The Compozitionz Band

Duke Fakir, the stylish and genteel singer who nurtured the Four Tops’ legacy for seven decades, died at his home in Detroit Monday morning from heart failure. He was 88.

Fakir, a lifelong Detroit resident, was the last surviving member of the beloved Motown act, preceded in death by his teen friends and groupmates Lawrence Payton, Obie Benson and Levi Stubbs.

"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," the Fakir family said in a statement provided to the Detroit Free Press. "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."

With the Four Tops, Fakir was a voice on a vast litany of hits through the decades, including some of the defining songs of the 1960s, including the Top 10 successes “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Bernadette,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and the group’s 1966 magnum opus “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” Fakir and the group continued to pump out hits into the ’80s, including the chart-topping R&B song “When She Was My Girl.”