I'm an old white boy from Northeastern Alabama. Back in those days I had an African American lady who babysat my brothers and my sister and I. Her name was Midge Dupree. She would bring 45 records from Motown and play them on my Mom and Dads stereo. Professor, you got me teared up with this one. Thanks for the memory.
Thank you for sharing your story with us! That is so sweet of her to bring you and your siblings the records I love that. I played my mom and dad’s records when we had family gatherings. My cousins all enjoyed the stuff from Motown! ✌🏼😊
I worked security for the Four Tops at a local concert in the late '80's. I have never seen more people of all ages have more fun at a concert. Just great entertainment.
Uncle Steve - In 1980 I saw the Four Tops as they had their 1st live performance in over 8 years in preparation of the Motown 25th Anniversary. It was Homecoming of my knob (freshman) year at The Citadel. General Norman Johnson and Chairman of the Board opened up for them. One of the most memorable of the 100+ live performances as the stage from County Hall in Charleston is still imprinted in my chest as I stood in front of Levi Stubbs.
You wouldn’t have R&B without Jazz, which we wouldn’t have without old slave spirituals. I took a whole class on it and you wouldn’t believe how very much we owe black culture for inventing new music styles in America.
R&B is rock and roll it was just called that to differentiate white from black, unfortunately. Something that continues to this day. Ridiculous. Luckily most people don't care anymore it seems. God bless! 🙏
What a great, great episode. Back in the '60s, Motown put out so much great stuff that I kind of took it for granted that it would always be there...until it wasn't and I realized how utterly fantastic their output was. Nice job, Professor.
this is more interesting than the story of some 70's or 80's rock hit. the songwriters and levi stubbs are unspeakably great...i don't watch all of your videos but when i do, they're very good to excellent. thanks.
Seriously, my mom, rest her soul was super into Motown. The Supremes and Smokey were her favorite, this southern white girl during segregation had to smuggle those records into Grandma's house.
@@kathleenking47 LOL...Yeah, the day the music died for imitators and genre thieves, no mo' "American Pie", "we drove the Chevy to the levee" and left it to die... Motown, the last go round of the grinnin', shufflin', 'happy go lucky' darkie musical years...Motown music petered out cause black performers were unhappy with what they were being "told" to sing to please the musical genre thieves...you even tried to steal the funk but couldn't, because JB had made black folks "say it loud...I'm black and I'm proud", so you called it disco (a pale imitation) instead, then later sent the pale latinos to try and steal rap/hip-hop...still didn't out work did it?..."The early to mid 1970s, the day the music truly died" for some folks!!!
@yvettevitacaponigro Adam definitely deserves so much respect and love for everything he has done for the music community and fans such as us if it wasn't for this channel a lot of these forgotten artists, songwriters and more would be totally lost forever
I'm a 65 year old white guy from Pittsburgh that ABSOLUTELY LOVES MOTOWN. I never would have guessed that "It's The Same Old Song" is "I Can't Help Myself" played backwards! I learned something new today! Thank you, Adam 😀
The Grammys have been nothing but a joke for several years now. The Four Tops absolutely should have been awarded a performance Grammy back when the Grammys actually meant something! Have always loved the song I Can’t Help Myself and Reach Out is just excellent! Motown is synonymous with excellence in music with a lot of the labels today being nothing but dreck. There’s a reason that music recorded decades ago is still just as popular and still getting heavy rotation today. Glad we have that music to fall back on!
My wife and I were talking recently about our misspent "yutes," me a young Cherokee boy and she an extremely Caucasian California Girl, and it came up how Motown was the soundtrack to the early days of our iives. All those great songwriters and composers and all those soon-to-be legendary, harmony-driven, groove-heavy groups. Wonderful memories of magical times. The gifts that will keep on giving forever.
I am so happy you got these interviews with the artists that created that iconic Motown sound!! These are songs that will last and influence till the end of times. Fantastic interviews and the stories they have to tell. You are one of a kind professor!
My favorite group from the 60's. It was so honorable that Levi never left them. God bless all of these wonderful men. THEY were the music of my childhood.
I saw them perform on a covered stage at Soldier Field [where the Chicago Bears play]. When it began to rain, Levi Stubbs came to the front of the stage and leaned forward so he was rained on too. That was about four decades ago.
The bass line was the sound of his grandfather! Precious! So cool to think that his grandfather somehow lives on through that song. The Four Tops have always been my favorite Motown group.
Late 60s at Myrtle Beach, you couldn't turn on a radio without hearing the Four Tops. About the same walking by any pavilion. When we reminisce about those beach trips, all those songs are an intricate part of the memory. ☕️☕️🎶🎵🎶
I loved Holland/Dozier/Holland as songwriters. I used to look for their names in 60s compilations, but the Four Tops got some of their best work. The Motown Sound is unparalleled.
Of all the Motown groups, the Four Tops have always been my favorite, the unity in their harmony, the perfect song selections for them, and that marvelous distinctive voice of Levi Stubs. I don't think there's a singer today that can compare, or a group for that matter. That entire era of Motown was one of the most important times in American music history.
Love these guys. They had four absolute stand-out songs in the 60s, Baby I Need Your Loving, I Can't Help Myself, It's The Same Old Song, and Reach Out I'll Be There.
You’re creating a collection of data about 20th century culture that will have considerable value long after we’re gone, Adam. Good on you, mate! Cheers…☀️
Actually I can hear some familiarity in the melodies of I Can't Help Myself and Same Old Song. I'm sure you treasure these interviews more now that these guys are no longer with us, and they're always delightful to watch.
This is by far my favorite channel on TH-cam. Glad im old enough to have gotten a chance to see all four original members perform back in the early 90's. Amazing show, we danced our asses off
For two artists that so profoundly impacted the world and shaped all of the music to come, their humility is overwhelming. In such a difficult time, that they were able to break down barriers and be not only appreciated, but loved by everyone really speaks to the incredible talent that was present back then in Motown. Living in Australia through the 70's and 80's, we weere just greatful to get amazing music from America, but to now understand the history of it is really awe inspiring. Thank you Lamont and thank you Duke. Thank you Motown for the soundtrack to so many of our lives, and thank you Adam for shining a light on it for us all.!
I am quite sad that so many talented musical artists were taken advantage of by their own label in the early days of the music industry. It is also unfortunate that many of them never got the recognition they deserve. Thanks to the Professor, we are informed of the real story behind a musician, a musical group, or their hit songs that the labels tried to hide for so many decades.
This is one of my favorite ❤️ vlogs you’ve ever made. The youth of today need this information to better appreciate and to understand the importance of our music founders; without this information people are simply unable to fathom the depths of what makes music the fuel of life. Bravo Adam ❤
My Mom's name was Dorothy. I used to tease her while she was recovering from a fall, with "Ain't No Woman Like One-Eyed Dot". (Her left eye was bruised)
Don’t sleep on “Standing in the Shadows of Love”. And, Duke wrote a memoir 3-4 years ago; Tops fans will like it. And I think all 3 Holland Dozier Holland also each wrote a memoir. Interesting to read them and compare!
The Four Tops were one of the few R&B groups that i enjoyed listening to and of course I heard them on AM radio constantly in the 70's and 80's another great episode and an excellent interview thanks again Professor. 🎶🎤🎸🎸🎹🥁🎶
My dad grew up in Detroit, sneaking into clubs as a teen to listen to these guys, playing their records over and over. When I was a kid, he still had those old Motown records, as well as a few bootlegged reel-to-reels he made at local clubs. Sadly, one day in the 90s my mother boxed up all of what she thought was "junk" and gave it to Goodwill. Great find for whoever out there really needed it, I guess. His reel-to-reels are probably stored somewhere in the garage, hopefully in tact. If I ever find them, I'm gonna put them online for folks. We need more of this kind of feel-good music in this world.
When I was in junior high school, I remember this song playing for weeks at Teen Center on Saturday nights in Perry Hall, MD. The Four Tops were giants in my home town. Thanks for the memories!
Love this story. I don’t know if I love Motown or Stax more but the artists and songwriters and musicians and producers from those labels put so much great music into the world.
My favorite Motown group and song - The Four Tops & "I Can't Help Myself". I was smiling through the entire interview. Great story, too, regarding "It's the Same Old Song". That was news to me. Cheers, PoR!
Great interview. The Four Tops was one of the best groups ever. Holland-Dozier-Holland, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, Ashford and Simpson, Stevie Wonder, Smoky Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and Curtis Mayfield wrote mega hits for Motown.
I love this story. I grew up in a small town in Texas and Motown was part of the soundtrack of my life. I knew every song. The Supremes reigned Supreme, but the Four Tops, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, Jackson 5 etc. etc. were right up there. I was talking to a friend about listening to the local pop radio station back then. There was only one. And there was no distinction in genres. It was all just great music. In an hour I could hear the Supremes, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin, Loretta Lynn, Mamas and the Papas - it was all just great music. I knew the genres, of course, but it didn’t matter. And it informed my taste in music for the rest of my life. And for that I am so grateful. Thanks for this great story. I loved those songs. 🙏🏼
As you know PoR, I'm a hard rock and metal guy, but, man, I enjoy listening to Motown. Maybe it's because I love James Jamerson's bass playing but Motown has such a unique sound. It is a time in music that we will never get back.
This is one of my very favorite por episodes.. ❤️ listening to these crazy likable legends and pretending I was there with you interviewing them! Love the Four Tops so much!!
As a kid, I could recognize the similariities between the two songs, but to this day I would not be able to pick out the backwards recycling of the baseline. The backstory is indeed sweet to know. Thank you for preserving music history while the legends were still around to tell it themselves!
Legend. Icons. There’s nothing I can say that’s enough for this group. I grew up on them, and still listen to them. Levi Stubbs singing “Bernadette” will always give me chills.
James Jamerson was the ultimate King of R&B swing. There will never be another one like him! Through his bass lines, James Jamerson, will live forever!🙌🏻🙌🏻🍎
I was in high school in Germany when that song came out. These guys were very popular with the young crowd! Even though we didn’t understand all the lyrics at the time we did sing along…. Sugar pie, honey bunch you know that I love you! Thanks for the great music, guys! Great interview, professor, thanks!
The Four Tops were special. Great singers and great songs with greatest lead singer Levi Stubbs. Really something how they all stuck together for so long ! So unlike the many groups who self-destruct because of ego and jealousy Great Interview !!!
My cousins, Aunts, babysistters and hanging at the teenagers canteen (it was the late 60s/early 70s ) all had brought that awesome music to me. I just need to hear the 1st few notes and I'm up and dancing. Love that music.
The Four Tops, Little Anthony and the Imperials, they had some of the finest, most memorable tunes of those years, EVER! I come back to their run of hook filled songs every time! God bless you, sirs!❤️
The Four Tops were great. I love the Motown Sound of the 1960's. Along with the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys, Motown survived the British Invasion and competed with the Beatles on the charts. What a great decade of music.
I always wondered if "Same Old Song" was cut from the same cloth as "I Can't Help Myself". I'm not bothered to know the spin on where it came from. Lamont and the Hollands were excellent at that when you think of how "Where Did Our Love Go" and "I Hear a Symphony" were written for the Supremes. It's so awesome, Adam, that you snagged the interviews with Lamont and Duke. They rank up there with the ones you conducted with Cynthia Weil, Tony Lewis and Benny Mardones
The Motown songwriters, artists, musicians and producers created the soundtrack of the 60s. The 60s wouldn't have been the same without Gordy, Smokey, Holland/Dozier/Holland, Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong and the rest.
This is by far the best segment I've ever seen on this show. Growing up. As a teenager in Erie Pennsylvania. What's the greatest time in America for music? And the motown sound led the way and was by far the greatest thing that ever happened in the music industry personally I think the entire thing what's a miracle? Never to be repeated again what a terrible shame. It is that the children of our aeronaut in 2024. They were robbed of the opportunity to live in grow with this type of entertainment. I firmly believe that the children's lives of today would be so much better if they had the music. We had hollandoshire Holland we're absolutely incredible and they probably sought they just had a job making music and didn't realize what a profound impact it would have on the people at that time. The entire motown story along with the artists and the funk brothers. Gave us memories that we would never ever forget and when we hear them today or play them in our car stereos. We know we had something extra special that will never ever be duplicated. God bless all those people. I sincerely mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for what you gave us that we have lived with for the last 50 years.
Same Old Song is brilliant.....Music is emotion and the lyrics that the song can mean different things with different circumstances points that out beautifully.
My mom used to live across the street from MOTOWN RECORDS. One day her and her friend decided to go take a look,they walked in and walked by all the recording artists to a back room, Berry Gordy stood up and asked,"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE"- they said"WE'RE LOOKING FOR RECORDS"-Berry Gordy says,"WE MAKE RECORDS HERE"!!!(yeah)
My sister had the 45 of "I can't help myself", that was my primary intro to Motown records. We both liked the Supremes and would make an effort to see them on the Ed Sullivan show. Holland Dozier Holland were brilliant in coming up with so very many songs for Motown/Tamla/Gordy records. A good portion of my life soundtrack! Thank You!
What's not to love about the genre? I was a teen in the 60's, and The Four Tops are so much a part of it. It's history, it's fact! Happy groovin' music from my past!!!
I drove a 59 Pontiac Catalina that I had put speakers behind the grill and would blast out the music of The Four Tops by the outdoor skating rink in my hometown in 1969.🎉😊
Great stuff. You just brought me back to my Freshman year in college, 140 miles away from home and MY music. They rated tops with the Beach Boys, Gary US Bonds, and so many more. Thank you sir.
Thanks for this episode. I knew both songs were pretty similar, but didn't know the story behind either of them. I sat here watching this and teared up one minute, and laughed the next. The Four Tops are among about four of my favorite groups of all time and probably, depending on my mood, share number one with The Seekers, of "I know I'll Never Find Another You", "Georgie Girl" and a couple of other songs, fame.
I heard some elementary school kids sing the song “ I Can’t Help Myself” on their way to the school one morning a few years ago. I was thinking that wasn’t even your parents that was your grandparents and great grandparents song !
Poll: Who is your pick for the greatest songwriter or songwriting team of the rock era?
Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Would you expect a different vote?
Love 'em or hate 'em, I gotta go with Henley/Frey.
Dolly Parton
@@christineml1476 Definitely my favorite non rocker.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
I'm an old white boy from Northeastern Alabama. Back in those days I had an African American lady who babysat my brothers and my sister and I. Her name was Midge Dupree. She would bring 45 records from Motown and play them on my Mom and Dads stereo. Professor, you got me teared up with this one. Thanks for the memory.
Thank you for sharing your story with us! That is so sweet of her to bring you and your siblings the records I love that. I played my mom and dad’s records when we had family gatherings. My cousins all enjoyed the stuff from Motown! ✌🏼😊
HUGS to you, brother. 🫂
Sweet mine was an old lady I worked with at Quincy steakhouse at 15
Originally from Southeast Alabama. The Wiregrass. Keep the faith, hoss.
We had an African American lady, too
I worked security for the Four Tops at a local concert in the late '80's. I have never seen more people of all ages have more fun at a concert. Just great entertainment.
Uncle Steve - In 1980 I saw the Four Tops as they had their 1st live performance in over 8 years in preparation of the Motown 25th Anniversary. It was Homecoming of my knob (freshman) year at The Citadel. General Norman Johnson and Chairman of the Board opened up for them. One of the most memorable of the 100+ live performances as the stage from County Hall in Charleston is still imprinted in my chest as I stood in front of Levi Stubbs.
@@CharlesStewart-nx2tp : .....WOWsa - DEFINITELY would've LIKED to have seen THAT one MYSELF, Charles : (
Without R&B there is no Rock and Roll.
Truth.
You wouldn’t have R&B without Jazz, which we wouldn’t have without old slave spirituals. I took a whole class on it and you wouldn’t believe how very much we owe black culture for inventing new music styles in America.
R&B came out in the mid 40s
The original song
TILL THEN
was a WW2 in 1944
@@timefoolery
Even country/mountain has some in it
Its different, because the people were Mixed
Irish swiss, native, black
R&B is rock and roll it was just called that to differentiate white from black, unfortunately. Something that continues to this day. Ridiculous. Luckily most people don't care anymore it seems. God bless! 🙏
What a great, great episode. Back in the '60s, Motown put out so much great stuff that I kind of took it for granted that it would always be there...until it wasn't and I realized how utterly fantastic their output was. Nice job, Professor.
this is more interesting than the story of some 70's or 80's rock hit. the songwriters and levi stubbs are unspeakably great...i don't watch all of your videos but when i do, they're very good to excellent. thanks.
Seriously, my mom, rest her soul was super into Motown. The Supremes and Smokey were her favorite, this southern white girl during segregation had to smuggle those records into Grandma's house.
Same here. We did not realize we were in music heaven
Funk, and rap, RUINED IT
@@kathleenking47 LOL...Yeah, the day the music died for imitators and genre thieves, no mo' "American Pie", "we drove the Chevy to the levee" and left it to die... Motown, the last go round of the grinnin', shufflin', 'happy go lucky' darkie musical years...Motown music petered out cause black performers were unhappy with what they were being "told" to sing to please the musical genre thieves...you even tried to steal the funk but couldn't, because JB had made black folks "say it loud...I'm black and I'm proud", so you called it disco (a pale imitation) instead, then later sent the pale latinos to try and steal rap/hip-hop...still didn't out work did it?..."The early to mid 1970s, the day the music truly died" for some folks!!!
This channel is a museum of musical legends and it's such an amazing privilege to have these interviews to remember these legendary artists
You are so right, he has done interviews for artists that I forgot about! Well done post! ✌🏼😊
@yvettevitacaponigro Adam definitely deserves so much respect and love for everything he has done for the music community and fans such as us if it wasn't for this channel a lot of these forgotten artists, songwriters and more would be totally lost forever
@@georgemathie8123 Yes I totally agree! 👍🏻😊
@@yvettevitacaponigro have a wonderful day it's always awesome to meet new people in this fantastic community
@ 👍🏻✌🏼😊
I'm a 65 year old white guy from Pittsburgh that
ABSOLUTELY LOVES MOTOWN. I never would have guessed that "It's The Same Old
Song" is "I Can't Help Myself" played backwards! I learned something new today! Thank you, Adam 😀
Hey yinzer 60 year old white guy from Beaver Falls transplanted to North Carolina also loves motown
Hey yinzer, 60year old white guy from Beaver Falls transplanted to North Carolina also loves motown
Hey there yinzer, 60year old white guy from Beaver Falls transplanted to North Carolina also loves motown
I guess this is were we unite. 38 year old yinzer and Motown lover.
Around & Around we rock + ROLL!! 👍 Even at 78 will ALWAYS be a YINZER at ❤!! 😊...Lovin' MOTOWN from Denver these days!!
Motown has a sound that can make almost anyone feel the music in their soul. That classic sound is fantastic even today.
Writers like these will go down is music history and will be remembered for a long time to come by future music students
Amen!
@@ProfessorofRock 🙂
For sure.
Yes. May their music and their memories always be a blessing
Love the Four Tops. They were adn still are great. This was a gret story that had to be told. Thanks Professor.
Thanks for listening!
The Grammys have been nothing but a joke for several years now. The Four Tops absolutely should have been awarded a performance Grammy back when the Grammys actually meant something! Have always loved the song I Can’t Help Myself and Reach Out is just excellent! Motown is synonymous with excellence in music with a lot of the labels today being nothing but dreck. There’s a reason that music recorded decades ago is still just as popular and still getting heavy rotation today. Glad we have that music to fall back on!
I'm sure _some_ few_ of those losses were fair. After all, they were up against a lot of great music.
My wife and I were talking recently about our misspent "yutes," me a young Cherokee boy and she an extremely Caucasian California Girl, and it came up how Motown was the soundtrack to the early days of our iives.
All those great songwriters and composers and all those soon-to-be legendary, harmony-driven, groove-heavy groups.
Wonderful memories of magical times.
The gifts that will keep on giving forever.
I died laughing! Sugar pie, honey bunch, OMG, his grandfather's pick-up line. Lol, I absolutely loved that song as a kid. Great story!
THanks for watching!
Ditto Kiddo!
Great interview
I am so happy you got these interviews with the artists that created that iconic Motown sound!! These are songs that will last and influence till the end of times. Fantastic interviews and the stories they have to tell. You are one of a kind professor!
I am grateful he got to talk to them while they were still here.
My favorite group from the 60's. It was so honorable that Levi never left them. God bless all of these wonderful men. THEY were the music of my childhood.
I love Levi's voice.
Such fabulous voices.
I saw them perform on a covered stage at Soldier Field [where the Chicago Bears play].
When it began to rain, Levi Stubbs came to the front of the stage and leaned forward so he was rained on too.
That was about four decades ago.
@@leonardshevlin7260 WOW!!! What a wonderful memory to have. Were they the only act that night?
Great interviews. These gentlemen were hilarious and very sweet, and i loved hearing about how these two awesome songs came about.
Thank for watching Whisper!
I've been singing Sugarpie Honeybunch to my wife for 44 years now...
The bass line was the sound of his grandfather! Precious! So cool to think that his grandfather somehow lives on through that song. The Four Tops have always been my favorite Motown group.
Late 60s at Myrtle Beach, you couldn't turn on a radio without hearing the Four Tops. About the same walking by any pavilion. When we reminisce about those beach trips, all those songs are an intricate part of the memory.
☕️☕️🎶🎵🎶
And the Four Tops would not have been allowed to eat a meal or dance in the same place as the kids they were entertaining. Pretty messed up, huh?
@revwillyg6450 Democrats still angry about losing the Civil War and their slaves stirred up a lot of problems nationwide. Horrible stuff.
Such great memories.
By that time the laws had changed and hearts were changing. Good to remember, but that has been over since before you were probably born.
I loved Holland/Dozier/Holland as songwriters. I used to look for their names in 60s compilations, but the Four Tops got some of their best work. The Motown Sound is unparalleled.
They did most of the Supremes songs…. Stupendous!
Levi Stubbs gotta have one of the most powerful and coolest voices ever
YEs he does!
Amazing interview, Adam! Thanks a million for this video! I absolutely love the Four Tops and Motown in general.
Of all the Motown groups, the Four Tops have always been my favorite, the unity in their harmony, the perfect song selections for them, and that marvelous distinctive voice of Levi Stubs. I don't think there's a singer today that can compare, or a group for that matter. That entire era of Motown was one of the most important times in American music history.
Love these guys. They had four absolute stand-out songs in the 60s, Baby I Need Your Loving, I Can't Help Myself, It's The Same Old Song, and Reach Out I'll Be There.
You’re creating a collection of data about 20th century culture that will have considerable value long after we’re gone, Adam. Good on you, mate! Cheers…☀️
Actually I can hear some familiarity in the melodies of I Can't Help Myself and Same Old Song. I'm sure you treasure these interviews more now that these guys are no longer with us, and they're always delightful to watch.
Thanks! Yes I do. They are legends!
This is by far my favorite channel on TH-cam. Glad im old enough to have gotten a chance to see all four original members perform back in the early 90's. Amazing show, we danced our asses off
For two artists that so profoundly impacted the world and shaped all of the music to come, their humility is overwhelming. In such a difficult time, that they were able to break down barriers and be not only appreciated, but loved by everyone really speaks to the incredible talent that was present back then in Motown. Living in Australia through the 70's and 80's, we weere just greatful to get amazing music from America, but to now understand the history of it is really awe inspiring. Thank you Lamont and thank you Duke. Thank you Motown for the soundtrack to so many of our lives, and thank you Adam for shining a light on it for us all.!
I am quite sad that so many talented musical artists were taken advantage of by their own label in the early days of the music industry. It is also unfortunate that many of them never got the recognition they deserve.
Thanks to the Professor, we are informed of the real story behind a musician, a musical group, or their hit songs that the labels tried to hide for so many decades.
Imagine what the rock charts and history would look like if racism and white supremacy had never been invented. 😢
This is one of my favorite ❤️ vlogs you’ve ever made. The youth of today need this information to better appreciate and to understand the importance of our music founders; without this information people are simply unable to fathom the depths of what makes music the fuel of life.
Bravo Adam ❤
The Four Tops has always been my favorite Motown group. This story really explains why their my favorite group. Thanks
Their ABC/Dunhill hits are killer, too! "Keeper of the Castle" and "Ain't No Woman Like the One I Got" are high up on my jukebrain earworm playlist.
My Mom's name was Dorothy. I used to tease her while she was recovering from a fall, with "Ain't No Woman Like One-Eyed Dot". (Her left eye was bruised)
Still think all your interviews with Lamont Dozier should be in the Library of Congress.
Don’t sleep on “Standing in the Shadows of Love”. And, Duke wrote a memoir 3-4 years ago; Tops fans will like it. And I think all 3 Holland Dozier Holland also each wrote a memoir. Interesting to read them and compare!
The Four Tops were one of the few R&B groups that i enjoyed listening
to and of course I heard them on AM radio constantly in the 70's and 80's
another great episode and an excellent interview thanks again Professor.
🎶🎤🎸🎸🎹🥁🎶
Thanks for listening!
Why only a few?
I loved this song when it came out. This channel's videos should be conserved in the Library of Congress.
My dad grew up in Detroit, sneaking into clubs as a teen to listen to these guys, playing their records over and over. When I was a kid, he still had those old Motown records, as well as a few bootlegged reel-to-reels he made at local clubs. Sadly, one day in the 90s my mother boxed up all of what she thought was "junk" and gave it to Goodwill. Great find for whoever out there really needed it, I guess. His reel-to-reels are probably stored somewhere in the garage, hopefully in tact. If I ever find them, I'm gonna put them online for folks. We need more of this kind of feel-good music in this world.
Levi had a voice that dripped of emotion! His voice on Ask the Lonely and Wake Me Shake Me is so full of emotion, I love it!
When I was in junior high school, I remember this song playing for weeks at Teen Center on Saturday nights in Perry Hall, MD. The Four Tops were giants in my home town. Thanks for the memories!
I remember the teen club on the local AFB and you hoped you had a friend to get you in.
Brilliant lyrics.
Love this story. I don’t know if I love Motown or Stax more but the artists and songwriters and musicians and producers from those labels put so much great music into the world.
My favorite Motown group and song - The Four Tops & "I Can't Help Myself". I was smiling through the entire interview. Great story, too, regarding "It's the Same Old Song". That was news to me. Cheers, PoR!
Great interview. The Four Tops was one of the best groups ever. Holland-Dozier-Holland, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, Ashford and Simpson, Stevie Wonder, Smoky Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and Curtis Mayfield wrote mega hits for Motown.
What a brilliant story! I'm sad that you feel the Algorithm is against you. Keep going!
The algorithm represents the worst of USian character.
I love this story. I grew up in a small town in Texas and Motown was part of the soundtrack of my life. I knew every song. The Supremes reigned Supreme, but the Four Tops, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, Jackson 5 etc. etc. were right up there. I was talking to a friend about listening to the local pop radio station back then. There was only one. And there was no distinction in genres. It was all just great music. In an hour I could hear the Supremes, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin, Loretta Lynn, Mamas and the Papas - it was all just great music. I knew the genres, of course, but it didn’t matter. And it informed my taste in music for the rest of my life. And for that I am so grateful.
Thanks for this great story. I loved those songs. 🙏🏼
Rest In Peace 🕊️ sir.
Thank You for this!!!❤❤
Those nicknames were very popular for that generation. I have heard them all.
As you know PoR, I'm a hard rock and metal guy, but, man, I enjoy listening to Motown. Maybe it's because I love James Jamerson's bass playing but Motown has such a unique sound. It is a time in music that we will never get back.
This songs just don't 12:25 get old. I love that you cover so many genres of music. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of all this great music!
This story also brought years to my eyes. Great memories for such beautiful songs, thank you ❤!
This is one of my very favorite por episodes.. ❤️ listening to these crazy likable legends and pretending I was there with you interviewing them! Love the Four Tops so much!!
As great as the Temptations were, I always preferred the Four Tops. Reach Out and Bernadette were the pinnacle of Motown to my ears.
Bernadette is SO GOOD!
As a kid, I could recognize the similariities between the two songs, but to this day I would not be able to pick out the backwards recycling of the baseline. The backstory is indeed sweet to know. Thank you for preserving music history while the legends were still around to tell it themselves!
Legend. Icons. There’s nothing I can say that’s enough for this group. I grew up on them, and still listen to them. Levi Stubbs singing “Bernadette” will always give me chills.
My favorite by the Tops
James Jamerson was the ultimate King of R&B swing. There will never be another one like him! Through his bass lines, James Jamerson, will live forever!🙌🏻🙌🏻🍎
I was in high school in Germany when that song came out. These guys were very popular with the young crowd! Even though we didn’t understand all the lyrics at the time we did sing along…. Sugar pie, honey bunch you know that I love you! Thanks for the great music, guys! Great interview, professor, thanks!
The Four Tops were special. Great singers and great songs with greatest lead singer Levi Stubbs. Really something how they all stuck together for so long !
So unlike the many groups who self-destruct because of ego and jealousy
Great Interview !!!
My cousins, Aunts, babysistters and hanging at the teenagers canteen (it was the late 60s/early 70s ) all had brought that awesome music to me. I just need to hear the 1st few notes and I'm up and dancing. Love that music.
What a joy to listen to these two gentlemen. Well done!
Love the Four Tops. One of my favorites is I'll be there. Timeless great songs. Lots of energy and wholesome music.
Oh man , this one got me Adam .
Great story from my youth I never knew . Priceless !
I remember when these songs hit the airwaves .
Ain't No Woman Like The One I Got is probably my favorite R&B track of all time. The Four Tops are the standard of what that genre could do.
As a child, i always loved "i can't heip myself". Holland- Dozier- Holland songs were most of my favorites fron Motown!!!
I always thought the Same Old Song sounded like some of the Four Tops other big hits and now I know why. Great story indeed.
We used to line up in the dorm room in the sixties and imitate those guys. All the moves. Full volume. Great music.
Ha! That’s awesome
New subscriber, so stoked I found your channel! Binging it at work
This channel is priceless. If Ahmet Ertegün was alive he would have handed the keys to the rock hall of fame to the Professor and Rick Beato.
Great Music, it never gets old!
Another great episode. Just loved the facts you talk about all these great songs.
Love Oldies! And The Four Tops!❤ Excellent video
Glad you enjoyed!
The Four Tops, Little Anthony and the Imperials, they had some of the finest, most memorable tunes of those years, EVER! I come back to their run of hook filled songs every time! God bless you, sirs!❤️
The Four Tops were great. I love the Motown Sound of the 1960's. Along with the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys, Motown survived the British Invasion and competed with the Beatles on the charts. What a great decade of music.
When all my friends were rocking out, I was grooving with Motown and their stars! Loved the Motown sound.
I always wondered if "Same Old Song" was cut from the same cloth as "I Can't Help Myself". I'm not bothered to know the spin on where it came from. Lamont and the Hollands were excellent at that when you think of how "Where Did Our Love Go" and "I Hear a Symphony" were written for the Supremes.
It's so awesome, Adam, that you snagged the interviews with Lamont and Duke. They rank up there with the ones you conducted with Cynthia Weil, Tony Lewis and Benny Mardones
Thanks Eric!
I know, right? Knowing that the songs were basically reversing each other actually makes a whole lot of sense.
Great interviews, Adam. I saw some of it before. My dad was a DJ back when that meant something in New Orleans. Radio was ALWAYS ON!
Thank you Professor! Great post! ✌🏼😊
I know you focus on Rock .but never stop including r and b and all the other genres. I learn so much.
The Motown songwriters, artists, musicians and producers created the soundtrack of the 60s. The 60s wouldn't have been the same without Gordy, Smokey, Holland/Dozier/Holland, Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong and the rest.
I would argue that Lennon and MacCartney wrote the soundtrack to the 60s , but obv Motown were right at the top as well.
Motown REIGNS SUPREME!
This is by far the best segment I've ever seen on this show.
Growing up.
As a teenager in Erie Pennsylvania.
What's the greatest time in America for music? And the motown sound led the way and was by far the greatest thing that ever happened in the music industry personally I think the entire thing what's a miracle?
Never to be repeated again what a terrible shame. It is that the children of our aeronaut in 2024. They were robbed of the opportunity to live in grow with this type of entertainment. I firmly believe that the children's lives of today would be so much better if they had the music. We had hollandoshire Holland we're absolutely incredible and they probably sought they just had a job making music and didn't realize what a profound impact it would have on the people at that time. The entire motown story along with the artists and the funk brothers.
Gave us memories that we would never ever forget and when we hear them today or play them in our car stereos. We know we had something extra special that will never ever be duplicated. God bless all those people. I sincerely mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for what you gave us that we have lived with for the last 50 years.
One of my Top 25 songs of all time is “Fish Ain’t Biting” by Lamont Dozier. I have so much respect for his own recordings and the many songs he wrote!
Lamont Dozier wrote " Back to my roots" for Odyssey, check it out, you will love it.
Same Old Song is brilliant.....Music is emotion and the lyrics that the song can mean different things with different circumstances points that out beautifully.
Thanks for watching!
Great interviews! Great episode!
My mom used to live across the street from MOTOWN RECORDS. One day her and her friend decided to go take a look,they walked in and walked by all the recording artists to a back room, Berry Gordy stood up and asked,"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE"- they said"WE'RE LOOKING FOR RECORDS"-Berry Gordy says,"WE MAKE RECORDS HERE"!!!(yeah)
The Four Tops were my favorite group. I loved them and still do.
Grew up in Detroit back in the day!! LOVE LOVE LOVE The Four Tops 💕
My sister had the 45 of "I can't help myself", that was my primary intro to Motown records. We both liked the Supremes and would make an effort to see them on the Ed Sullivan show. Holland Dozier Holland were brilliant in coming up with so very many songs for Motown/Tamla/Gordy records. A good portion of my life soundtrack! Thank You!
There's an unwritten rule that all Vietnam War movies must have "I Can't Help Myself" in it!
I’m a 76 years young Motown baby! I was there when it all started, what beautiful music we had to dance and roller skate by!!❤️❤️❤️
the temps, 4 tops, and supremes were the background sound track to my growing up in philly
What's not to love about the genre? I was a teen in the 60's, and The Four Tops are so much a part of it. It's history, it's fact! Happy groovin' music from my past!!!
Smashing great tales of tunes. That's what the Prof. of Rock delivers.
Thanks for watching!
Wonderful interviews. You always make me enjoy old hits in new ways.
Absolute Legends, my fav is Reach Out I’ll Be There.
Such a great song!
My favourite 4 Tops song was “Shake Me,Wake Me“
Mine is Bernadette.
That’s mine too. Such a powerful song
The title of this video comes as no surprise. That being said, thank you for all the work you do preserving music history!
Nice that you post this the week after Michigan beats Ohio State lol.
#HailToTheVictors!!!!
@@DC8091 My in-laws are over the moon lol best Christmas present this year for sure.
@ that’s what?, 4 in a row?
I drove a 59 Pontiac Catalina that I had put speakers behind the grill and would blast out the music of The Four Tops by the outdoor skating rink in my hometown in 1969.🎉😊
Welcome back, gang.
Deja vu?
I was just about to tease Sweet Richard! Dang it!
@@christineml1476 some sort of difficulty, I'm sure.
@@Whisper_292 Yeah I was wondering when I was replying to someone else and it wouldn't go through.
@@TerrickTerranhe was ready for it.
Great stuff. You just brought me back to my Freshman year in college, 140 miles away from home and MY music. They rated tops with the Beach Boys, Gary US Bonds, and so many more. Thank you sir.
The Four Tops are the absolute epitome of a Motown Band. Everything good about Motown is heard in their music.
Thanks for this episode. I knew both songs were pretty similar, but didn't know the story behind either of them. I sat here watching this and teared up one minute, and laughed the next. The Four Tops are among about four of my favorite groups of all time and probably, depending on my mood, share number one with The Seekers, of "I know I'll Never Find Another You", "Georgie Girl" and a couple of other songs, fame.
I heard some elementary school kids sing the song “ I Can’t Help Myself” on their way to the school one morning a few years ago. I was thinking that wasn’t even your parents that was your grandparents and great grandparents song !
Ha ha!
Haha! Well my grandparents got married the year before this song came out so…