The Four Tops

The Four Tops formed in Detroit in 1953 as The Four Aims. Lead singer Levi Stubbs and groupmates Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, having gone from 1953 until 1997 without a single change in personnel. The Four Tops signed with Motown in 1963 and stayed with the label until 1972. The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Lawrence Payton died in 1997; Obie Benson died of lung cancer in 2005; and Levi Stubbs died from complications of a stroke in 2008. The Four Tops are still performing together in 2011 with Duke Fakir now the only surviving founding member of the original group.