"Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a song recorded by the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the F ...

from their fourth studio album '' Reach Out'' (1967). Written and produced by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

's main production team,

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. ...

, the song is one of the most widely-known Motown hits of the 1960s and is today considered the Four Tops' signature song. It was the number one song on the Rhythm & Blues chart for two weeks and on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks, in October 15–22, 1966. The track also reached number one in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, becoming Motown's second UK chart-topper after

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

' 1964 release " Baby Love". It reached number one on October 27, 1966, and stayed there for three weeks. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' later ranked “Reach Out” number 206 on its list of "

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

". ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the number four song for 1966. In 2022, the single was selected by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

Writing and recording

In 1966, Holland, Dozier and Holland were writing new songs for the Four Tops to record for an album. Lamont Dozier said that he wanted to write "a journey of emotions with sustained tension, like a

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It ha ...

. To get this across, I alternated the keys, from a minor, Russian feel in the verse to a major,

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

feel in the chorus." He developed the lyrics with Eddie Holland, aiming for them to sound "as though they were being thrown down vocally." Dozier said that they were strongly influenced by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

at the time, commenting: "We wanted Levi tubbsto shout-sing the lyrics... as a shout-out to Dylan." For the recording, the writers and producers intentionally put

Levi Stubbs Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He has ...

at the top of his vocal range, according to

Abdul Fakir Abdul Kareem Fakir (born December 26, 1935), professionally known as Duke Fakir, is an American singer. He is a founding member of the Motown quartet the Four Tops, from 1953 to the present day. A first tenor, Fakir is the group's lone survivin ...

of the Four Tops, "to make sure he'd have that cry and hunger and wailing in his voice." Arranger

Paul Riser Paul Riser (born September 11, 1943) is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the "Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of th ...

overdubbed instruments including a

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...

and flute in the intro, and a drum pattern made by using

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditiona ...

mallets on a

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called " zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thou ...

head. After the recording was completed and on hearing the final version, the group begged

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

not to release it; according to Fakir, "for us, the song felt a little odd." However, Gordy insisted that it be issued as a single.

Style

Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that some suggest straddles the line between singing and shouting, as he did in the 1965 hit, "

I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" is a 1965 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "I Can't Help Myself" is one of the most well-know ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

critic Ed Hogan praises Stubbs' vocal as well as the song's "rock-solid groove" and "dramatic, semi-

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

tic tension and release." Critic Martin Charles Strong calls the song "a soul symphony of epic proportions that remains he Four Tops'signature tune." In 2014, interviewed by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', Four Tops singer Duke Fakir said:

Reception

'' Cash Box'' said that it is "a hard-driving, pulsating pop-r&b romancer about a very-much-in-love guy who claims that he'll always be at his gal's beck-and-call."

Charts

Weekly charts

¹Remix ²Michael Bolton with the Four Tops

Year-end charts

Certifications

Legacy

The version by the Four Tops was used by Joe Biden during his campaign in the 2020 United States presidential election.

Diana Ross version

Diana Ross covered "Reach Out, I'll Be There" in 1971. Her version, which would be released from her LP '' Surrender'', reached number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 35 in Canada. Her rendition was produced by

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

Weekly charts

Gloria Gaynor version

"Reach Out, I'll Be There" was covered by

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor (née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits " I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of " Never Can Say Goodbye" ...

in 1975. It was the third of three singles released from her LP ''

Never Can Say Goodbye "Never Can Say Goodbye" is a song written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by The Jackson 5. The song was originally written and intended for the Supremes; however, Motown decided it would be better for the Jackson 5. It was the first ...

''. Gaynor's version of "Reach Out, I'll Be There" became an international hit. It reached number 60 in the U.S. and number 16 in Canada. In Europe, it reached number 14 in the UK and number five in Germany.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1966 songs 1966 singles 1971 singles 1975 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Four Tops songs Diana Ross songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Gloria Gaynor songs Michael Bolton songs MGM Records singles Motown singles Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Song recordings produced by Ashford & Simpson Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland UK Singles Chart number-one singles United States National Recording Registry recordings

Writing and recording

Style

Reception

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Legacy

Diana Ross version

Weekly charts

Gloria Gaynor version

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

See also

References