Four Tops were one of Motown’s flagship acts during the mid-1960s and served as the main male* outlet for the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting/production team. Under HDH, Four Tops scored two #1 pop singles and a slew of top 20 hits. Well, that was from 1964 to 1968. When HDH left Motown in 1968, the Four Tops fell on hard times for a couple of years as most producers didn’t quite know how to work the magic of the Tops, particularly lead vocalist Levi Stubbs.
*(the main female group for them were the Supremes)
Their final four years at Motown (1969-1972) were marked by a few top 20 singles and a lot of subpar material. Switching over to ABC/Dunhill in 1972, Four Tops had their final two top 10 pop hits. Thereafter their pop presence essentially ceased while their R&B hits slowly dwindled down by 1976.
A brief return to glory came in 1981 when they scored a comeback hit that topped the R&B charts and made it to #11 pop.
What made Four Tops truly remarkable though was that the group stayed together unchanged for over four decades. Other Motown acts became notorious for their lineup changes, but Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, and Lawrence Payton were together from 1953 to 1997, the year Payton died.
(Will also note that their classic singles were made even better by the presence of the Andantes [Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps] who frequently provided vocals. Those albums really should have been credited to Four Tops and Andantes.)
Lastly, like many great vocal groups that came to prominence during the 1960s, Four Tops did not regularly put out great albums. Sure some of their albums, like Reach Out, turned out to be great, but that was just the luck of the draw. The playlists below are your friend in getting pure unadulterated greatness from them.
MOTOWN PLAYLIST on Tidal
CLASSIC MOTOWN ERA ALBUMS (1964-1968)
Four Tops: C+
Four Tops Second Album: B
On Top: C
Reach Out: A-
Yesterday’s Dreams: D
MORE MOTOWN ALBUMS, JUST NOT AS CLASSIC (1968-1972)
Four Tops Now: C-
Soul Spin: D
Still Waters Run Deep: C+
Changing Times: C
Nature Planned It: D
See also their recordings with the Supremes
POST-MOTOWN PLAYLIST on Tidal
ABC/DUNHILL ALBUMS (1972-1977)
Keeper of the Castle: D+
Main Street People: B+
Meeting of the Minds: C+
Night Lights Harmony: D
Catfish: C-
The Show Must Go On: C-
At the Top: F
FINAL ALBUMS (1981-1988)
Tonight!: C+
One More Mountain: D
Back Where I Belong: D-
Magic: F
Indestructible: C-