Four Tops singer Duke Fakir dies at the age of 88

Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving founding member of Motown legends The Four Tops, has died. He was 88 years old.

The singer died of heart failure in his home this morning, his family told local newspaper The Detroit Free Press.

“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a trailblazer, icon and music legend who touched the lives of so many during his 70-year music career while touring through the end of 2023 and officially retiring this year,” the Fakir family said in a statement. “As the last living founding member of the legendary musical group the Four Tops, we find comfort in knowing that Duke’s legacy lives on through his music for generations to come.”

Fakir, who has lived in Detroit his entire life, first met bandmate Levi Stubbs at neighborhood football games while attending Pershing High School. Friends insisted that the two aspiring singers perform at a local birthday party, along with Northern High students Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton.

The quartet formed a group in 1953 – then called the “Four Aims” – that would stay together for over four decades and see no personnel changes until 1998. (Payton died of liver failure in 1997 and after initially continuing as a trio, Fakir, Stubbs and Benson brought former Temptations member Theo Peoples into the group.)

The Four Tops produced some of the defining hits of the 1960s, including the Top 10 hits “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “Bernadette,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “It’s the Same Old Song,” written by Motown’s then-primary songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. The quartet has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the R&B Music Hall of Fame.

According to his family’s statement, Fakir had just retired earlier this month from performing with the still-touring Four Tops, whose legacy is now carried on by Michael Brock, Ronnie McNeir, Lawrence Payton Jr. and Alexander Morris.