June 14, 1936: The Four Tops' "Obie" Benson is born in Detroit...

Renaldo " Obie" Benson

(June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005)

Born in Detroit,
 “Obie”Benson (whose real first name was Renaldo) formed the group which became the legendary Motown act by the name of

The Four Tops...

It was 1954 when Obie formed the group with some of his high school buddies; namely, Levi Stubbs, Abdul (Duke) Fakir, and Lawrence Payton. Obie Benson on bass joined Duke and Payton in singing harmony behind the emotion-charged solos of Mr. Stubbs...

The four were always identically dressed, and, from the start, their act always featured crisp choreography.

Lamont Dozier

Lamont Dozier, co-writer of some of The Four Tops’ greatest hits once said, “They were the group you always aspired to be like”

Initially, though, success for The Four Aims (as they were known) was allusive.  They spent nearly a decade singing in New York jazz clubs and performiong with balladeer Billy Eckstein and the Count Basie Orchestra…

The founder of Motown Records, Berry Gordy, saw the Tops on The Tonight Show in 1963 and signed them to a recording contract...

 A string of hits followed, beginning with "Baby, I Need Your Lovin' " in 1964...

Other hits included "Standing in the Shadows of Love"

"Bernadette"

"Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"

  The quartet stayed together for 43 years, until Mr. Payton's death in 1997. Mr. Stubbs, who suffered a series of illnesses, left the group in 2000…

“Obie” did have serious side. One afternoon in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, he was sitting with a friend, enjoying the street life. He was stunned when police descended on a crowd of hippies, pummeling them for no apparent reason, Mr. Benson recalled in a 2004 interview...

The incident was the inspiration for him to write the lyrics for what became the protest song "What's Goin' On"

Knowing the tune did not fit the Tops' upbeat style, he offered it to Marvin Gaye, who embraced it despite the initial objections of Barry Gordy, who doubted the tune would sell…

R.I.P. Obie Benson

 Thank you so much for making it work!

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