Levi Stubbs baritone, most Four Tops' hits were written in a tenor range to give the lead vocals a sense of urgency. Despite being the most prominent member of the group, Stubbs refused to have separate billing (in contrast to other Motown acts such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and Diana Ross and the Supremes), and he also turned down several offers for a solo career, out of loyalty to his bandmates. Stubbs and the other Tops remained a team until Lawrence Payton died in 1997, at which point Theo Peoples took his place. The Four Tops were inducted into the
Ken Stubbs Ken Stubbs Ken Stubbs (born in 1961) is a jazz musician, alto saxophonist, and composer. Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, composition and conducting at Salford College under the tutorship of Goff Richards and Roy Newsome. In 1984, Ken Stubbs formed First House together with Django Bates on piano, Mick Hutton on bass and Martin France on drums. While living in London Ken Stubbs also played and recorded with Mike Walker, Jeremy Stacey, Gary Husband, Peter Erskine, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Phil Robson, Orlando le