I Can't Help Myself - the Four Tops
The Fourth Top has stopped spinning.
Duke Fakir, the last surviving member of the original Four Tops, died last month on July 22nd. He's there, above, top left, longer faced than the others with a hint of an enquiring raised eyebrow.
In the USA, the Temptations were always the lead Motown male group, but throughout the rest of the world, the Four Tops, along with the Supremes, defined Motown. Two tracks in particular broke through: "Baby Love" with the soft, silky Diana Ross on vocals and "Reach Out I'll Be There" with the Tops' Levi Stubbs' stentorian, impassioned lead reaching deep into the listener's soul.
Since their heyday in the mid sixties, beginning with the departure of co-lead singer David Ruffin, over the years the Temptations have had no less than 20 replacements in their line-up compared to the Four Tops who have had only six new members, all of whom joined after 1997, the date of the demise of Lawrence Payton, the first of the original quartet to die. As the group have released no new recordings since then, it is clear that the death of Duke Fakir marks the end of an era.
The Four Tops' first US Number One hit and their first UK chart entry (it reached number 23 in 1963) also features among the best pop opening lines of all time, so much so, that in later years retro re-releases of the song changed its title to "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)", presumably hoping that this catchy reminder would sell more copies. In the tv appearance above, lip-synching the vocals along with the others, Duke Fakir is the one in the dark glasses, dressed in black. The happiness expressed in the song infuses their dance routine, so much so that it's looser than the average Motown slick stage production, more relaxed, and adds to the overall feeling of well-being.
It still works now, sixty-one years later. No matter how many times you may have heard it, when it hits that turntable you smile, your body smiles and you want to dance with that classic Four Tops hand sway and spin.
"Sugar pie honey bunch
you know that I love you
I can't help myself
I love you and nobody else...."
and you're off, spinning away, for all you're worth.
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