Following the three excellent singles of 1966, the Four Tops released three albums in 1967 (two studio recordings and a Greatest Hits compilation), plus three more singles, including one of their four best songs. The first album “On Broadway” is a collection of show standards, arranged by Four Tops member Lawrence Peyton and produced by Frank Wilson. It is aimed at a middle-of-the-road audience.
Much better is “Reach Out”, a studio album released in July. It was the last album that Holland, Dozier, Holland produced for them, featuring four of their best-known H-D-H songs, plus songs from Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder with Clarence Paul. Berry Gordy also selected a number of other non-Motown hits for the group to cover, including Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer” that was a big hit for the Monkees in 1966. The album reached number four on the UK Albums chart and number eleven on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.
The compilation “Four Tops Greatest Hits” is just that, with ten Holland, Dozier, Holland songs and two by Ivy Jo Hunter, one co-written with Mickey Stevenson and one co-written with Stevie Wonder. Although it only reached number four on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, it stayed on the chart for a total of seventy-three weeks.
In 1968, it became the first Motown album to reach the top of the UK Albums chart. The UK release has four extra tracks, making it an even better buy!
The Four Tops at New Rochelle High School 1967
Photo: Arnie Lee (Wikimedia Commons)
The three singles were all written and produced by the Holland, Dozier, Holland team during their last year at Motown. “Bernadette” came first, in February, and climbed to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, number three on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and number eight on the Official UK Pop Singles Chart. “Bernadette” is one of their best songs, with a dramatic lead vocal and clever harmonies from the backing singers the Andantes. The structure of the song is unusual too, with a false ending and a shout of Bernadette adding an element of surprise. The percussion drives the song at a good pace and James Jamerson’s bass-playing holds everything together.
“7-Rooms of Gloom” followed in May, doing less well, with chart entries peaking at number fourteen, ten and twelve on the three charts. The last single of the year was “You Keep Running Away”, issued in August, which also made entries on the three charts, but only to number nineteen, seven and twenty-six respectively. The downward trend was disappointing, but they had the consolation of knowing that they were now the top male Motown act in the UK.
