RIP Levi Stubbs

It was my great honor to meet Levi Stubbs in 1967 when the Tops played a debutante party to which I was invited for some reason. He was nice to an awestruck white teenage kid at a time when he was one of the biggest stars in music.
RIP.

 

"Reach Out And I'll Be There"....

Black Dylan sez Phil Spector.....

RIP to one of the great R&B voices ever.

 

The world is a tad less beautiful and wondrous.

 

same here, cosmo.
i have a copy of a billy bragg show from the birchmere with levi stubbs' tears on it. first person to PM me, gets it on CD -- if they don't mind giving me an address.

 

And my co-workers were lost until they realized he was the plant in "Little Shop of Horrors."

*sigh*

"Bernadette" is my favorite Four Tops song; Billy Bragg's "Live Stubbs' Tears" is one of my favorite songs, period.

When the world falls apart, some things stay in place
Levi Stubbs' tears run down his face

RIP.

(BTW... anyone remember when he was missing for several days a few years ago? It turned out he had horrible sleep apnea and he had checked into a hotel and then slept for six days. Odd.)

 

RIP. God love Motown. That vid you linked Starman was amazing. All those great old pics of Detroit. And Hitsville! I went to the museum shortly after moving here. It was amazing just seeing that studio and the stuff that came out of there. But here's my favorite of theirs

 

Saw a couple of the TNT shows where the Temptations and Four Tops appeared on the same bill and even joined each other on stage for a couple songs. Good stuff indeed. Believe it or not, one was in Vegas when the Temptations were looking to bring a male and female on stage to sing My Girl/My Guy. Believe it or not, they asked me and I declined! So they brought up one of the Platters who was in the crowd and some cute girl from the audience. Didn't have nearly enough alcohol in me and wasn't as outgoing as I am today. I'm an idiot.

 

The music was formulaic, but Stubbs' voice transcended the template. He'll be missed.

 

No kidding, Fenian. That will be playing in my head for a while now. RIP, Levi.

My mother was a big Motown sort ... passed it on to me. Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder are among my favorites, too.

 

For what it's worth, I am 29 and I love to listen to all the old Motown stuff.

 

When the world falls apart, some things stay in place.

 

RIP to the one of the great voices in soul.

They had better songs (including the aforementioned Bernadette), but for some reason, Are You Man Enough? -- the theme to Shaft In Africa -- is the Four Tops song that's popped into my head. Along with Ain't No Woman Like The One I Got.