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2005-07-04 - He was the Four Top who would just not stop smiling, the life of the party,
bubbling over with energy and fun.
Renaldo "Obie" Benson sang bass for the Tops, for some half a century.
And although friends had known for weeks that he was ailing, it was still a
shock when Benson, a founding member of the Four Tops, died at 10 a.m. Friday at
Harper Hospital in Detroit. He was 69.
"He had a very good heart. He always helped anyone who asked him.,"
said ex-wife Valaida, to whom he remained close. "And he was not a deadbeat
dad. After the divorce he was still a wonderful father and loved his children
very much. We were still friends through it all."
"We lost another champion," said Pat Lewis of the Andantes, the vocal
group that sang backup on most Four Tops songs.
As recently as April, fans could see Benson's dazzling smile on "Late Night
with David Letterman" and onstage, touching audiences with his humor as he
kept the bottom of the Tops' vocal mix going.
Benson died of lung cancer discovered after he'd had a leg amputated several
weeks ago, according to publicist Matt Lee.
It's the most recent blow to what had been Motown's longest-running, intact
group; Lawrence Payton died in 1997, and Levi Stubbs has been off the road,
ailing, for several years.
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Benson grew up in Detroit's north end, a hotbed of Detroit music. In 1953, he
and friends Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir and Payton formed the Four
Aims. They renamed themselves the Four Tops in 1956 to distinguish themselves
from the Ames Brothers.
The group toured with the Billy Eckstine Revue and played Las Vegas, as well as
numerous stands at the black resort Idlewild on Michigan's west coast. After
trying for years, Motown founder Berry Gordy finally was able to sign the Tops
to his Detroit record label in 1964.
After that year's smash "Baby, I Need Your Loving," the Tops hit No. 1
in 1965 with "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and then
in 1966 with "Reach Out (I'll Be There)." In 1967, they had two Top 10
hits: "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "Bernadette."
Lewis first sang backup with the Tops on "Standing in the Shadows of
Love."
"He was a wonderful, wonderful guy, great sense of humor," the singer
said Friday. "He will be missed. He was a good old clown onstage, just a
bubbly personality. But it's God's will. He knows what's best, and Obie is no
longer suffering. We still hold him in our hearts."
Phil Townsend, a Detroit musician and longtime friend, was 12 when he first met
Benson.
"We were in and out of each other's houses growing up," Townsend said.
"He was the kind of guy who was always full of life. Whenever I got in
trouble, he'd come and look out for me. We lost a great spirit."
Through his publicist, Fakir said, "Obie loved his life and enjoyed every
moment, and put a smile on everyone's face, including mine."
Benson is survived by his daughters Eboni and Tobi, two granddaughters Zion and
Mya, and his ex-wife Valaida. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
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