back Where I Belong” (with one side produced by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team) and the album included the Top 40 R&B single “I Just Can’t Walk Away” (#71 on Billboard Top 100). Two more albums followed including 1985’s “Magic” and 1986’s “Hot Nights.” But the group and label began to quarrel about marketing and musical direction. The Tops left Motown again and signed on with Arista records, this time buying back the masters they had recorded (for an album in progress). The result was the album called “Indestructible” and the title track would prove to be their last Top 40 hit (#33 in 1988).

However, since the late 80’s, the Four Tops have focused on touring, live performances and television and motion pictures. Their last LP was 1995’s “Christmas Here With You” and when 59 year-old Lawrence Payton died in 1997, the forty year career of this legendary Motown group tried to carry on as a trio (the group has never had a line up change until then). In 1988, former Temptation Theo Peoples joined on to restore the group to a quartet once again. In 2000, Stubbs had become ill with cancer and Peoples took over as lead singer. Singer Obie Benson died in 2005 and ex-lead singer Levi Stubbs passed away in October of 2008 (still residing in Detroit).

The Four Tops were one of Motown’s most successful male soul acts. Their legendary career has inspired many soul artists and their music will be forever remembered.



Four Tops discography

Early releases:

Year/Song title:
1956: "If Only I Had Known" (Grady Records, credited as "The Four Aims")
1956: "Could It Be You?" (Chess)
1960: "Ain't That Love" (Columbia Records, reissued in 1965)
1962: "Pennies From Heaven" (Riverside Records)

Motown releases (All the following songs were released on the Motown subsidiary):

Year/Song title:
1964 "Baby I Need Your Loving"
1964 "Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)"
1965 "Ask the Lonely"
1965 "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"
1965 "It's the Same Old Song"
1965 "Something About You"
1966 "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)"
1966 "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever"
1966 "Reach Out I'll Be There"
1966 "Standing in the Shadows of Love"
1967 "Bernadette"
1967 "7-Rooms of Gloom"
1967 "I'll Turn to Stone"
1967 "You Keep Running Away"
1967 "If I Were a Carpenter"
1968 "Walk Away Renée
1968 "Yesterday's Dreams"
1969 "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me"
1969 "What Is A Man"
1969 "Do What You Gotta Do"
1970 "It's All In The Game"
1970 "Still Water (Love)"
1971 "MacArthur Park (Part II)
1971 "River Deep - Mountain High" (The Supremes and the Four Tops)
1971 "In These Changing Times"
1971 "Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life)"
1971 "You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart" (The Supremes and the Four Tops)
1972 "(It's the Way) Nature Planned It"
1972 "Simple Game"
1983 "I Just Can't Walk Away"
1985 "Sexy Ways"

ABC-Dunhill releases:

Year/Song title
1972 "Keeper of the Castle"
1973 "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)"
1973 "Are You Man Enough"
1973 "Sweet Understanding Love"
1974 "I Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind"
1974 "Midnight Flower"
1974 "One Chain Don't Make No Prison"
1975 "Seven Lonely Nights"
1975 "We All Gotta Stick Together"
1976 "Catfish"
1976 "I'm Glad You Walked Into My Life"

Casablanca releases:

Year/Song title
1981 "When She Was My Girl"
1981 "Don't Walk Away"
1982 "Let Me Set You Free"
1982 "Back to School Again" (from Grease 2)
1982 "Sad Hearts"
1982 "Tonight I'm Gonna Love You All Over"
1983 "I Believe in You and Me"

Arista releases:

Year/Song title
1988 "If Ever a Love There Was" (with Aretha Franklin)
1988 "Indestructible"
1989 "Loco In Acapulco"

Four Tops Albums:

Motown releases:
1964: The Four Tops
1965: Four Tops' Second Album
1966: On Top
1966: Four Tops Live!
1967: On Broadway
1967: Reach Out
1968: Yesterday's Dreams
1969: The Four Tops Now!
1969: Soul Spin
1970: Still Waters Run Deep
1970: Changing Times
1970: The Magnificent Seven (The Supremes & Four Tops)
1971: The Return of the Magnificent Seven (The Supremes & Four Tops)
1971: Dynamite! (The Supremes & Four Tops)
1972: Nature Planned It
1983: Back Where I Belong
1985: Magic
1986: Hot Nights
1995: Christmas Here With You

ABC-Dunhill releases:
1972: Keeper of the Castle
1973: Main Street People
1974: Live & In Concert
1974: Meeting of the Minds
1975: Night Lights Harmony
1976: Catfish
1977: The Show Must Go On
1978: At the Top

Casablanca releases:
1981: Tonight!
1982: One More Mountain

Arista release:
1988: Indestructible

Levi Stubbs- 1936-2008

Levi Stubbs of the legendary Motown Pop/Soul group the Four Tops, passed away on October 17, 2008. Let’s explore this legendary voice:

Levi Stubbs began his singing career in 1954 with his friends, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton who called themselves the Four Aims. After signing with Chess Records the group changed their name to the Four Tops to avoid confusion with the popular singing group the Ames Brothers.

Over the years the Four Tops endured a series of unsuccessful tenures with Chess, Red Top, Riverside Records and Columbia Records. Undeterred, the group toured constantly and developed a polished stage presence before signing on with Motown Records in 1963. By the end of the decade the four friends from Detroit were among a number of R&B groups that helped define the “Motown Sound.”

Some of the most popular Four Tops hits were with Levi Stubbs as the featured vocalist including “Baby I Need Your Loving ,”(their first Billboard Top 40 hit in 1964), “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” which was a number one hit in 1965, “It’s The Same Old Song” (#5 in 1965), “Reach Out I’ll Be There” (#1 in 1966), “Standing in the Shadow of Love” (#6 in 1966), “Bernadette” (#4 in 1967), “Still Water (Love),” which peaked at number eleven in 1970 and the classic Soul number “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I Got),” which reached number four in 1973.

Interestingly, Stubbs was a natural baritone and most of the group’s hits were written in the tenor range lending to a sense of urgency in his vocal style and making their definitive Four Tops’ sound. His powerful, expressive voice was an inspiration to many other vocal groups and his good nature and soulful voice will be missed by millions.


Your Vinyl Destination

The Four Tops

The Four Tops have some rare and valuable 45’s including:

Chess (1623) “Could it be You” (1956) $150-200
Riverside (4534) “Where Are You” (1962) $75-100
Chateau (2002) “I Just Can’t Keep My Tears from Tumblin’ Down” (1956) $75-100
Grady (012) “If I had Only Known” (1956) (as the Four Aims) $500-600

While most of the Four Tops LPs in the 1960’s have a price of between $10- 25 there are a couple of LPs that have significant value:

Workshop (217) “Breaking Through” (1962) $1000-1500
Workshop (217) “Jazz Impressions by the Four Tops) re-titled reissue (1962) $500-1000