Friday, October 17, 2008

Different Meaning Since You Been Gone: Levi Stubbs, R.I.P.

Levi Stubbs, lead singer of the Four Tops, passed away today. He was 72. One of the most iconic voices of the crossover soul movement headed up by Motown, Stubbs will always be a singular voice in pop music.

There's not much to be said in this space that hasn't been said already in obituaries all over the place. The New York Times has a particularly good one--did you know that the Four Tops originally signed to Chess Records in 1954, as jazz singers rather than the pop group they became when they were signed to Motown? It was there that Berry Gordy put them to work with the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team and the group we know today took shape.

A soul music legend will be greatly missed.

Because YouTube didn't have any decent "Bernadette" videos:

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