The Four Tops' Levi Stubbs dies at 72

By GottaLaff

Sad:

Levi Stubbs, whose distinctive, rough-hewn voice and pleading vocal style elevated the Four Tops' soul classics to masterpieces, died today at his Detroit home. He was 72.

The Michigan native had been in ill health since being diagnosed with cancer in 1995. A stroke and other health problems led him to stop touring in 2000.[...]

At Motown, the group came under the wing of the songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland. The partnership bore fruit immediately with Baby I Need Your Loving in 1964. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honeybunch) hit No. 1 in 1965 and Reach Out (I'll Be There) followed suit the next year.

In 1967, the group had two top 10 hits, Standing in the Shadows of Love and Bernadette.

Howard Kramer, curatorial director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted the group in 1990, said the Tops were a polished group by the time Motown came calling. "The Four Tops were seasoned; they had a better world view than kids right out of high school," he told The Detroit News in 2004.

R.I.P., Sugar Pie Honeybunch.