June 14, 1936: Renaldo "Obie" Benson Born in Detroit...

Renaldo "Obie" Benson

(June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) 

 Founding member and bass voice of The Four Tops, which he joined in 1953, Obie continued to perform with the group for over five decades, until April 8, 2005…

 Obie, was born in Detroit as were all the FOUR TOPS…

Obie wrote "What'sGoing On" which became a #2 hit for Marvin Gaye in 1971, and which Rolling Stone rated as #4 on their List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time released in 2004…

When Barry Gordy moved Motown Records to Los Angeles in 1972,
 the Four Tops stayed in Detroit and joined the Dunhill label, continuing making hits like

 “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I Got)"…

 

Benson died of lung cancer and other illnesses on July 1, 2005. His leg had been amputated earlier in 2005 due to circulation problems and he’d suffered a heart attack during that surgery and lung cancer was also detected at that time…

 So HAPPY BIRTHDAY OBIE and R.I.P.

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