Motown Legends Mourn Four Tops' Stubbs

Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. and performer Smokey Robinson were among the mourners at a funeral service Monday for Levi Stubbs, frontman for the Four Tops.

"He will always be here," Robinson said. "You're going to turn on the radio and hear him tomorrow. He made his mark on the world. All of the world, you'll be able to hear Levi Stubbs forever."

Stubbs died in his sleep Oct. 17 at his Detroit home. He was 72.

His dynamic and emotive voice drove Motown classics such as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" and "Baby I Need Your Loving."

"He made us walk in his shoes, felt what he felt and loved what he loved," Gordy said. "He not only sang the song, he was the song."

The funeral service at Greater Grace Temple reflected Stubbs' importance to Motown, music and his hometown of Detroit. Members of the city council read two resolutions, including one that marked June 6 as Levi Stubbs Day.

"He stayed in Detroit," Councilwoman JoAnn Watson said. "He could have gone anywhere, but he stayed with his wife, stayed with his group, stayed with the Four Tops."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson called the Four Tops "a family story," remarking on the group's decades together under Stubbs' leadership.

"You just do not find an Aretha Franklin," Jackson said. "You don't find a Marvin Gaye. You don't find a Smokey Robinson. You don't find a Levi Stubbs. They don't come in bunches like grapes. They are rare pearls."

By Corey Williams