Detroit

THE FOUR TOPS STAR LEVI STUBBS DIES

All the greats seem to leaving us…… Levi Stubbs, whose distinctive, rough-hewn voice and pleading vocal style elevated the Four Tops’ soul classics to masterpieces, died today at his Detroit home. He was 72. The Michigan native had been in ill health since being diagnosed with cancer in 1995. A stroke and other health problems led him to stop touring in 2000. Stubbs was born in Detroit and grew up with the future Tops in the city’s North End. Stubbs and Abdul []

MOTOWN SONG WRITER NORMAN WHITFIELD DIES

Motown songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield, whose credits include hits I Heard It Through The Grapevine and War, has died in Los Angeles. Whitfield – believed to be 67 – worked at the legendary label in the ’60s and ’70s, adding a rock edge to soul music. Many of his hits were co-written with Barrett Strong, with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. The pair won a Grammy in 1972 for Papa Was A []