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
Lewis Stubbs of Manitoba. On July 4, 1924, he became a Senior County Court Judge. As a judge, Stubbs often provoked controversy with Manitoba and Canada's political leadership. A strict temperance man himself, Stubbs insisted that the province's prohibition laws be followed to the letter. He also rendered several judgments which excoriated the capitalist system of his age, lamenting the punishment of petty criminals while corrupt plutocrats operated above the law. Stubbs was also criticized by some in government for granting unduly lenient sentences, and in 1932 was the subject of a Royal Commission of inquiry into his judicial conduct. Many regarded