Four Tops Live! | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Live album by | ||||
Released | November 1966 | |||
Recorded | August 22 and September 11, 1966 | |||
Venue | Upper Deck of The Roostertail, Detroit, Michigan, United States | |||
Genre | Rhythm and blues [1] | |||
Length | 51:58 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Motown | |||
Four Tops chronology | ||||
|
Four Tops Live! is the first live album by American rhythm and blues vocal band The Four Tops, released on Motown in 1966. The album was recorded as part of a series of concerts by the record label featuring their premier artists held in Detroit and had positive critical and commercial reception.
Most of the tracks on Four Tops Live! were recorded on August 22, 1966 at The Roostertail in Detroit, as the inaugural concert in the Motown Monday series held that year by WKNR to showcase Motown's best-selling artists. [1] Chuck Thurston of The Detroit Free Press reviewed the August performance, noting the "frantic, always-in-motion harmonies" and superb musicianship of the backing band. [1] The single for Reach Out I’ll Be There had been released four days prior and went on to become a signature tune for the group, so they recorded a second show on September 11 of that year at the same venue, as well as a cover version of "You Can’t Hurry Love" which was at the top of the charts at that time. [1]
Domestically, Four Tops Live! was a hit, topping the R&B charts that year [2] and ranking third in Billboard 's Top R&B LP's of 1967. [3] In the United Kingdom, the record had even more sustaining popularity, reaching fourth place on the charts, [2] staying in the top 10 for three months, [1] and spending 72 total weeks charting. [4]
A brief review in Billboard noted that both the energetic crowd-pleasing songs and the ballads on this release were interesting and this album captured the group's "winning personal style". [5] Writing for Crawdaddy , Sandy Pearlman praised the emotion and excitement on this recording, calling it "a whole living, breathing rock show". [6] The editorial staff of AllMusic Guide scored this release three out of five stars, with reviewer Ron Wynn calling this album "one of the few live albums that really conveys the flavor of the group without sacrificing performance quality" and noting that it captures the nature of their live performances. [7]
All songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland, except where noted
The Four Tops
Additional personnel
The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues vocal group that formed in Ferndale, Michigan, United States, in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with producer Thom Bell. The group continues to tour, without any original members, after Henry Fambrough retired in 2023.
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown girl group the Supremes, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge released a cover version in June the following year, which reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100. English singer Kim Wilde covered "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1986, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1987. In the first 32 years of the Billboard Hot 100 rock era, "You Keep Me Hangin' On" became one of the six songs to reach number one by two different musical acts. In 1996, American country singer Reba McEntire's version reached number two on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The BBC ranked the Supremes' original song at number 78 on The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranks Motown releases by their all-time UK downloads and streams.
American girl group The Supremes have released 29 studio albums, four live albums, two soundtrack albums, 32 compilation albums, four box sets, 66 singles and three promotional singles. The Supremes are the most successful American group of all-time, and the 26th greatest artist of all time on the US Billboard charts; with 12 number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and three number-one albums on the Billboard 200. The Supremes were the first artist to accumulate five consecutive number-one singles on the US Hot 100 and the first female group to top the Billboard 200 albums chart with The Supremes A' Go-Go (1966). In 2017, Billboard ranked The Supremes as the number-one girl group of all-time, publishing, 'although there have been many girl group smashes in the decades since the Supremes ruled the Billboard charts, no collective has yet to challenge their, for lack of a better word, supremacy.' In 2019, the UK Official Charts Company placed 7 Supremes songs—"You Can't Hurry Love" (16), "Baby Love" (23), "Stop! In the Name of Love" (56), "Where Did Our Love Go?" (59), "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (78), "Come See About Me" (94) and "Stoned Love" (99)—on The Official Top 100 Motown songs of the Millennium chart, which ranks Motown releases by their all-time UK downloads and streams.
Released in 1966 The Supremes A' Go-Go is the ninth studio album released by Motown singing group the Supremes. It was the first album by an all-female group to reach number-one on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States.
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" is a 1965 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label.
"It's the Same Old Song" was recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. It was released in 1965 as the second single from their second album. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is today one of The Tops' signatures, and was reportedly created—from initial concept to commercial release—in 24 hours. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard R&B chart. It also reached #34 in the UK.
"Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a song recorded by the Four Tops from their fourth studio album Reach Out (1967). Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is one of the most widely-known Motown hits of the 1960s and is today considered the Four Tops' signature song.
"7 Rooms of Gloom" is a song recorded by the Motown Records vocal quartet the Four Tops. It was released as a single in 1967 on the Motown label and reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a Top 10 R&B Hit, charting at #10. It was also a hit in the UK, their seventh, staying for nine weeks in the UK Singles Charts and reaching #12 and in the Netherlands where it made #23 in the Dutch Top 40.
The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland is the tenth studio album released by The Supremes for Motown in 1967. It includes the number-one hit singles "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone". As the title states: all songs on the album were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland. Most of the album was recorded during the spring and summer of 1966; however several songs date back to the summer of 1964.
"For Once in My Life" is a song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Stein & Van Stock publishing company, and first recorded in 1965.
The Kinks Greatest Hits! is a compilation album by the English rock band the Kinks. Released in the United States in August 1966 by Reprise Records, the album mostly consists of singles issued by the group between 1964 and 1966. The band's first greatest hits album, it remained on the Billboard Top LPs chart for over a year, peaking at number 9, making it the Kinks' highest charting album in the US. The album was in print for decades and was the Kinks' only gold record in America until 1980.
"Shake Me, Wake Me " is a song recorded by the American quartet Four Tops for their third studio album, On Top (1966). It was released in February 1966 as a 7" vinyl single through Motown records. It was written and produced by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland. A gospel rock track, its lyrics detail a relationship that has ended. It has since been regarded as one of Four Tops' most successful singles ever. It charted moderately well in both the United States and Canada, and became the group's fifth consecutive entry to chart within the top five of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Four Tops has performed "Shake Me, Wake Me " on various occasions throughout their careers and have included it on several greatest hits albums, including on The Four Tops Greatest Hits (1967) and The Ultimate Collection (1997).
"I've Been Good to You" is a 1961 R&B song by The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label. It was released as the B-side of their Billboard Top 40 hit, "What's So Good About Goodbye", and was included on their album I'll Try Something New the following year. This sad, melancholy ballad charted #103 on the Billboard Pop chart. Despite its relatively modest chart placing, this song has been hugely influential, and is noted as Beatle John Lennon's favorite Miracles tune, and was the inspiration for The Beatles' songs "This Boy" and "Sexy Sadie". Written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson, the song begins with the lyric, "Look what you've done...You've made a fool out of someone..." which Lennon later paraphrased in Sexy Sadie song as, "What have you done...You've made a fool of everyone."
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes.
Four Tops Second Album is a 1965 R&B studio album by vocal quartet the Four Tops. The album, released on the Motown record label, reached No. 3 on Billboard's Black Albums chart and No. 20 on the Billboard Top LPs chart. The album contains three hit singles. "I Can't Help Myself " reached No. 1 on both the Black Singles and Pop Singles charts, while "It's the Same Old Song" reached No. 2 and No. 5 respectively, and "Something About You" reached No. 9 and No. 19. In 1990, Motown bundled the Four Tops' first two albums together in a release titled Four Tops/Four Tops Second Album.
The Ultimate Collection is a compact disc by The Four Tops, released on Motown Records, catalogue 314530825-2, in October 1997. It is a collection of singles comprising many of the group's greatest hits, with liner notes written by Stu Hackel.
"Something About You" is a song written by Holland-Dozier-Holland and was first released by the Four Tops on their 1965 album Four Tops' Second Album.
The Best of the Spinners is a 1978 greatest hits album from Philly soul vocal group The Spinners, released on Atlantic Records.
On Broadway is a 1967 studio album by American soul vocal group Four Tops, mostly covering Broadway show tunes and musical numbers.
Tonight! is a 1981 studio album by American soul music vocal group Four Tops, released by Casablanca Records. This was the first album the group recorded for this label followed a short period of commercial a decline in the 1970s, as well as a failed experiment at recording with former Motown associates Holland–Dozier–Holland. This release resulted in much higher chart performance than Four Tops had experienced in several years and the hit single "When She Was My Girl".