The 4 tops biography of albert
Four Tops
American vocal quartet
The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The group's repertoire has incorporated elements of soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Lead singer Levi Stubbs, along with backing vocalists Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together in the group for over four decades, performing until 1997 without a change in personnel. Along with fellow Motown groups the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, the Four Tops helped to establish the "Motown sound"; pop-friendly soul and R&B with a clean, polished production quality. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors.
The group was the primary male vocal group for the highly successful songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, who wrote numerous hit singles for Motown. These included two Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits for the Tops: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" in 1965 and "Reach Out I'll Be There" in 1966. The group continued to chart singles into the 1970s, including the million-seller "Ain't No Woman" (1973). The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked them No. 79 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
On July 20, 2024, the last surviving original member, Fakir, retired. He died two days later.
History
Early years
All four members of the group began their careers together while they were high-school students in Detr
Lawrence Payton
American singer-songwriter (1938–1997)
Lawrence Payton | |
|---|---|
Payton performing in 1967 | |
| Birth name | Lawrence Albert Payton |
| Born | (1938-03-02)March 2, 1938 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | June 20, 1997(1997-06-20) (aged 59) Southfield, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, record producer |
| Years active | 1953–1997 |
| Formerly of | Four Tops |
| Relatives | Billy Davis (cousin) |
Musical artist
Lawrence Albert Payton Sr. (March 2, 1938 – June 20, 1997) was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops.
Career
Payton and Obie Benson both attended a Northern High School in Detroit and met Levi Stubbs and Duke Fakir at a school birthday party. The four teenagers began singing in 1953 as The Four Aims but later changed their name to the Four Tops to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers. With the help of Payton's songwriter cousin Billy Davis, the Aims signed to Chess Records in 1956. Although successful in the local area as a performance group, recording success eluded them until signing with the newly established Motown label in 1963. They then became one of the biggest recording acts of the 1960s, charting more than two dozen hits through the early 1980s.
Payton is credited for the vocal arrangements and the "smooth seamless harmony" of the Four Tops' sound. He also sang lead on several songs such as the 1975 single "We All Gotta Stick Together", "Feel Free" (from the Catfish album) and "Love Feels Like Fire" and "Until You Love Someone" (from their Motown days), but he was often overshadowed as lead by the more popular Stubbs. Stubbs praised Payton's contribution saying, "He could pick notes out of the air. He had that gift. He was responsible for our harmonies."
Personal life
The original Four Tops enjoyed continued success as a headline performance act and remained together fo The story of the Band is one of the most beautiful and tragic in the history of popular music. But at the Albert Hall on June 2, 1971, we only knew the half of it: the beautiful half. Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson gave us one of the finest concerts imaginable, something that would stay in the memory of everyone lucky enough to have been there. It was one of those nights when you felt you knew every single person in the audience: a kind of clan gathering, drawn together by a tremendous sense of anticipation. It’s hard to imagine that there was a single person among the 5,000 who didn’t have every note of Music from Big Pink and The Band engraved on their hearts. Even so, we got more than we expected. On a Monday afternoon two weeks earlier the five members of the Band could be found in the Hamilton Suite on the second floor of the Inn on the Park, close to Hyde Park Corner. After assembling on the balcony for group photographs, they gave interviews. I talked to Robertson and Danko, my Melody Maker colleague Chris Welch spoke to Helm, Hudson and Manuel, while Barrie Wentzell took photographs for the spread we produced. The NME‘s Nick Logan discussed the history of jazz piano with Garth (I’m still jealous), and Caroline Boucher was there to introduce these mysterious musicians to the readers of Disc. It was a pleasant and polite affair, with drinks and canapés, arranged by their record company. They left us all looking forward to the gig, which would come towards the end of their European tour. The Albert Hall concerts — there were two, on June 2 and 3 — had several salient features. The first was the layout of the instruments, arranged as if in a studio or a front room rather than on a proscenium stage, making it easy and natural for the musicians to swap instruments — Helm picking up a mandolin or a second Telecaster while Manuel LawrenceAlbertPayton Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown] [sibling(s) unknown] [spouse(s) unknown] Father of [private son (1960s - unknown)] Profile last modified | Created 25 Mar 2021 This page has been accessed 412 times. Lawrence Payton is Notable. Lawrence Albert Payton was an American singer, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops. Biography Payton and Renaldo Benson both attended Northern High School in Detroit and met Levi Stubbs and Abdul Fakir at a school birthday party. The four teenagers began singing in 1953 as The Four Aims but later changed their name to the Four Tops. Although successful in the local area as a performance group, recording success eluded them until signing with the newly established Motown label in 1963. They then became one of the biggest recording acts of the sixties, charting more than two dozen hits through to the early eighties. Payton is credited for the vocal arrangements and the "smooth seamless harmony' of the Tops' sound. He also sang lead on several songs such as "Feel Free" (from the Catfish album) and "Until You Love Someone" (from their Motown days) but he was often overshadowed by the more popular Levi Stubbs. Stubbs praised Payton's contribution saying, "He did everything music wise, he had a terrific ear, he was a terrific guy, perfect pitch, he just knew what he was doing, he was a genius." The original Four Tops enjoyed continued success as a headline performance act and remained together for 43 years until Payton's death in 1997, aged 59, from liver cancer in Southfield, Michigan. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery. Payton had 11 children. One of his sons, Roquel, went on to sing with the Four Tops who still enjoy popularity today as an in deman
The Band at the Albert Hall
Lawrence Albert Payton (1938 - 1997)
Biography