Reach Out Jonesboro GA

Reach Out

The Four Tops

Motown, 1967

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Tops

REVIEW BY: David Bowling

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 04/10/2008

Motown soul is synonymous with such artists as Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye and even Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. The Four Tops, however, are often an afterthought, which is unfortunate as the group has accumulated over twenty Top Forty hits and left an indelible mark in the field of soul music.

The Four Tops, founded in Detroit, Michigan by lead singer Levi Stubbs, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, and Lawrence Payton in the late 1950s, were signed with the legendary Motown label in 1963. The hits quickly began with the soul staple “Baby I Need Your Lovin,” and such signature songs as “I Can’t Help Myself” and “Wake Me, Shake Me” would quickly follow.

Reach Out, issued in 1967, would find the group at the height of their popularity. In an era when an album would be issued around one hit single (or two if the artist was lucky), this disc produced six top twenty songs.

The great songwriting and producing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland left the Motown label shortly after the release of this album because of money issues, but their parting gift to the Four Tops was a quartet of hit songs. The number one song “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” plus “Standing In The Shadows Of Love,” “Bernadette” and “7 Rooms Of Gloom” all made their debuts in the ensuing months.