Remembering 2024’s Music Losses: Duke Fakir
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (86829)
United States
January 9, 2025 11:49am CST
FREEDOM!!!! Yes, I have escaped!!!! Ooh, that salsa tastes good. 
Of course, it’s supposed to sn*w again tomorrow, so this is a one-day reprieve. That’s okay, I’ll take it! While I sing of my temporary liberation, you can sing along with this great performer who said goodbye to us in 2024.
Duke Fakir
Yeah, you don’t know the name. You do know the group: the Four Tops. He was the final surviving original member of the 60s Motown superstar outfit.
And you talk about commitment: he was performing almost up until the literal end. He was part of the group’s 70th anniversary tour last year, writing in his autobiography, “The Lord can retire me, but I am not going into the dark night quietly.”
Unlike other acts, the Four Tops never argued, never broke up, and never had people splitting off and touring under various incarnations of the name. The group formed with high school friends in 1954, and their first personnel change came in 1997, when Lawrence Payton died of cancer.
Aside from the music, that’s a legacy of friendship they could leave for us all.
Duke Fakir
Born Abdul Kareem Fakir, December 26, 1935, Detroit, Michigan
Died July 22, 2024, Detroit, Michigan (heart failure) (age 88)
HALLS OF FAME: Rock and Roll, Vocal Group, R&B, Grammy (all with the Four Tops)
Here’s “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”:
Of course, it’s supposed to sn*w again tomorrow, so this is a one-day reprieve. That’s okay, I’ll take it! While I sing of my temporary liberation, you can sing along with this great performer who said goodbye to us in 2024.
Duke Fakir
Yeah, you don’t know the name. You do know the group: the Four Tops. He was the final surviving original member of the 60s Motown superstar outfit.
And you talk about commitment: he was performing almost up until the literal end. He was part of the group’s 70th anniversary tour last year, writing in his autobiography, “The Lord can retire me, but I am not going into the dark night quietly.”
Unlike other acts, the Four Tops never argued, never broke up, and never had people splitting off and touring under various incarnations of the name. The group formed with high school friends in 1954, and their first personnel change came in 1997, when Lawrence Payton died of cancer.
Aside from the music, that’s a legacy of friendship they could leave for us all.
Duke Fakir
Born Abdul Kareem Fakir, December 26, 1935, Detroit, Michigan
Died July 22, 2024, Detroit, Michigan (heart failure) (age 88)
HALLS OF FAME: Rock and Roll, Vocal Group, R&B, Grammy (all with the Four Tops)
Here’s “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”:Your browser isn’t supported anymore. Update it to get the best YouTube experience and our latest features. Learn moreRemind me later
8 people like this
7 responses
@LindaOHio (222726)
• United States
11 Jan 25
I wish I could remember if it was the Four Tops or the Ojays that I saw on a motel stage in Cleveland. Very small venue. What a shame that the Four Tops are gone. Have a good weekend.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86829)
• United States
11 Jan 25
The “name” continues, though….kind of like “the Platters.”
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86829)
• United States
10 Jan 25
It’s pretty amazing. There are bands with family members who couldn’t stay together seven years (never mind seventy)!
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86829)
• United States
10 Jan 25
You’ll probably know tomorrow’s, too, so three in a row! 
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (98106)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9 Jan 25
The Four Tops I know well and great music
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86829)
• United States
10 Jan 25
His mother was from Georgia. His dad was from Bangladesh.
1 person likes this
