R.I.P.: Duke Fakir, Last Original Member of the Four Tops

Duke Fakir (1935-2024)

Abdul Fakir, who was known as Duke, the last remaining original member of the Four Tops, one of Motown’s best-selling and most beloved groups, died on Monday at his home in Detroit. He was 88.

The NY Times reports his family said in a statement that the cause was heart failure.

Fakir sang first tenor with the Four Tops, who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The group’s hits not only helped define the “Motown Sound” but also the entire 1960s era of pop.

Their classics included the exuberant “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and the urgent “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” both of which hit No. 1, along with the barreling Top 10 staples “It’s The Same Old Song,” “Standing In the Shadows of Love” and “Bernadette.”

For a two-year period, the Four Tops worked with Motown’s celebrated songwriting and production team Holland-Dozier-Holland (the brothers Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier). After leaving the label in 1972, the quartet earned more Top 10 records with “Keeper of the Castle” and “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got”).

On all the group’s songs, Mr. Fakir’s high, smooth voice added grace to harmonies that supported the baritone lead vocals of Levi Stubbs.

The Four Tops retained their original lineup until death intervened: From 1997 to 2008, three members died of cancer. Mr. Fakir continued to record, and he was touring until the end of 2023, all the while taking on new singers to fill out the group’s ranks while assuming the roles of both the Tops’ original link and the keeper of their legacy. He officially retired this year.

The quartet originally went under the name “The Four Aims,” indicating their goal: success. But after being signed to the Chicago-based Chess Records in 1956, the label, a dominant one in rhythm and blues, suggested that they change their name to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers, a popular singing group.

The Four Tops released a series of unsuccessful singles on Chess, Columbia and Riverside Records before signing with Motown in 1962.