IN LOVING MEMORY
Obie Benson
June 14th 1936 - July 1st 2005
On Friday July 1st, 2005, Obie Benson of The Four Tops passed away at Harper Hospital, it Detroit, Michigan at 10 a.m., EST. Obie Benson was 69.
Obie was a founding member of The Four Tops, who began their career in 1953 & originally named themselves "The Four Aims". The group started out as a Jazz/Cabaret act, playing various resorts & Las Vegas. They toured for a time with Billy Eckstine & gained popularity within the "smart" supper clubs of the day.
In 1956, The Four Aims began their recording career on Grady Records, recording, "Could It Be You"/"Kiss Me Baby". When Chess picked up the group & the recording, they had changed their name to The Four Tops. Their next recordings were for Columbia Records in 1960, when they recorded "Ain't That Love?"/"Lonely Summer". From there, they did a brief stint with Riverside Records in 1962, for whom they recorded, "Pennies From Heaven/"Where Are You?".
Finally, in 1964, they signed with Berry Gordy's Motown label & their careers skyrocketed. They remained with Motown until 1972, when Motown left Detroit for the sunny climes of California. Though Motown left Detroit, The Four Tops didn't. They are residents of Detroit to this day & their families are like family. Though they don't share the same bloodlines, they share the same love & are, in effect, an extended family.
The Four Tops then signed with ABC-Dunhill, where they ran off a continuous string of hits, until their departure from the label in 1978. They joined Casablanca Records, where in 1981, they enjoyed a career revival with the hits, "When She Was My Girl" & "I Believe In You & Me". Then, bringing their careers full circle, The Four Tops rejoined Motown in 1983, where they remained until moving to Arista Records in 1988. Every step of the way, Obie Benson was there.
Obie sang bass for The Four Tops, for whom he sang for 51 years. In an industry where change & instability is the norm, The Four Tops had the same lineup for an amazing 44 years, a streak ended sadly, by the death of Lawrence Payton in 1997.
Obie also co-wrote what is arguably, the greatest social commentary ever recorded to wax, Marvin Gaye's epic, "What's Goin' On". In fact, "What's Goin' On" was rated as #4 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time", in 2004.
On March 16th of this year, Obie & The Four Tops participated in a PBS taping of a salute to Levi Stubbs, taped at The Sands Casino in Atlantic Casino. During the performance, which was ably backed by Jack Ashford & his Motown Brother, Joe Hunter, Obie was animated, full of smiles, with tons of energy. Obie was having the time of his life & It was there, where I met Obie, Levi, Duke & Theo.
The day after the taping, Obie, Theo, Louvaine Demps of The Andantes & myself stood in the lobby & talked awhile. I was burning pictures that I took of their performance to disk for them. Obie was extremely nice, extremely nice. We were speaking about how nice it was to see all of the Motown people together & he said that he appreciated what The Lubinskys', DeLucas' & PBS do, by gathering together all of the classic artists for the PBS Specials. We've lost so many of our Soul music icons of the past lately & he felt that it was good for our artists to be recognized once more before it would be too late for them.
Louvaine made it a point to say that Obie & The Four Tops ALWAYS gave them extra money whenever they sang on one of their hits. Obie kinda blushed when Louvaine said that, but Louvaine just wanted me to know the kind of people that Obie & The Four Tops were. It was indeed a pleasure to meet Obie & he was a kind soul. I can only tell you that nothing seemed to be wrong with Obie. He was in great spirits & nothing seemed to be amiss with him.
On March 15th, Obie & The Four Tops appeared here in New York, on The David Letterman Show. They were backed by Jack Ashford & His Motown Brother, Joe Hunter & Company. In fact, The Four Tops & Jack Ashford & Joe Hunter came to The PBS Taping following the taping of The Letterman Show. As usual, Obie's smiling face & his effervesent personality was on display for all to see. We were all looking forward to seeing Obie & The Four Tops soon.
On May 29th, Spyder Turner announced on the Soulfuldetroit forum, that Obie had been hospitalized & that his leg had been amputated. When speaking with those in The Four Tops circle, no one seemed to expect that his passing was imminent. As we got deeper into June, the reports on Obie's condition weren't very good.
I was at work on the morning of July 1st, when I received a phone call from Detroit, informing me that Obie had died. After a month of us hoping & praying for Obie, I then passed on the sad news of Obie's passing.
As it turned out, Obie had suffered a string of ailments in quick succession, including a heart attack, finally succumbing to lung cancer. I extend my heartfelt condolences to Obie's family & friends. None of us will ever forget Obie & his loss will be felt immensely by all of us who love The Four Tops.
Obie Benson's funeral was on Friday, June 8th, at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit. Here are some links from the coverage of Obie's funeral....
http://www.detnews.com/2005/ev ents/0507/09/D01-241794.htm
http://www.freep.com/news/locw ay/benson9e_20050709.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/84 36717/
http://www.detnews.com/2005/me tro/0507/08/B01-241247.htm
Here is a link to a podcast tribute to Obie Benson & The Four Tops - http://www.keener13.com
Click HERE to view more photos of Obie performing on the PBS Tribute To Levi Stubbs.
Obie Renaldo Benson - R.I.P.
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