The Four Tops Frontman Levi Stubbs, Jr. Dead at 72

Levi Stubbs, Jr., the lead singer of the Four Tops, died in his sleep today at his Detroit home after a long battle with multiple illnesses. He was 72. Cancer and a stroke forced Stubbs to stop touring with the famed Motown quartet in 2000. As the singer of the Four Tops, Stubbs' baritone fueled classic hits like "Bernadette," "Baby I Need Your Loving," "It's The Same Old Song," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out I'll Be There." The quartet has sold over 50 million records and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Stubbs also provided the voice of the man-eating plant in the film version of Little Shop of Horrors. With Stubbs' passing, Abdul "Fakir" Duke is left as the lone living original Four Tops member. Stubbs last played with the Four Tops in July 2004 in Detroit to commemorate the quartet's 50th anniversary.

Related Stories:
• The Immortals: The Four Tops
• The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: The Four Tops, "Reach Out I'll Be There"
• The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: The Four Tops, "Baby I Need Your Loving"
• The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: The Four Tops, "I Can't Help Myself"
• The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: The Four Tops, "Standing in the Shadows of Love"
• The Four Tops Turn 50

• 
  MUSIC The Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments
• 
  MOVIES & TV 'Game of Thrones': The Show Vs. the Books
• 
  POLITICS Matt Taibbi: Facebook IPO vs. Shareholders
• 
  VIDEOS Exclusive: Garbage Rip Through 'I Think I'm Paranoid'

Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter