Four Tops – “Still Water (Love),” Pop # 11, R&B #4 By Joel Francis The Daily Record The Four Tops needed this. The departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland was a devastating blow to all of Motown, but the Tops felt it especially hard. “Bernadette” made them the top Motown act in U.K., second only to the Temptations [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Four Tops’
Four Tops – “Still Water (Love)”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Ashford and Simpson, folk revival, Four Tops, Frank Wilson, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, If I Were A Carpenter, Ivy Jo Hunter, Jean Terrell, Levi Stubbs, Marvin Gaye, Norman Whitfield, psychedelic soul, Smokey Robinson, Temptations, the Supremes, What's Going On on June 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Edwin Starr – “Twenty-five Miles”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Atlantic records, Bert Berns, Edwin Starr, Four Tops, Harvey Fuqua, Hitsville U.S.A., Jerry Wexler, Johnny Bristol, Levi Stubbs, Southern Soul, Stax, Wilson Pickett on November 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Edwin Starr – “Twenty-Five Miles,” Pop # 6, R&B #6 By Joel Francis If the horn arrangement on “Twenty-Five Miles” sounds like something out of the Stax studio, that’s because it is. Motown songwriters Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol based their number on the obscure Wilson Pickett song “32 Miles Out of Waycross (Mojo Mama)” [...]
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Aretha Franklin, Ashford and Simpson, Beyonce, Boyz II Men, Brill Building, Carol King, Diana Ross, Donny and Marie Osmond, Elton John, Four Tops, Gladys Knight, Hitsville U.S.A., Jackson 5, Justin Timberlake, Marvin Gaye, Michael McDonald, Tami Terrell, Temptations, the Supremes, Vince Gill on October 12, 2009 | 6 Comments »
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” Pop # 8, R&B # 1 By Joel Francis Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s first album together, “United,” was a smash that spawned three Top 5 R&B hits and turned Gaye into a soul superstar. A follow-up was inevitable. In March, 1968, less [...]
Four Tops – “Bernadette”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Four Tops, Freda Payne, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Honey Comb, Levi Stubbs, Norman Whitfield, the Supremes on August 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Four Tops – “Bernadette,” Pop # 4, R&B # 3 By Joel Francis Levi Stubbs’ performance on “Bernadette” cements his status as Motown’s greatest male vocalist. The magnificent feats Stubbs laid down on the Four Tops previous pair of singles, “Reach Out” and “Standing in the Shadows of Love” reaches an impassioned crescendo on “Bernadette.” [...]
The Four Tops – “Standing in the Shadows of Love”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Aerosmith, Four Tops, Funk Brothers, Hall and Oates, Hitsvil, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Isaac Hayes, Jackson 5, Levi Stubbs, Michael Jackson on July 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Four Tops – “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” Pop # 6, R&B 2 By Joel Francis Holland-Dozier-Holland had so much fun and success with the arrangement of “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” they decided to do it again as “Standing in the Shadows of Love.” Unlike most sequels, this one was just as [...]
The Four Tops – “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”
Posted in Motown, tagged Beatles, Diana Ross, Elton John, Four Tops, Funk Brothers, Gloria Gaynor, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, James Jamerson, Levi Stubbs, Michael Bolton, Michael McDonald, Motown vs Stax, Paul McCartney, Reach Out I'll Be There, Stax on June 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Four Tops – “Reach Out (I’ll Be There),” Pop # 1, R&B # 1 By Joel Francis The dramatic introduction to “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” owes more than a little to Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound and was Motown’s most cinematic chart-topper to date. While the flute gets the signature melody, check out [...]
Isley Brothers – “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)”
Posted in Motown, tagged Beatles, Berry Gordy, Four Tops, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Isley Brothers, Martha Reeves, Marvin Gaye, Shout, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, Twist and Shout on February 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Isley Brothers – “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You),” Pop #12, R&B #6 By Joel Francis For the most part, Motown’s talent during its heyday was home-grown. Martha Reeves was a Hitsville secretary, Stevie Wonder was a kid pestering the Funk Brothers for lessons, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson were part of [...]
Four Tops – “It’s the Same Old Song”
Posted in Motown, tagged Berry Gordy, Delroy Wilson, Four Tops, Funk Brothers, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Joel Francis, KC and the Sunshine Band, soul music on December 26, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Four Tops – “It’s the Same Old Song,” Pop #5, R&B #2 By Joel Francis There’s a good reason why “It’s the Same Old Song” sounds so much like the Four Tops’ previous hit, “I Can’t Help Myself:” both songs are built on the same chords, only in reverse order. When “I Can’t Help Myself” [...]
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