RIP Levi Stubbs

[Starman]

http://www.freep.com/article/20081017/NEWS08/81017028

One of the truly great voices.

 

[TwoGloves]

Only one Temp and one Top left. Damn that makes me feel old.

 

[D-3 Fan]

Damn. The Tops and the Temps are my two favorite groups ever. It's not even close in my family.

 

[spnited]

Another of the great voices of my youth is silenced.

RIP

 

[finishthehat]

I'll have "Bernadette" in my mind all day.

 

[Cosmo]

I have Billy Bragg's "Levi Stubbs' Tears" in my head now.

 

[casty33]

Good call on Bernadette, finish. That and Seven Rooms of Gloom take me back. Levi was great. It's a sad day, for sure.

 

[Moderator1]

I just mentioned the Four Tops to everyone else in my office and they said, "Huh?"
Cripes.

RIP. The Same Ol' Song is a sad one today.

That was the Four Tops, wasn't it?

 

[casty33]

Yes, Moddy, though to the unknowing fans, it's better known as Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch, isn't it?

 

[Moderator1]

I think you are right.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Yes, Moddy, though to the unknowing fans, it's better known as Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch, isn't it?

No, that's Can't Help Myself.

RIP to a great singer. But much of the Four Tops stuff did sound pretty much the same, other than tweaks and different lyrics. But much the same could be said of many 1960s groups.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Standing In The Shadows Of Love today.
RIP, Levi.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

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.

 

[Huggy]

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

Black Dylan sez Phil Spector.....

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

 

[ink-stained wretch]

The world is a tad less beautiful and wondrous.

 

[funky_mountain]

I have Billy Bragg's "Levi Stubbs' Tears" in my head now.

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.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

I just mentioned the Four Tops to everyone else in my office and they said, "Huh?"
Cripes.

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.)

 

[Magic In The Night]

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

 

[TwoGloves]

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.

 

[Editude]

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