FOUR TOPS - Baby I Need Your Lovin'

In the mid-1950's, Detroit high school student Levi Stubbs formed a vocal group with some friends - originally called the Four Aims. The group had formed to perform at a birthday party, and they ended up staying together for forty years. They signed to Chess Records in 1956, after changing their name to the Four Tops to avoid confusion with The Ames Brothers - another vocal quartet. The group earned a reputation of being a great live act, but their recording ventures were relatively unsuccessful. In the early 1960's they signed with Motown, recording jazz for the company's Workshop label. After eleven years performing together, The Four Tops big break came when songwriting team Lamont Dozier went to see them at a Detroit club. Lamont Dozier invited the group back to their studio after the show, they spent the night recording the song Baby, I Need Your Lovin'. Lamont Dozier had been sitting on an instrumental of this, and they created vocals for the group. This 1964 single was their first hit with Motown. Baby, I Need Your Lovin' and the following songs they would create with Lamont Dozier played a big part in establishing the sound of Motown.