Abdul Fakir, who was known as Duke, has died aged 88.
The music legend was the last surviving member of the Four Tops – the best-selling Motown band responsible for hits including I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch), Reach Out, I’ll Be There, Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got), and Standing In the Shadows of Love.
Fakir passed away from heart failure at his home on Monday morning (July 22) in Detroit, Michigan, reported Detroit Free Press, with his family sharing a heartfelt statement to remember the ‘icon’.
‘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,’ it began.
‘As the last living founding member of the iconic Four Tops music group, we find solace in Duke’s legacy living on through his music for generations to come.’
Smokey Robinson also paid tribute to Fakir. ‘My brother, I really hate to have to say goodbye but you’ve been called home by the Father to once again join Lawrence, Obie and Levi and make more of the heavenly music you guys made while here. I’m gonna miss you, my brother,’ he wrote.
The Four Tops, which also included Lawrence Payton, Obie Benson and Levi Stubbs, formed in 1953 after a spontaneous performance at a neighbourhood party and were originally called The Four Aims.
‘I had sung in a lot of little groups around town but this was something special,’ recalled Fakir, who sang the first tenor line.
The quartet were signed one decade later by Berry Gordy, Jr at his growing Motown record company after unsuccessful stints at other labels.
It was at this point they began to hit the mainstream filling their schedules with recording singles, touring and television appearances, while quickly defining the genre’s sound, and also incorporating elements of soul, R&B and disco.
The Four Tops sold over 50 million records worldwide during their career, which led to them being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
They continued to perform together as the original line-up until death intervened. Between 1997 and 2005, three members died of cancer.
Levi – who died aged 72 in 2008 – handled the majority of the band’s lead vocals, but Duke’s singing was critical in the group’s harmonising. He was also a skilled diplomat and considered the ‘glue’ of the band.
Duke said in his 2022 memoir I’ll Be There: My Life With the Four Tops: ‘We were four totally different guys. But we had a love for the same thing, and that’s basically the whole story.
‘Four guys from Detroit who came together because of our love of music, love of entertaining, and love of each other.’
He added in the book: ‘The Lord can retire me, but I’m not going to into the dark night quietly. I know I’m not in the fourth quarter anymore. I’m in overtime.’
Fakir continued to perform until the end of 2023, with new singers filling out the other roles in the group, before officially retiring this year.
Asked if he ever gets fed up with performing the biggest hits, he told Metro Times: ‘It’s a joy to see people jump up and get excited. They want to be part of it, and that’s wonderful. Where else are you going to get that kind of love?’
Fakir was married twice – for the last 50 years to Piper Gibson and had seven children. They lived in the Palmer Park section of Detroit.
He is survived by Piper Fakir, and six of his children Farah Fakir Cook, Nazim Bashir Fakir, Abdul Kareem Fakir, Myke Fakir, Anthony Fakir and Malik Robinson. He had seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
In the mid-1960s, he was briefly engaged to Mary Wilson from the Supremes.