Renaldo "Obie" Benson (June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) was an American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

singer of

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

group the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perform with for over five decades, until April 8, 2005. He also co-wrote " What's Going On" which became a No. 2 hit for

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

in 1971, and which

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

rated as No. 4 on their List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time released in 2004.

Early life and education

Renaldo Benson was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan on June 14, 1936. Benson attended Northern High School in Detroit, Michigan with Lawrence Payton.

The Four Tops

Formation: 1953–1964

The pair met

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

and Abdul "Duke" Fakir while singing at a friend's birthday party in 1954 and decided to form a group called the Four Aims. Roquel Billy Davis, who was Payton's cousin, was a fifth member of the group for a time and a songwriter for the group. Davis played an instrumental role in the group being signed by

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

who were mainly interested in Davis' songwriting ability. The group changed their name to the Four Tops to avoid confusion with the

Ames Brothers The Ames Brothers were an American singing quartet, consisting of four siblings from Malden, Massachusetts, who were particularly famous in the 1950s for their traditional pop hits. Biography The Urick brothers were born in Malden, Massachus ...

and had one single "Kiss Me Baby" released through Chess which failed to chart. The Four Tops left Chess although Davis stayed with the company. The group then went to Red Top Records and Riverside Records before signing with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

where they released "Ain't That Love" in 1960. This record was a supper club style record and the Four Tops would sing at a number of jazz venues in the early 1960s. Benson was responsible for the Tops' choreography in the early years of the group.

Career success: 1964–2005

In 1963 they signed with Motown, initially recording a track for

's Workshop Jazz label. Benson and the other members already knew

Barrett Strong Barrett Strong Jr. (February 5, 1941 – January 28, 2023) was an American singer and songwriter known for his recording of "Money (That's What I Want)", which was the first hit single for the Motown record label. He is also known for his songw ...

, as he had written songs with Davis for

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

including "Lonely Teardrops". The Four Tops worked with Holland-Dozier-Holland who wrote and produced a number of soul music hits for them over the next few years, including "

I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) "I Can't Help Myself" is a 1965 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-known Motown recordings of the 1 ...

" and "

Reach Out I'll Be There "Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a song recorded by the American vocal quartet Four Tops from their fourth studio album, '' Reach Out'' (1967). Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holl ...

" which both topped the US pop charts. After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the hits became less frequent for the Four Tops. When Motown left Detroit for Los Angeles in 1972, the Four Tops signed with

ABC-Dunhill Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distributed b ...

, and had Top 10 pop hits with "Keeper of the Castle" and "Ain't No Woman Like the One I've Got", their first Top 10 hits since "

Bernadette Bernadette is a French language, French name, a female form of the name Bernard, which means "brave bear". Notable persons with the name include: People * Bernadette (singer) (born 1959), Dutch singer * Bernadette Allen (born 1956), American for ...

" in 1967. While the Four Tops enjoyed a number of R&B hits in the next couple of years, the hits dried up again as

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

became popular. In 1981, The Four Tops returned to the R&B charts with a No. 1 hit in "When She Was My Girl" on

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

. The group returned to Motown for the '' Motown 25'' special in 1983, and recorded a couple of albums before leaving for

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

. Benson appeared with the rest of the Four Tops on

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

's 1989 album '' Through the Storm''.

Hall of Fame induction: 1990–2013

Benson was admitted as a member of the Four Tops to the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

in 1990. The group would be awarded a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

in 1997, followed by the

Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame & Museum Company Inc. was an American-based hall of fame that honored vocal groups throughout the United States. James E. Winner Jr. was the financial and managing partner of the For-profit corporation. Winner and ...

in 1999, and in 2013 into the

National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally. History The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founde ...

Until the death of Lawrence Payton in 1997, the Four Tops had the same membership for over forty years. Former

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

Theo Peoples Theo Peoples (born Theoplis Peoples III on January 24, 1961) is an American R&B and soul singer. Biography His first recordings with the Temptations were released in the box set ''Emperors of Soul'' (1994) where he sang lead on "Givin' U The Be ...

joined the group in 1998. Peoples soon became the lead vocalist, as Levi Stubbs fell ill, and Ronnie McNeir took Payton's place. Benson continued to tour extensively as part of the Four Tops, spending a third of the year on tour. The group would often tour with The Temptations as part of a double bill. His last performance as a Four Top was on April 8, 2005, on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

''.

"What's Going On"

Benson was on tour with the Four Tops when he witnessed a scuffle between protesters and the police in Berkeley over a disused urban lot which the protesters called People's Park. When he returned to Detroit after the tour ended, the experience inspired Benson to start writing the first draft of " What's Going On". He worked on the song with lyricist

Al Cleveland Al Cleveland (born Alfred W. Cleveland; March 11, 1930 – August 14, 1996) was an American songwriter for the Motown label. Among his most popular co-compositions are 1967's " I Second That Emotion" and 1969's " Baby, Baby Don't Cry" performed by ...

, who was renting the upstairs section of Benson's duplex. Benson wanted the Four Tops to record his song, but they refused on the grounds that it was a protest song. He approached

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

to record the song while appearing on a British television show, but she declined. Finally, he approached

, who liked the song, but wanted The Originals to cut a version of it. Benson eventually persuaded Gaye to record the song by offering him a cut of the royalties. Gaye added lyrics and other touches to the song, and recorded it in June 1970. Motown refused to release it at first, claiming it was uncommercial. Finally, the song was released and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, while topping the R&B chart. "What's Going On" is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest rock or R&B songs of all time, reaching the top 5 of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" as rated by ''

'' in 2004 and as one of

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

Death

When Benson's leg was amputated in early 2005 due to circulation problems, doctors discovered cancer in his lungs. Benson went into cardiac arrest and died of lung cancer and other illnesses on July 1, 2005. He is survived by two daughters. Lawrence "Roquel" Payton, Jr. replaced Benson as a member of the Four Tops with Abdul Fakir remaining as the only original member. After Fakir's death, Payton, Jr. who is a legacy member of the group, has taken control.

Legacy

Benson was admitted as a member of the Four Tops to the

in 1990. The group would be awarded a star on the

in 1997, followed by the

in 1999. Benson is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery. Media coverage of Benson's death was almost completely overshadowed by that of another R&B star,

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

, who also died on the same day.

References

Notes

* Allmusic.com article on Renaldo Benson
History of Rock article on the Four Tops
* Ben Edmonds, ''What's Going On?: What's Going On and the Last Days of the Motown Sound'' Canongate US 2003 on the recording of "What's Going On?"
''Rolling Stone'' article on "What's Going On" as part of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time article

Obituaries

ABC News America article on Benson's death

Funeral Photo Gallery: Renaldo "Obie" Benson

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Renaldo 1936 births 2005 deaths American soul musicians 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers Four Tops members American basses Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit) American rhythm and blues singers American soul singers American amputees Deaths from lung cancer in Michigan Singers from Detroit American choreographers