Everyday Creation
Everyday Creation is about purpose, awe and good vibrations. The show's title refers to three types of creation: The ways we express ourselves (for example, with art, music and so many other pursuits fueled by purpose and passion); the parts of life that fill us with awe (birth, death, love, the big picture); and our personal power to create our best possible lives while also making the world a better place. Here, you’ll encounter interviews, essays and some episodes created simply for information and fun. I'm your host Kate Jones, welcoming you to Everyday Creation.
Everyday Creation
Duke Fakir and the Rest of the Four Tops were the #1 Male Motown Act in England and #2 in the U.S.
Duke Fakir and his friends, Levi Stubbs, Obie Benson and Lawrence Payton, formed the Four Tops in Detroit. They became one of the biggest acts of the 1960s.
"Reach Out I'll Be There" was their second #1 hit on the Billboard chart and the second Motown hit to top the UK charts. Go here to watch them performing the song on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1966.
The public domain photo of Fakir in this episode's thumbnail was taken by Jay Godwin at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2019. It's available on Wikimedia Commons. In the chapters, there's also an image of the album "The Best of Four Tops: 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection," available in audio CD and on Amazon Music.
Fakir was the last surviving member of the group. His 2022 book, "I'll Be There: My Life with the Four Tops," was co-written with Kathleen McGhee-Anderson. It's also available on Amazon.
This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
Sheldon:
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Duke Fakir made the right decision when he
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decided to skip college and concentrate on his
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music.
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Fakir and three of his Detroit buddies formed
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the Four Tops, one of the biggest acts
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of the 1960s.
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Fakir died July 22 in Detroit of heart
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failure. He was 88.
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The Song of the Day is paying tribute
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to the singers, songwriters and musicians who died
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in 2024.
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Fakir met fellow Four Top Levi Stubbs at
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Pershing High School.
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Obie Benson and Lawrence Payton joined them in
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1954.
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The foursome stayed together until Payton's death in
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1997.
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Benson died in February 2005
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and Stubbs in February 2008.
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Fakir hired replacements
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after each death. He didn't retire until 2023.
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The group avoided disaster in 1988.
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They were scheduled to return to the U.S.
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on Pan Am Flight 103 but
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missed it because a show taping ran long
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or they overslept.
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It's been reported both ways.
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A terrorist bomb blew the plane out of
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the sky, killing everyone aboard.
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Fakir's decision to skip college didn't initially pay
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off.
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The Four Tops didn't have success until they
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joined Motown in 1962.
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They trailed only the Temptations
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as Motown's most successful male group of the
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1960s.
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They were the number one male Motown act
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in England.
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"Reach Out I'll Be There" was the Four
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Tops' second number one Billboard single.
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It was the second Motown hit to reach
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number one in England.
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Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland wrote
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it.
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They came up with the idea while talking
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about what women like about men.
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They said women want their men to be
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there in times of need.
Kate:
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That was Song of the Day creator Sheldon
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Zoldan. And I'm Kate Jones,
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host of Everyday Creation.
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Thank you for joining us today.
