Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving member of the legendary Motown group The Four Tops, died today at his residence in Detroit at the age of 88.
His family announced that he passed away of heart failure.
Fakir and his bandmates Levi Stubbs, Lawrence Payton, and Renaldo “Obie” Benson originally performed as The Four Aims in the 1950s.
After several unsuccessful singles with Chess Records, they rebranded and signed with Motown Records, where their career skyrocketed.
We knew something special was happening when we joined Motown,” Fakir once said. “It feel like magic every time we stepped into the studio.”
Their 1st major hit came In 1964 with “Baby I Need Your Loving,” written by the legendary songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Fakir’s smooth tenor voice, combined with the powerful lead vocals of Stubbs and the harmonies of Payton and Benson, created timeless classics such as “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”
Fakir reminisced, “Those songs were the soundtrack of our lives. We poured our hearts into every note.”