Levi Stubbs (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, a band known for a variety of
Motown hit records and other songs created in the 1960s and 1970s. The power of Stubbs' emotional, often dramatic vocals have received praise from many critics over the years; for example,
Allmusic's Ed Hogan has remarked that Stubbs' had a "pleading urgency in his voice that perfectly captured the longing anxiousness of the songs written by the producing trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland". As well,
War band member
Lonnie Jordan told
Billboard.com he felt "blessed" to meet Stubbs and thought that the Four Tops singer's "voice was so good he was just, like, from another planet."