Four Tops' Duke Fakir, group co-founder and keeper of legacy, dies at 88 in Detroit

[SouthBayDem]

Source: Detroit Free Press

Duke Fakir, the stylish and genteel singer who nurtured the Four Tops’ legacy for seven decades, died at his home in Detroit on Monday morning from heart failure. He was 88.

Fakir, a lifelong Detroit resident, was the last surviving member of the beloved Motown act, preceded in death by his teen friends and group mates Lawrence Payton, Obie Benson and Levi Stubbs.

"Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a trailblazer, icon and music legend who, through his 70-year music career, touched the lives of so many as he continued to tour until the end of 2023, and officially retired this year," the Fakir family said in a statement provided to the Detroit Free Press. "As the last living founding member of the iconic Four Tops music group, we find solace in Duke’s legacy living on through his music for generations to come."

With the Four Tops, Fakir was a voice on a vast litany of hits through the decades, including some of the defining songs of the 1960s, such as the Top 10 successes “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Bernadette,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and the group’s 1966 magnum opus, “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” Fakir and the group continued to pump out hits into the ’80s, including the chart-topping R&B song “When She Was My Girl.”

Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2024/07/22/duke-fakir-four-tops-obituary/74500485007/

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“Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”:

“I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”:

And a live performance of the song on the CBS Early Show in 2009. Duke is on the furthest right and is interviewed around the 3:00 mark

[msongs]

1. met the Tops at a special gig for high school newspaper editors in So Cal. whatta show!

then they took questions from the teens and answered them all except ones about politics etc. well they
were there as performers after all

[Skittles]

2. grew up with them, my dad was a huge Motown fan

my favorite:

[Dem2theMax]

3. The incredible music of my youth.

RIP Duke Fakir.

[ChazII]

5. I totally agree. Their

music was incredible. I still lip synch when it comes on the oldies station.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

4. May he rest in peace. The Four Tops were just incomparable.

Not just my favorite Four Tops' songs, one of my favorite songs of all time...

[ancianita]

6. RIP, Duke.

Loved the Four Tops.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

7. love their music. RIP

[Gamecock Lefty]

8. As a Child of the 60s . . .

Most of us believe there is no era better than the 60s for music.

The British Invasion, all that great anti-war music and what I believe is the best sound of all - the sound of Motown!

The Four Tops amongst my favs!

[sinkingfeeling]

9. R.I.P.

[oasis]

10. Great times during Motown era. Fantastic

groups, Temptations, Supremes, Martha/Vandellas and Four Tops.

R.I.P. Duke.

[world wide wally]

11. Peace

And thank you for the tunes.

[Marthe48]

12. R.I.P.

I listen to True Oldies Channel, and The Four Tops' hits still dominate their playlist. I remember the songs from when I was a kid, too.

[mucholderthandirt]

13. Oh, man.

Somewhere I still have a couple of their 8track tapes. I listened to those things on my little portable player, long before cassette tapes. I loved their songs, they were so awesome.

[ailsagirl]

14. They were such a fantastic group