Four Tops Original Member, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, Passes Away at 88

Pedro Becerra

We are sad to report that Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir, the last surviving original member of the iconic Motown quartet The Four Tops, has passed away at the age of 88. A family spokesperson confirmed to the Associated Press that Fakir died on Monday (July 22) of heart failure with his wife and other loved ones by his side. A lifelong Detroit native, Fakir was a teenager when he befriended groupmate Levi Stubbs. The two first sang with Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton at a birthday party thrown by a local “girl” group. “Singing was the by-product of us going to the party looking for the girls!” Fakir admitted in a 2016 interview with writewyattuk.com.

“We told Levi to just pick a song and sing the lead. We’d just back him up. Well, when he started, we all fell in like we’d been rehearsing the song for months! Our blend was incredible. We were just looking at each other as we were singing, and right after we said, ’Man, this is a group! This is a group!’”

Source: Bernd Mueller / Getty

By the time the group was signed to Motown Records in 1963, The Four Tops were already a well-established quartet who recorded for several other labels (including the iconic Chess Records) with little success. Between 1964 and 1967, The Four Tops had 11 top 20 hits and two #1 records: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) and “Reach Out (I’ll Be There).” Other hits during that time included “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Bernadette” and “Just Ask the Lonely.” RELATED: Rest In Power: Notable Black Folks Who We’ve Lost In 2024 The group would see more sporadic success following their tenure with Motown, including “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)” and “When She Was My Girl.” Unlike many of their fellow Motown groups, The Four Tops’ lineup remained solid until Payton’s passing in 1997. (Benson died in 2005, followed by Stubbs in 2008.) Fakir continued to tour as the Four Tops with Alexander Morris, Ronnie McNeir, and Payton’s son, Lawrence “Roquel” Payton Jr. until his retirement earlier this month.