Motown legends The Four Tops and The Temptations will co-headline a show in Key West on Friday, March 15, at the Coffee Butler Amphitheater, as part of their 2024 tour.
Keys Weekly Digital Editor Gwen Filosa spoke with The Four Tops singer Lawrence Payton, Jr., son of the founding member Lawrence Payton, who died in 1997 at age 59.
They talked about the impeccable four-part harmony sound behind the group’s smash hits “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” and “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got),” how Motown forever changed music and which group is better at dancing.
Motown records signed The Four Tops – Levi Stubbs, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton in 1968. For four decades, the original line-up stayed the same. Fakir remains the only original member.
“It’s like the music was made yesterday,” said Payton Jr., who became one of the official four singers in 2005, having spent most of his life working with the group. “Motown music, there was no other music like that. It represented the times going on during the Civil Rights Movement. And just before that, we were segregated musically. Motown music had a universal theme to it. It connected with people all over the world. And you can still feel that when we perform it. Like it was yesterday. Younger people come to the show, and they love it.”
Payton Jr. grew up in Detroit surrounded by music but said his father didn’t push him toward the record industry and instead encouraged him to consider law, medicine or engineering, anything more standard and secure than the music business.
“In his words, he was like, ‘Look, you got to have something else,” Payton Jr. said. “Because we were just lucky. We were really good at what we did. We love each other and we stuck together and we just got lucky. He had that type of attitude toward it. But deep in his heart, he loved the fact he couldn’t keep me away from it. I was like that blanket that Linus carried around in Charlie Brown. Everywhere he went, I went, like to the studio. He couldn’t get rid of me. You know, and I think he loved that. But he pushed us toward other things, just for security reasons.”
The Temptations and The Four Tops teamed up for their TNT Tour after an unforgettable appearance on the 1983 TV special Motown 25. The two groups took the stage together in a vocal battle that became one of the highlights of the program that featured a reunion of The Supremes, Michael Jackson moonwalking and performances by Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
And what exactly does singing in harmony mean?
“Harmony is four people singing different notes becoming one,” Payton Jr. said. “And you know when you got it right, because everybody has to be on pitch.”
Payton Jr. said The Temptations have one thing The Four Tops don’t.
“I gotta admit, as a group, the Four Tops are not known for their brilliant choreography,” Payton Jr. said. “We’ve got a couple of moves. Everybody knows The Temptations, they’re more into the choreography and stuff. You’ve got to be an athlete to be in The Temptations. But we’re gonna give you that four part harmony.”
Detroit remains home for Payton Jr., who said it’s a place where locals welcome newcomers.
“When you move there, it’s like the Holy Spirit gets in you,” Payton Jr. said. “If you’re not doing anything nefarious, if you’re not trying to do anything on the dark side, Detroit is a beautiful city. You guys come to Detroit. I’ll show you around.”
