Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 â€" 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 been noted for his
powerful, emotional, dramatic style of singing.Stubbs was also a voice
artist in film and television, most famously having provided the voice
of "Audrey II", the alien plant in the 1986 musical horror comedy film
Little Shop of Horrors (an adaption of the stage musical of the same
name), as well as Mother Brain in the 1989 TV series Captain N: The
Game Master. Stubbs was admired by his peers for his impressive vocal
range, and influenced many later pop and soul artists, such as Daryl
Hall of Hall and Oates.Stubbs was born and spent much of his life in
Detroit, Michigan. He had five children with his wife Clineice Stubbs,
to whom he was married for almost 50 years. His last performance was
at the Four Tops' "50th Anniversary Concert" on July 28, 2004, at the
Detroit Opera House.Born in 1936 in Detroit, Stubbs had a brother,
Joe, who later became a member of 100 Proof (Aged in Soul), The
Falcons, The Contours and The Originals. His cousin was Jackie Wilson.
Stubbs attended Detroit Pershing High School, where he met Abdul
"Duke" Fakir. He began his professional singing career with friends
Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton, forming a singing
group called the Four Aims in 1954.
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 been noted for his
powerful, emotional, dramatic style of singing.Stubbs was also a voice
artist in film and television, most famously having provided the voice
of "Audrey II", the alien plant in the 1986 musical horror comedy film
Little Shop of Horrors (an adaption of the stage musical of the same
name), as well as Mother Brain in the 1989 TV series Captain N: The
Game Master. Stubbs was admired by his peers for his impressive vocal
range, and influenced many later pop and soul artists, such as Daryl
Hall of Hall and Oates.Stubbs was born and spent much of his life in
Detroit, Michigan. He had five children with his wife Clineice Stubbs,
to whom he was married for almost 50 years. His last performance was
at the Four Tops' "50th Anniversary Concert" on July 28, 2004, at the
Detroit Opera House.Born in 1936 in Detroit, Stubbs had a brother,
Joe, who later became a member of 100 Proof (Aged in Soul), The
Falcons, The Contours and The Originals. His cousin was Jackie Wilson.
Stubbs attended Detroit Pershing High School, where he met Abdul
"Duke" Fakir. He began his professional singing career with friends
Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton, forming a singing
group called the Four Aims in 1954.
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