Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving founding member of the Motown vocal group the Four Tops, has died at age 88.
A family representative said in a statement that Fakir died of heart failure on Monday.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of a pioneer, icon and music legend who, throughout his 70-year musical career, touched the lives of many people as he continued to tour through the end of 2023 and officially retired this year,” Fakir’s family said in a statement. “As the last living founding member of the iconic musical group Four Tops, we find solace in Duke’s legacy that lives on through his music for generations to come.”
Fakir was one of the perfectly harmonized voices behind such indelible Motown hits as “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and “Reach Out I'll Be There.” In their heyday between 1964 and 1967, the Four Tops had two number-one singles and 11 Top 20 hits on the Billboard singles charts.
Among Motown colleagues who paid tribute to Fakir was label founder Berry Gordy, who said in a statement: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Abdul 'Duke' Fakir… [the] “The first tenor, smooth, delicate and always high-pitched… For 70 years, he kept the Four Tops' remarkable legacy intact, and in all those years, he never missed a performance, until recently. I have a deep appreciation for all he did for the Four Tops, for Motown and for me.”
Gordy noted that the original Four Tops — Fakir, Levi Stubbs, Lawrence Payton and Renaldo “Obie” Benson — “always amazed me with their showmanship, their class and their artistry.”
The Four Tops, front seat, left to right: Levi Stubbs and Lawrence Payton; back seat, left to right: Abdul “Duke” Fakir and Renaldo “Obie” Benson.
(Motown Archives)
Born in 1935 in Detroit, Fakir was the son of a factory worker from what is now Bangladesh and a black mother who was a musician and the daughter of a pastor. As a teenager surrounded by gospel and jazz music, he co-founded the Four Tops in 1953 with Levi Stubbs, Lawrence Payton and Renaldo “Obie” Benson. The group, originally called the Four Aims, quickly gained attention on the local club circuit and signed with Chess Records in 1956, but did not become nationally known until signing with Motown in 1962.
There they began a remarkable run of era-defining hits with the songwriting-producing trio Holland-Dozier-Holland. Hits such as “It's the Same Old Song,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “Bernadette” all reached the Top 10 on both the pop and R&B charts. The Four Tops' singles remain some of Motown's most beloved and iconic songs.
After Motown left for Los Angeles in the 1970s, the group stayed in Detroit and changed labels several times, resulting in hit singles such as “Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)” and “When She Was My Girl” in 1980. Their final Top 40 hit as a group, “Indestructible,” became the theme song for the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1990, after 24 Top 40 pop singles, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Four Tops remained a success on tour, even with Fakir as the sole original member alongside Lawrence Payton Jr. (son of original member Lawrence Payton), Ronnie McNeir, and Alex Morris. In 2022, Fakir published his memoir “I'll Be There,” about his colorful life at the top of Motown, and only retired from the group in 2024.
Fellow Motown icon Smokey Robinson said in his own statement about Fakir, “My brother, I really hate to say goodbye, but the Father has called you home to once again join Lawrence, Obey and Levi and make more of the heavenly music they made while they were here. I’m going to miss you, my brother. May you have the most wonderful eternity.”
Fakir is survived by his wife, Piper Fakir; his daughter Farah Fakir Cook; his son Nazim Bashir Fakir; his son Anthony Fakir; his son Abdul Kareem Fakir Jr.; his son Myke Fakir; his son Malik Robinson; 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren (his daughter Kai Ayne is deceased).
