The Four Tops were my favorite Motown group and today’s classic song of the day was one of their best. The song is “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and, when it was released in late November, 1966, and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard’s R&B chart early in 1967.
“Standing in the Shadows of Love” was the follow-up to their #1 hit, “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” It was written and produced by the same guys, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, AKA Holland-Dozier-Holland, AKA H-D-H. Instrumental backing was by Motown’s Funk Brothers, as usual, with additional backing vocals by the female trio the Andantes. It was the first recording made at Berry Gordy’s newly acquired Golden World Detroit studio, which was later dubbed Motown’s Studio B.
The Four Tops were Levi Stubbs singing lead, most ably supported by Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, and Lawrence Payton. They started singing together way back in 1953, as the Four Aims, and signed with the Motown label in 1963. Their first hit came the year after with “Baby I Need Your Loving” and it just got better from there. They switched labels in 1972, moving to ABC-Dunhill. Then they switched again in 1981, moving to Casablanca records. They had hits with all three labels and returned to Motown in 1983, just in time for the big Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special.
The Tops were a remarkable group, and not only for their string of hits. They were one group that stayed intact with any change in personnel for 44 years, when Lawrence Payton passed away in 1997. Levi Stubbs’ soulful lead vocals were some of the most distinctive on the radio, then or now, and they truly worked together as a group, not just a lead singer with three guys doing fancy steps in the background.
And here’s a treat for your daily bonus video of the day. It’s the Four Tops performing “Standing in the Shadows of Love” live in Paris during a 1967 Motown revue. Wow.
