Post by janebse on Feb 4, 2004 12:26:10 GMT -5
'Live With Levi' Stubbs fetes 50 years in music
By Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
Levi Stubbs
One of Motown’s most beloved crooners will be surrounded by admirers on Feb. 25 as friends, family and fans will present “It’s All the Way: Live With Levi — 50 Years and Still Going,” a tribute party to Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs, at the Roostertail nightclub in Detroit.
Co-hostesses of the evening will be Claudette Robinson of the Miracles and Mary Wilson of the Supremes. Ex-Motown staffers such as songwriter Janie Bradford, and Stubbs’ fellow Four Tops also will be on hand.
Also set to attend and most likely, perform, are Aretha Franklin, plus Stubbs’ Motown colleagues the Temptations; the Spinners; the Contours; the (real) Marvelettes; the Miracles; former Temptations Dennis Edwards and Ali Woodson; former Supreme Jean Terrell and others. Philly favorites the Dells are also set to be there. Producers were still negotiating with other acts to come at presstime.
The Roostertail was the site of “Motown Mondays” in the 1960s. Dreamed up by Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and hosted by WKNR disc jockey Scott Regen, Motown Mondays would feature a different Motown act each week, plus celebrity guests in the audience.
The shows were broadcast live on WKNR, and some have ended up on live albums released by Motown.
The “Live With Levi” party will include music, dancing, games including an old-school dance contest, surprise guests, lots of story-telling and food. 2004 also marks the 50th year that the Four Tops have been together as a group.
Stubbs, known for his passionate baritone on such classics as “Ask the Lonely,” “Can’t Help Myself,” “Reach Out” and other Tops greats, has endured a series of health challenges in the last few years, including a stroke and cancer. He hasn’t been able to tour with the Four Tops since 2000, although he’s sung a song or two with them at some of their Detroit-area shows recently.
“We wanted to put this party together to boost his spirits, get him on the fast track to recovery and help him participate in the 50th anniversary activities with his fellow Tops,” says event producer Denise Pendleton of Los Angeles.
Proceeds from “Live With Levi” will benefit the Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Gwendolyn B. Gordy Fuqua Fund. The fund, named after Berry Gordy Jr.’s sister Gwen, assists Motown artists of the ’60s and ’70s with medical expenses. For more information on the fund, go to www.rhythm-n-blues.org.
By Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
Levi Stubbs
One of Motown’s most beloved crooners will be surrounded by admirers on Feb. 25 as friends, family and fans will present “It’s All the Way: Live With Levi — 50 Years and Still Going,” a tribute party to Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs, at the Roostertail nightclub in Detroit.
Co-hostesses of the evening will be Claudette Robinson of the Miracles and Mary Wilson of the Supremes. Ex-Motown staffers such as songwriter Janie Bradford, and Stubbs’ fellow Four Tops also will be on hand.
Also set to attend and most likely, perform, are Aretha Franklin, plus Stubbs’ Motown colleagues the Temptations; the Spinners; the Contours; the (real) Marvelettes; the Miracles; former Temptations Dennis Edwards and Ali Woodson; former Supreme Jean Terrell and others. Philly favorites the Dells are also set to be there. Producers were still negotiating with other acts to come at presstime.
The Roostertail was the site of “Motown Mondays” in the 1960s. Dreamed up by Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and hosted by WKNR disc jockey Scott Regen, Motown Mondays would feature a different Motown act each week, plus celebrity guests in the audience.
The shows were broadcast live on WKNR, and some have ended up on live albums released by Motown.
The “Live With Levi” party will include music, dancing, games including an old-school dance contest, surprise guests, lots of story-telling and food. 2004 also marks the 50th year that the Four Tops have been together as a group.
Stubbs, known for his passionate baritone on such classics as “Ask the Lonely,” “Can’t Help Myself,” “Reach Out” and other Tops greats, has endured a series of health challenges in the last few years, including a stroke and cancer. He hasn’t been able to tour with the Four Tops since 2000, although he’s sung a song or two with them at some of their Detroit-area shows recently.
“We wanted to put this party together to boost his spirits, get him on the fast track to recovery and help him participate in the 50th anniversary activities with his fellow Tops,” says event producer Denise Pendleton of Los Angeles.
Proceeds from “Live With Levi” will benefit the Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Gwendolyn B. Gordy Fuqua Fund. The fund, named after Berry Gordy Jr.’s sister Gwen, assists Motown artists of the ’60s and ’70s with medical expenses. For more information on the fund, go to www.rhythm-n-blues.org.