THE TEMPTATIONS AND THE FOUR TOPS

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The Temptations
 
The Temptations, often referred to as American Music Royalty, are world-renowned superstars of entertainment, revered for their phenomenal catalog of music and prolific career. The group are celebrating their 60th Anniversary through 2022. To mark this milestone, The Temptations released a brand-new album, Temptations 60, with nearly all-original songs in January of 2022 and, are touring in the U.S, as well as abroad to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, fall of 2022. Dr. Otis Williams, the sole surviving, original member of The Temptations, turned 80 on October 30th of 2021.

Ranked #1 in Billboard magazine’s most recent list of the “Greatest R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of All Time,” The Temptations also appear in the magazine’s 125th Anniversary list of the “125 Greatest of All Time Artists.” In addition, Rolling Stone magazine named the group among the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” In September of 2020, the editors of Rolling Stone magazine commented that The Temptations are “Indisputably the greatest black vocal group of the Modern Era…,” and listed the group’s Anthology album among the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” The Anthology album has appeared in all three of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums’ lists.

The Temptations’ heritage, influence and contributions to, not only American culture and African American communities but also to the global music landscape are monumental. The influence that The Temptations had on mainstream and global artists, such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and others, is undeniable.

The group’s popularity is ever-increasing and they are one of the most iconic, bestselling brands in the entertainment world today. While the group has evolved over the years, Dr. Otis Williams has continued to lead the group and carry the torch forward for the next generation of Temptations’ fans.

 

The Four Tops

The Four Tops started their musical career as the Four Aims at a house party in Detroit in 1954. Members included Levi Stubbs, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton. They changed the group’s name to The Four Tops to avoid confusion with a popular group of the day, the Ames Brothers. A smooth lounge act, the Tops stuck to standards and ballads and recorded for at least four other record companies before Berry Gordy signed them to Motown in 1964.

Their breakthrough hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving,” was produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland in 1964, and was followed by greater success with “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” in 1965, the Tops’ first #1 hit. Other hits were released during this period, including “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)” and “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever.” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” released in 1966, was the group’s biggest Motown hit. It could also be considered The Four Tops’ theme song, as it musically expressed the feelings of solidarity and brotherly love group members felt for one another.

The Four Tops continued to churn out hits for Motown with releases that included “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “Bernadette,” both of which placed well on the R&B and pop charts. The quartet performed together for more than forty years, without a single personnel change, separated only by the death of group member Lawrence Payton in 1997.

Like other Motown artists, The Four Tops occupy a place of high honor among rhythm and blues royalty. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the Tops also received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and were ranked #79 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.