{"id":29973,"date":"2024-07-23T00:02:31","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T00:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/101gold\/abdul-duke-fakir-last-surviving-member-of-the-four-tops-dies-at-88\/"},"modified":"2024-07-23T00:02:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T00:02:31","slug":"abdul-duke-fakir-last-surviving-member-of-the-four-tops-dies-at-88","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/101gold\/abdul-duke-fakir-last-surviving-member-of-the-four-tops-dies-at-88\/","title":{"rendered":"Abdul \u201cDuke\u201d Fakir, last surviving member of the Four Tops, dies at 88"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
The Four Tops in 1964 with Abdul “Duke” Fakir top left; Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Four Tops<\/strong>‘ Abdul \u201cDuke\u201d Fakir<\/strong> passed away Monday, July 22, from heart failure at his home in Detroit. Fakir, the last surviving founding member of the legendary Motown group, was 88.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

“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 to ABC Audio.<\/span><\/p>\n

“As the last living founding member of the iconic Four Tops music group, we find solace in Duke\u2019s legacy living on through his music for generations to come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Four Tops was founded in 1953 as the Four Aims<\/strong> by Duke, Levi Stubbs<\/strong>, Renaldo “Obie” Benson<\/strong> and Lawrence Payton<\/strong>. They had a string of now-classic hits with songs written primarily by the iconic songwriting trio of Lamont Dozier<\/strong> and brothers Brian<\/strong> and Eddie Holland<\/strong>. Those included two number ones — \u201cI Can\u2019t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)\u201d and \u201cReach Out, I\u2019ll Be There\u201d — as well as \u201cBaby I Need Your Loving,\u201d \u201cStanding in the Shadows of Love” and \u201cIt\u2019s the Same Old Song.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Four Tops’ original lineup stayed intact until Payton’s death in 1997. Benson died in 2005 and Stubbs passed away in 2008, but Fakir kept the group going with new singers.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a member of the Four Tops, Fakir was in inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. The group also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fakir is survived by his wife and six children, 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Details for a public celebration of his life and legacy will be announced at a later date.\u00a0 The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to <\/span>Motown Museum<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Four Tops in 1964 with Abdul “Duke” Fakir top left; Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images The Four Tops‘ Abdul \u201cDuke\u201d Fakir passed away Monday, July 22, from heart failure at his home in Detroit. Fakir, the last surviving founding member of the legendary Motown group, was 88.\u00a0 “Our hearts areRead More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,4,48],"tags":[7,134,317,114,315,316,142,106],"yoast_head":"\nAbdul \u201cDuke\u201d Fakir, last surviving member of the Four Tops, dies at 88 - 101 Gold<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/101gold\/abdul-duke-fakir-last-surviving-member-of-the-four-tops-dies-at-88\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Abdul \u201cDuke\u201d Fakir, last surviving member of the Four Tops, dies at 88 - 101 Gold\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Four Tops in 1964 with Abdul “Duke” Fakir top left; Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images The Four Tops‘ Abdul \u201cDuke\u201d Fakir passed away Monday, July 22, from heart failure at his home in Detroit. 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