bernard
THEE Realist
Abdul "Duke" Fakir, the stylish and genteel singer who nurtured the Four Tops’ legacy for seven decades, has died. He was 88.
Fakir died Monday morning at his home in Detroit from heart failure, the singer's family confirmed to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY network.
Fakir was the last surviving member of the beloved Motown act, preceded in death by his teen friends and groupmates Lawrence Payton, Obie Benson and Levi Stubbs.
"Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a trailblazer, icon and music legend who, through his 70-year music career, touched the lives of so many as he continued to tour until the end of 2023, and officially retired this year," the Fakir family said in a statement.
"As the last living founding member of the iconic Four Tops music group, we find solace in Duke’s legacy living on through his music for generations to come."
With the Four Tops, Fakir was a voice on a vast litany of hits through the decades, including some of the defining songs of the 1960s, such as the Top 10 successes “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Bernadette,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and the group’s 1966 magnum opus, “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”
Fakir and the group continued to pump out hits into the ’80s, including the chart-topping R&B song “When She Was My Girl.”
Following the deaths of his groupmates — a topic that years later could still bring him to tears — Fakir kept the Four Tops name alive, enlisting new members and regularly taking the group’s polished, high-energy stage show on the road.
Fakir died Monday morning at his home in Detroit from heart failure, the singer's family confirmed to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY network.
Fakir was the last surviving member of the beloved Motown act, preceded in death by his teen friends and groupmates Lawrence Payton, Obie Benson and Levi Stubbs.
"Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a trailblazer, icon and music legend who, through his 70-year music career, touched the lives of so many as he continued to tour until the end of 2023, and officially retired this year," the Fakir family said in a statement.
"As the last living founding member of the iconic Four Tops music group, we find solace in Duke’s legacy living on through his music for generations to come."
With the Four Tops, Fakir was a voice on a vast litany of hits through the decades, including some of the defining songs of the 1960s, such as the Top 10 successes “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Bernadette,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and the group’s 1966 magnum opus, “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”
Fakir and the group continued to pump out hits into the ’80s, including the chart-topping R&B song “When She Was My Girl.”
Following the deaths of his groupmates — a topic that years later could still bring him to tears — Fakir kept the Four Tops name alive, enlisting new members and regularly taking the group’s polished, high-energy stage show on the road.