Duke Fakir

Rip It Up, Issue 82, 1 May 1984, Page 12

Duke Fakir

Duke enjoys touring with the Temptations and compares the current tour to the early Motown roadshows. “We used to do quite a few Motown Revue tours in the. late 60s when Motown was just surfacing strong across the country. We used to tour with. Marvin Gaye, the Supremes. the Temptations, the Vandellas and Junior Walker all at once. It was a lot of fun.” The group performed with only three Tops in Auckland. Is this a first? “No, we’ve had other occasions where one guy has missed for particular reasons. Once we were in England when Lawrence’s mother passed away and he had to fly home and we did the show with three and once Obie had a death in the family and he had to leave. As much as we would like to be with our brothers at that particular time, you can’t disappoint thousands of people. . We carry on.” Why did you choose to return to Motown after chart success

with the Casablanca label? “After we left Motown 10 years ago we had some success with other labels but we didn’t really feel as comfortable as we felt with Motown. When we went into rehearsal for the Motown 25th Anniversary TV special, Berry Gordy, the president, was there. The first thing he asked us was if we wanted to come back. We sat there and made a deal. It was just like coming home.” How was it working with the Holland-Dozier-Holland team again? “It was the first time they’d worked together since the 60s. They’ve had a lot of litigation. (Motown sued HDH when they left the label in 1968 and the Hollands themselves sued Lamont Dozier when he quit the partnership in 1972.) We’ve always kept in touch with them and to work with them again was very comfortable, just like sitting in your living room working with someone you enjoy being with.”

How did Aretha Franklin come to sing ,on your new album?

“We grew up with Aretha in Detroit. We’ve always wanted to do some things together. Two albums ago she wanted us to do a song with her, which we did. In exchange we said would you do a song with us? “We always enjoy singing with Aretha she’s probably our favourite girl singer of all times.”

Is it hard having to perform material you’ve been performing for two decades? Would

you prefer to perform new songs? (On the tour the Four Tops didn’t perform any tracks from their current album.) “Well, we perform some new songs we’ve recorded at ABC or Casablanca. But we know the people want the big hits the Four Tops had in the 60s. We’re here to entertain, we’re not the type of group to push things on people. We’re like servants of the people.” What goes through your mind as you sing ‘Reach Out, I’ll Be There’ every night? “We have a feeling for all those tunes, simply because the people feel it. When we get to the old songs they really go at it. They give us a feeling of appreciation.”

The Four Tops all live in Detroit, though don’t record there often. They still work with some of the original Motown musicians.

“There’s one of them there, Eddie Willis, who was one of the ‘Funk Brothers’ at Motown. Sometimes in Detroit, when we need a piano player, Earl van Dyke (the leader of Motown’s 60s session band) will come out with us.

“When we’re in California Robert White does a lot of things with us on sessions and other engagements. But Eddie is with us for keeps, until he retires.

“Gil Askey (musical director) has been with us on and off for about 20 years. We’ve known Gil since pre-Motown days he used to do all our arrangements in nightclubs when we couldn’t afford to pay an

arranger. . Did Askey participate in the Motown Revues? “Yes, he was a part of all that. He was the first conductor that went' out with the Supremos. He wrote their first big stage act when they started having hits.” • Your pre-Motown Chess recording was very different What was the crucial factor that caused you to find your mid-60s sound? “Holland -Dozier- Holland was the crucial turning point. At that time we were young kids we could sing any kind of song, we didn’t have a definite sound. We had a good sound but it wasn’t a defined sound. They helped us develop that for recording and for the

mass audience.” Will the vocal group tradition continue with a new generation of singers? (Norman Whitfield’s and James Jamerson’s sons appear on new Motown albums.)

“We do have kids who are capable of doing that but we’re pressing them to stay in school and get a college degree. We all have a lot of kids Lawrence has a boy and girl who sing and write, I have a boy who sings and a girl who acts. We could have a choir actually (laughs).” Would you prefer them not to go into music? “Exactly not to. We were very fortunate. The music business is a lot harder than it was then. At least get a degree under their belt and then give it a shot.” So what is the basis for your working in music so long? “We love what we do. It’s an integral part of us, we totally enjoy it. It’s my whole thing. The music world could get along without me, but I couldn’t get along without the music.”

Is it easier to find good songs now?

“It’s harder to find good songs. No doubt about it. If we could find them as easy as we did then, we’d constantly be in the Top 10.”