On This Date (October 17, 2008) Levi Stubbs / The Four Tops
themusicsover Levi Stubbs (Born Levi Stubbles)
June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008
Levi Stubbs was unquestionably one of R&B’s greatest vocalists. He is best remembered as the lead singer of the Four Tops, one of the Motown’s signature groups. The Tops recorded hit after hit for the label beginning in 1964. Such hits included, “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Love,” and “I Can’t Help Myself.” The group and Motown parted ways in 1972, with the Tops signing to ABC Dunhill Records where they had a brief resurgence with “Keeper Of the Castle,” and “Aint No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got).” They continued to record moderately successful records through the ’70s and reunited with Motown in time to celebrate the label’s 25th anniversary in 1983 after which they recorded a few more albums and toured with the Temptations. The Four Tops continued touring and recording until the passing of Lawrence Payton in 1997. They were elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Levi Stubbs died in his sleep at the age of 72.
Thanks to Craig Rosen from Number1Albums and John Harrison
What You Should Own
Kazuhiko Kato was a singer, songwriter and producer whose career began in the mid ’60s as the member of the Folk Crusaders, a Japanese psychedelic folk rock band. The band’s 1967 debut single, “Kaettekita Yopparai (I Only Live Twice)” which was written by Kato, sold over a million copies and is considered one of Japan’s most successful records of the era. Following the break up of the Folk Crusaders, Kato began working as a producer, contributing to hit albums by several Japanese rock artists, his most significant being Sadistic Mika Band, a ’70s rock band formed by he and his wife. The band found moderate success outside of Japan, even appearing on BBC’s popular Old Grey Whistle Test television program in 1975. Kato spent his later life writing and composing for other artists, video games and film soundtracks. His body was found hanging in a Japan hotel room on October 17, 2009, dead at 62. Police discovered a suicide note nearby.
Doug Bennett was the founder and lead singer of Canadian new wave band, Doug & the Slugs, whose biggest hit, “Too Bad,” appeared on their 1980 debut album, Cognac and Bologna. That song found a second life when it was featured as the theme song in comedian Norm MacDonald’s 1999 sitcom, The Norm Show. Doug & the Slugs’ brand of bar room pop had been likened to those of such bands as Huey Lewis & the News. Although very popular in their home country and having released a half-dozen albums, four of which reaching gold status, they never got much beyond their one-almost-hit-wonder status in the U.S. Outside of the band, Bennett produced and directed several music videos by such Canadian bands as Trooper, Zappacosta and Headpins. Bennett had been suffering from a long term, though publicly unknown, illness when he fell into a coma after being admitted to a local hospital. He never regained consciousness and passed away at the age of 52.
Jud Strunk was an American singer-songwriter who flirted with success during the 1970’s. He recorded several records through the course of his career, one of which, “The Biggest Parakeets in Town” continues to get airplay on Dr. Demento’s syndicated radio program. His biggest hit came in 1974 with the release of “A Daisy a Day,” which landed in the Top 20 of Billboard’s pop and country charts. Though his name might not have been a household one, he was a semi-regular guest on such television programs as Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. A licensed pilot, Jud Strunk suffered a heart attack while taking off in his small plane on October 15, 1981. The plane crashed, instantly killing Strunk, age 45, and his passenger.