Four Tops bass dies at 69

DETROIT – Motown lost a musical pillar Friday.

Renaldo “Obie” Benson, who for more than half a century provided the bass vocal foundation to the Four Tops’ lush harmonies, died Friday morning at Harper Hospital in Detroit. He had turned 69 on June 14.

Benson had been battling a sudden onset of medical problems. Last month, he suffered a heart attack after the amputation of a leg because of circulation problems. He was subsequently diagnosed with lung cancer, and began intense, stage-four chemotherapy last week.

Abdul “Duke” Fakir and Levi Stubbs remain the two surviving members of the Four Tops, founded in 1954 on Detroit’s northeast side and heralded as one of the longest-running acts in the history of American popular music. Many of the songs Benson recorded with his group mates remain radio staples, including “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “Bernadette.”