Still the Tops

Anne Hosier

Friday, Jan. 9, 1998 | 9:40 a.m.

The Four Tops live on -- even now that they are only three.

And that's the way Lawrence Payton, The Four Tops' vocalist who passed away last spring, wanted it.

Just before he succumbed to liver cancer in June, Payton told Levi Stubbs, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Abdul "Duke" Fakir -- his friends and fellow band members since high school -- that he would continue to be with them in spirit. Ron Strasner, the group's personal manager for 19 years, says Payton told them:

" 'I'm going to be onstage with you always.' "

Tonight, when the trio continues their booking at the Hollywood Theater in the MGM Grand hotel-casino, which runs through Jan. 21, they'll be paying tribute to Payton. The group will perform some of the songs Payton wrote, as well as a litany of hits from their Motown days, like "Baby I Need Your Loving" and "I Can't Help Myself" (more commonly known as "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch").

To honor Payton's wish, the group has retained its billing as The Four Tops. But they have no plans to add a fourth member, Strasner says. "They (were) together as the original Four Tops for 43 years. You can't replace anyone after 43 years."

Instead, George Rountree, the group's musical conductor and keyboardist, will sing Payton's part from his place offstage, behind the keyboards. "It's weird because George's voice, the conductor's voice, is so much like Lawrence's, naturally, it's scary," Strasner says. The choreography has also been revamped to compensate for the fact that there are only three performers onstage. "It's actually more energy onstage, as far as I'm concerned," Strasner says.

Esther Gordy-Edwards, the sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, who formerly served as senior vice president of Motown Record Corp., and is founder and chairman of the Motown Historical Museum in Detroit, saw the remaining three members of The Four Tops perform at a gala in Detroit the night before Thanksgiving. "They were fabulous, absolutely fabulous, just wonderful," she says. "The whole place was just on their feet. There were only three of them but you would have thought Lawrence was there in spirit. The sound was so great, and the memory was great.

"These guys were closer than brothers."

The group, which performed together for 43 years without a change in personnel, was the one of the tightest in the business.

Despite the loss of Payton, who has been credited with creating The Four Tops' unique harmonies, the group has been riding a crest of renewed popularity. "I just think the group brings a passion to their music when performing live, and that's something in the 1990s that's hard to find," says David Allen, program director for KOOL 105.5-FM, an oldies station in Las Vegas.

Last year, The Four Tops were honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevard. Several years before that, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"They're one of the great vocal groups of all time," says Howard Kramer, assistant curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. "The quality of their performances stand up to their records, and their records are like mini-symphonies."

"I think people are realizing they're real legends," Strasner adds. "In the '30s and '40s there were (performers) like Cole Porter and George Gershwin, that age bracket had those people for standard songs. And I think in the '60s and '70s Motown became standard music."

Payton, Benson, Stubbs and Fakir first began singing together in 1954, when they were still in high school. At the time, they called themselves The Four Aims. Soon they caught the attention of singer Billy Eckstine, who hired them to sing back-up, and eventually persuaded them to change their name to avoid being confused with The Ames Brothers.

However, it wasn't until they joined Berry Gordy's Motown label and hooked up with the famed Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting and production team that The Four Tops really began churning out hits. "Baby I Need Your Loving," which went to No. 11 in 1964, was followed by "Ask the Lonely," "Same Old Song" and "I Can't Help Myself." During the ensuing seven years, they made more than two dozen appearances on the charts.

Gordy-Edwards remembers how professional the group was, even in their early days, when they were relatively unknown. "They have been extremely important to the Motown history and the Motown fame because of their professionalism and their significance," she says.

"They have a handful of songs that are certainly the most enduring of songs that came out of Motown," Kramer says. "Plus the material they did even after they left Motown -- they had a number of hits afterward that were still great songs: 'Keeper of the Castle,' 'When She Was My Girl.' "

In 1967, Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown to start their own label, and The Four Tops popularity on the charts waned. But under the guidance of other Motown producers, they were able to churn out the popular "River Deep, Mountain High," with The Supremes, and "Still Water (Love)."

"The Four Tops were one of the groups that helped propel the Motown sound," Allen says. "What The Supremes were for Motown on the female side, The Four Tops were for Motown on the male side."

The Four Tops left Motown in 1972 and hit gold with "Keeper of the Castle" and "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)." A decade later -- after moving to Casablanca Records and releasing "When She Was My Girl" -- they were back at Motown. For nearly three years, they toured with the Temptations, under the name T 'n T.

When they signed with Arista in 1988 and recorded "Indestructible," their career began to make a comeback. "Loco in Acapulco," which they cut on the soundtrack of Phil Collins' film "Buster," hit the top 10 in Britain. Even today, The Four Tops remain one of the most popular American groups.

Here in the U.S. they're not doing too badly either.

The Four Tops will be releasing an anniversary boxed set of their music in the spring. Currently, they perform more than 100 concerts a year with full symphony orchestras, more than 80 corporate conventions and frequent charitable functions. "They don't tour, they're just out there all the time," Strasner says. "They're booked. In fact, all of next summer is almost filled."

In addition to their baby boomer fans -- including President Clinton, who has played saxophone onstage with them -- The Four Tops are continuing to appeal to younger audiences.

"I think Motown music is more popular now than it ever was," Kramer says.

"Time never really hurt The Four Tops."