The Four Tops' 10 greatest songs, ranked

23 July 2024, 13:47

The Four Tops on stage. Picture: Getty Images

By Mayer Nissim

In the 1960s and beyond, The Four Tops knocked out some remarkable hit singles.

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The death of Abdul 'Duke' Fakir marked the end of an era – all four original founding members of The Four Tops are no longer with us.

But one thing that will live forever is their remarkable music.

They are best known for their run of hit singles on the Motown label in the 1960s, but the truth is they continued to put out complete bangers year after year.

Their classics were mainly written by the legendary Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting and production team, while their back catalogue also includes a pretty special Phil Collins number.

Read on to relive ten of the very best songs by the legendary Four Tops.

Ask the Lonely

THE FOUR TOPS - ASK THE LONELY (LIVE PARIS FRANCE 1967)

Nothing to do with the Journey song of the same name, The Four Tops' 'Ask The Lonely' was written by Motown staffers Ivy Jo Hunter and William 'Mickey' Stevenson.
Like a number of the Tops' 60s hits, it featured music from not just The Funk Brothers but also the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with Levi Stubbs singing lead and The Andantes helping out the other Tops on backing vocals.
Released in early 1965, this ballad went all the way to number 24 on the pop charts.
When She Was My Girl

The Four Tops - "When She Was My Girl" Live - 'Fridays' (1981)

The 1960s were definitely the Tops' heyday, but they were far from just a nostalgia act in the decades that followed.
They relaunched themselves in 1981 with this single, their first for Casablanca Records, scoring one of their very biggest hits in the process.
'When She Was My Girl' not only topped the R&B chart, but reached 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. It went silver in the UK.
The song had a second life when it was brilliantly covered by Bruce Springsteen on his 2022 soul covers album Only the Strong Survive.
It's the Same Old Song

THE FOUR TOPS - IT'S THE SAME OLD SONG (LIVE PARIS FRANCE 1967)

Motown was renowned for making hits faster than anyone, and the "official" story goes that 'It's the Same Old Song' went from idea to release in just 24 hours.
That might not be the whole truth... it seems as though The Supremes may well have recorded the song before it passed the Four Tops' desk, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of Motown mythmaking.
What we know for sure is that in need of a quick follow-up to 'I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)', The Four Tops recorded and released 'It's the Same Old Song' in something of a hurry, and churned out an instant, absolute classic.
Loco in Acapulco

The Four Tops - Loco In Acapulco (MUSIC VIDEO)

Phil Collins' Great Train Robbery romcom Buster received mixed reviews, but the soundtrack was an undisputed hit.
As well as a couple of US charttoppers for Phil himself ('A Groovy Kind of Love' and 'Two Hearts'), there was this catchy little number, penned by Collins and Lamont Dozier, a songwriting dream team.
That's Phil on drums, of course, and although the track didn't chart in the UK, it went all the way to number 7 in the UK in 1988, becoming one of the Tops' biggest singles over here.
Walk Away Renée

The Four Tops - Walk Away Renee (Live)

Many of the songs the Four Tops made famous have been covered by other artists, but 'Walk Away Renée' reversed that pattern.
Written by Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, and Tony Sansone, The Lefte Bank scored a massive hit with the track in 1966, peaking at number five in the charts.
The Four Tops covered it the following year, rocking it up a little for their 1967 album Reach Out.
Bernadette

Four Tops - Bernadette (1967)

Another hit from the Reach Out album, 'Bernadette' is one of the archetypal heavy, danceable Motown classics by The Tops, written/produced by Holland–Dozier–Holland and powered by Levi Stubbs' passionate vocals.
It reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and not only soared to number 8 in the UK, but returned to our charts again in 1972, this time peaking at 23.
Baby I Need Your Loving

Four Tops - Baby I Need Your Loving (1966) HQ 0815007

The Four Tops were best known for their Motown hits, but they actually had been performing and recording together for a long while before they were snapped up by the label.
'Baby In Need Your Loving' was the group's very first Motown single and, after ten years of performance, their first top 20 single and their first million-seller.
It set the blueprint: Levi Stubbs on lead, the other three Tops on backing, ably assisted by Andantes. The Funk Brothers/Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Holland–Dozier–Holland. Classic.
Johnny Rivers did even better than the Four Tops when he covered the song in 1967, backed by The Wrecking Crew and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Darlene Love among the backing singers. His take went all the way to number three.
Ain't No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)

The Four Tops - Aint No Woman Like the One Ive Got

After they left Motown in 1972, some may not have given The Four Tops any chance of keeping up with their hitmaking.
The foursome proved them wrong almost instantly, scoring a hit with 'Keeper of the Castle' on the ABC-Dunhill label that same year.
Songwriter and producer Dennis Lambert ably stepped into place, and he also took the reins for this even better follow-up.
'Ain't No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)' had actually been recorded by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds for their Hallway Symphony album earlier in the year, but it's the Four Tops number that has stood the test of time.
Led as always by Levi Stubbs, the other Tops stepped out of the shadows and also took the co-lead on this evidence that the group still absolutely had it.
I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)

Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) (Lyric Video)

Simply one of the biggest Motown songs, and one of the biggest songs of the decade.
The chart record speaks for itself. NINE WEEKS at the top of the R&B chart
It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, before it was knocked off by The Byrds' 'Mr Tambourine Man'. No shame in that, certainly, and in a rarity 'I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)' REGAINED its place at the top. Well deserved.
Over here in the UK, the song was the first Top 40 single for the band. And while it only reached number 23 here, it got to number 10 when it was re-released in 1970.
Yeah, the song had more than the passing relationship to The Supremes' 'Where Did Our Love Go' from the same Holland-Dozier-Holland team, but with enough points of difference – not least that Levi Stubbs lead vocal – to make it something wonderful in its own right.
Reach Out I'll Be There

Four Tops "Reach Out I'll Be There" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Despite just how good all those other songs we've just listed are, we couldn't not have this absolute masterpiece at the top of our chart.
The Four Tops' signature song, taken from their fourth album Reach Out, has become their most enduring hit, and it was an instant one on both sides of the Atlantic, too.
It was actually only the second Motown track to top the UK singles charts, following in the hallowed company of The Supremes' 'Baby Love'.
Inspired by Bob Dylan of all people, Holland-Dozier-Holland's melody put Levi Stubbs' vocals right up to sing-shouty breaking point, while the kitchen sink arrangement felt so unusual that the band were said to have pleaded for it not to be released as a single.
Thankfully though, Berry Gordy knew a hit when he heard it.