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| Lawrence Payton |
| Born: 3-2-1938 Died: 6-20-1997 ....from liver cancer. |
| Lawrence (far right) with the other "Tops" |
| In 1954 four of Detroit's North End friends came together in harmony as the Four Aims. Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir attended Pershing High School. While Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton attended Northern High School. Over the course of the next two years the Four Aims sang locally with a repetoire consisting of standards and blues ballads. Payton's cousin Billy Davis, a gifted songwriter, sent a demo tape of his songwriting (and their singing) to Chicago-based Chess Records in hopes of helping them land a contract. Although Chess was more interested in Davis' songwriting they reluctantly agreed to sign the Aims but insisted on a name change to avoid conflict with the Ames Brothers. Their sole output for Chess was 1956's "Kiss Me Baby," a 45rpm billed to the Four Tops. With it's failure they moved on to Red Top and Riverside records with equal failure over the next four years. Things seemed to pickup for the guys when industry legend John Hammond signed them to Columbia Records in 1960. However that sweet chance turned sour as Hammond forced them into singing schmaltzy white-bred songs. Hammond did the same for Aretha Franklin when he signed her to Columbia around the same time. Two bright spots did come from that era, their first semi-hit, "Ain't That Love" and the chance to tour with Billy Eckstine's Revue. By 1963 the guys fled Columbia, as Aretha would do, to sign with hometown boy Berry Gordy's Workshop label. The Tops recorded a full album, "Breaking Through," for the jazz off-shoot of Motown. But as Gordy would often do he shelved the project prior to it's release. Instead he decided to pair the Four Tops with his dream team Holland-Dozier-Holland. A move to the parent label and with the aid of Motown's top musicians they were properly launched in 1964 with "Baby I Need Your Loving" which shot to #-11 on the charts. As Motown was breaking racial barriers and new musical ground the Tops were an important part of it's success. Over the course of the next eight years the hits just flowed. 1965 brought the memorable hits "Ask The Lonely," "Same Old Song" (which was their first top ten peaking at #5), and "(Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) I Can't Help Myself" (their first #1). "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" became their second #1 in October, 1966, followed by "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" a #6 hit in 1967. "Bernadette" (#4) and "Seven Rooms Of Gloom" (#14) followed, but when Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown so too did their winning streak. They did manage two hits in 1968 with covers of the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee" (#14) and Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter" (#20). The Tops did continue to record a number of adventurous and successful records with other Motown producers, including 1970's "River Deep, Mountain High," with the Jean Terrell led Supremes (#14 pop, #7 R&B,) and "Still Water" (#11 pop, #4 R&B,) also 1970. When Motown decide to relocate to Los Angeles in the 1972, the Four Tops were the first of the label's major acts to defect. After one last album, "Nature Planned It" and their final Motown single, "A Simple Game" they moved over to ABC/Dunhill’s black music division. At their new home the guys were teamed with young writer/producers Lambert & Potter. They hit the ground running with 1972's "Keeper Of The Castle," one of their biggest albums ever. It also provided them with 1973's hit, "Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)." A series of successful R&B singles followed, including "Are You Man Enough" and "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)." The latter became a disco hit for (Carlos) Santana a few years later. Several excellent albums followed including "Main Street People" in 1973 and "Meeting Of The Minds" in 1974. "Night Lights Harmony" was released in 1975, followed by "Catfish" in 1976. In 1977 Payton produced the group's foray into disco with the 12" single and album "The Show Must Go On." The results were promising and for their last ABC album, "At The Top," the group chose Norman Harris and RonTyson to produce. It yielded the 1978 12" single "H.E.L.P." As the 1980's arrived, the Four Tops found themselves without a record contract and facing irrelevancy in the fickled world of pop music. Then unexpectedly they found a third life as a group, signing with Casablanca Records and releasing the hit, "When She Was My Girl," and the albums "Tonight" (1981) and "One More Mountain" (1982) before the label folded. At Motown’s 25th Anniversary special in 1983, a playful singing competition was set up between the Temptations and the Four Tops, with the groups poking fun and alternating songs, ultimately joining together for a medley of hits. The pairing was so popular that they began the first of several co-headlining tours with the Temptations, billed as "T 'n' T." The first of which ran for nearly three years, went around the world, and included a sold-out stint on Broadway. The Tops returned to Motown for four unsuccessful albums between 1983-1986. The Tops had one minor hit during that period, 1985's "Sexy Ways" (#21 R&B), but the Motown magic was gone. In 1986, Levi Stubbs provided the voice for Audrey the man-eating plant in the film version of "Little Shop Of Horrors." While the group continued touring and searching for a new label which it found in 1988. After signing with Arista Records the group had another surprise disco hit with the title track from the album "Indestructable." The following year they appeared with Aretha Franklin on her album "Through The Storm." The 1990's brought triumph and tragedy. The decade began with Stevie Wonder inducting the Tops into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The next several years saw the original four friends touring globally, celebrating over forty years of friendship and music. Tragedy struck in 1997 when Lawrence Payton died of cancer. The remaining members continued as a threesome for awhile, then recruited former Temptation Theo Peoples to join the group. More recently, Levi Stubbs, who turned 68 in June of 2004, has battled prostate cancer and a mild heart attack and stroke, preventing him from touring since 2000, but putting him in the prayers of millions of fans. Ronnie McNeir replaced Stubbs and the group celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a blow out gala at Detroit's Roostertail Restaurant, where they recorded their first Live album in 1965. Sadly, in July 2005, Obie Benson died after a sudden flurry of physical ailments, including lung cancer. He has replaced by Lawrence Payton's son Roquel. From our childhood Motown memories throughout the disco era and to our modern lives Lawrence and his three childhood pals have remained a constant. He is missed by millions. |
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