Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving original member of the Motown group the Four Tops that was known for such hits as “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” and “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” has died at age 88.
Fakir died Monday of heart failure at his home in Detroit, according to a family spokesperson, with his wife and other loved ones by his side. Motown founder Berry Gordy said in a statement that Fakir helped embody the Tops’ “showmanship, class and artistry.
“Duke was first tenor—smooth, suave, and always sharp,” Gordy said. “For 70 years, he kept the Four Tops’ remarkable legacy intact.”
Mr. Fakir was married twice, for the last 50 years to Piper Gibson, and had seven children. (Six survive him). In the mid-1960s, he was briefly engaged to Mary Wilson of the Supremes.
