Abdul "Duke" Fakir of The Four Tops performs in Indianapolis, Indiana on September 3, 2022. Photo: Getty Images
Smooth, suave, and always sharp, Abdul "Duke" Fakir was the last surviving original member of the Motown group the Four Tops. One of the bedrock acts upon which the label’s success was built, Fakir helped embody the Tops’ showmanship, class and artistry. The group’s first tenor, the Detroit-born Fakir was of Ethiopian and Bangladeshi descent and grew up in a rough neighbourhood where rival gangs often fought. He had early dreams of being a professional athlete, but was also a talented singer whose tenor brought him attention as a performer in his church choir. He was in his teens when he befriended Levi Stubbs, and the two first sang with Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton at a birthday party. They were together for a decade before signing to Motown in 1963, and their pairing with songwriting team Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland struck pay dirt: the group went on to have 11 top 20 hits and two No 1s: I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) and the operatic classic Reach Out I’ll Be There. Although the hits dried up, the band and Fakir never stopped working. By 2008, the other original Tops had died and Fakir controlled the Four Tops intellectual properties. He said he would never retire, and was still touring with the group until less than a month before his death on July 22, aged 88. . — Agencies
