Lawrence Payton singing lead with the Four Tops!

[marv2]

Remember this? Lawrence had a great voice:

[stephanie]

Oh man I forgot about this. I remember when i first saw it I said to myself what about Levi?
We didnt have the internet then and I thought he might be leaving or Lawrence wanted more leads like Mary. When I got older and found out Levi wanted them to sing more leads and Motown said no I was relieved. Lawrence had that Intruders sound going on with this.

[marv2]

Oh man I forgot about this. I remember when i first saw it I said to myself what about Levi?
We didnt have the internet then and I thought he might be leaving or Lawrence wanted more leads like Mary. When I got older and found out Levi wanted them to sing more leads and Motown said no I was relieved. Lawrence had that Intruders sound going on with this.

Stephanie and what makes this song even more special is Lawrence son wrote it at age 15!He went on to replace his Dad in the Four Tops!

[milven]

Stephanie and what makes this song even more special is Lawrence son wrote it at age 15!He went on to replace his Dad in the Four Tops!

I don't think I ever saw anyone but Levi do lead. I've seen them in concert but I don't remember anyone but Levi in the lead. That was nice to watch. I don't remember the song. Was it a single? Also, did not know that Lawrence Jr. wrote for the Tops. Didn't Lawrence Jr. replace Obie in the Tops and not his father?

[marv2]

I don't think I ever saw anyone but Levi do lead. I've seen them in concert but I don't remember anyone but Levi in the lead. That was nice to watch. I don't remember the song. Was it a single? Also, did not know that Lawrence Jr. wrote for the Tops. Didn't Lawrence Jr. replace Obie in the Tops and not his father?

Technically, it was Theo Peoples that replaced Lawrence Payton as the fourth member in the Four Tops, but if you ask Roquel, he'll tell you he's standing in for his Dad.

[milven]

Technically, it was Theo Peoples that replaced Lawrence Payton as the fourth member in the Four Tops, but if you ask Roquel, he'll tell you he's standing in for his Dad.

Yeah! I think most fans also feel that he stepped in for his dad. It's a nice connection linking the original group with the current group.

[thomas96]

A nice unreleased track with LP on lead.

[thomas96]

Another unreleased... Different take to Levi's lead vocal version that was released.

[thomas96]

Another beauty, released on their second album, "Second Album"

[mowest]

Another beauty, released on their second album, "Second Album"

This was good enough to be released as a single!

[masterblaster]

Didn't Lawrence sing the lead in the bridge of "Do What You Gotta Do". Always loved that part of the song. He was a co-producer of the track.

[marv2]

Didn't Lawrence sing the lead in the bridge of "Do What You Gotta Do". Always loved that part of the song. He was a co-producer of the track.

Yes he did and he also did part of the lead on "A Simple Game".

Thank you Thomas96 and Mowest for those additional great Lawrence Payton leads!!!

[soulwally]

He also did Until You Love Someone in the Motown days, and got more leads when they switched to ABC Dunhill.

[theboyfromxtown]

This was good enough to be released as a single!

It kinda was....

[mowest]

It kinda was....

Thanks for pointing this out, xtown! I just grabbed my copy of Terry Wilson's "Tamla Motown" book and see that it was the flip side of the reissued "I'll Turn To Stone" in 1972.

[marv2]

Thanks for pointing this out, xtown! I just grabbed my copy of Terry Wilson's "Tamla Motown" book and see that it was the flip side of the reissued "I'll Turn To Stone" in 1972.

I never knew they reissued "I'll Turn to Stone".

[Sotosound]

I never knew they reissued "I'll Turn to Stone".

Sadly, in its inferior stereo mix...

[marv2]

Sadly, in its inferior stereo mix...

Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........

[BayouMotownMan]

From the Main Street People lp, ABC released One Woman Man as a Lawrence Payton solo single. It did make an appearance on the Soul Chart as I recall

[marv2]

Oh yeah, I remember that one. A nice tune. Here's Lawrence performing solo on Soul Train..... "One Woman Man":

[marv2]

and yet another solo release by Lawrence Payton, "Tell Me You Love Me"....

[marv2]

I don't know how I could overlook this one........."Feel Free" with Lawrence on the lead:

[soulwally]

One of the Tops' best post-Motown tunes, with Lawrence giving it plenty on his parts...

[marv2]

One of the Tops' best post-Motown tunes, with Lawrence giving it plenty on his parts...

Oh yes,yes,yes.......most definitely!

[soulwally]

Just watched the Feel Free vid. I know the Tops always admitted they weren't that much into choreography, but Duke is sure looking loose, and Obie has some cool moves too. But Levi? It's a good job he was the lead, cos he doesn't look to be the best mover!!

[marv2]

Just watched the Feel Free vid. I know the Tops always admitted they weren't that much into choreography, but Duke is sure looking loose, and Obie has some cool moves too. But Levi? It's a good job he was the lead, cos he doesn't look to be the best mover!!

Levi could really cut loose doing the "boogaloo"[[sp?) LOL!

[splanky]

I am so grateful for this thread because I always friggin loved it when Lawerence got a lead
and some of these songs I'd never heard before. George Clinton always talked about the
greatness of Levi's voice and I agree with him but I always thought Lawerence could have
been a Funkadelic because like Garry Shider, he sang like he was bent on gettin' some
right then, if you know what I mean...

[marv2]

Here we have Lawrence Payton, along with Jean Terrell leading the Supremes & Four Tops in this great version of "It's Got to Be A Miracle":

[marv2]

Another favorite Lawrence Payton lead was "The Fool On the Hill" :

[honest man]

ha You learn something new everyday have loved Magnificent 7 album over 40 years,this being one of my fave songs on par with Kim and Marvin's version,BUT i never knew Levi was not lead on that song.Thanks for the nod.

[tmd]

I always thought L.P. crowing achievement was off the keeper of the castle album a song he wrote and sang lead on.

The Good Lord Knows

[tmd]

FYI

The Good Lord knows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=8uBOpG_DZXs

[marv2]

FYI

The Good Lord knows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=8uBOpG_DZXs

Thank you very much tmd! The list just continues to grow............ Lawrence was a great singer and writer.

[Daan76]

Just watched the Feel Free vid. I know the Tops always admitted they weren't that much into choreography, but Duke is sure looking loose, and Obie has some cool moves too. But Levi? It's a good job he was the lead, cos he doesn't look to be the best mover!!

How is this for Levi not seeming to be the best mover?
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xie529 starting at 1.23

[biggestfourtops fan]

How is this for Levi not seeming to be the best mover?
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xie529 starting at 1.23

Another great example of Levi showing his fantastic moves.
https://youtu.be/NsmWEJmpxdw

[Daan76]

Another great example of Levi showing his fantastic moves.
https://youtu.be/NsmWEJmpxdw

Nice one!
And how about this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XXtvQlaK24

This one clip says alot to me:
- Obie having a great time
- Both Levi and Lawrence seem not to be very keen on dancing
- Being a Motown-drummer is pretty demanding
- The congo-guy is a bit hilarious to me
- Lawrence's role in directing the bassist [[who directs the orchestra) is clearly visible at the end, this role by Lawrence can be witnessed in more clips.

I'm wondering, does anyone know the name of the bassist? I've also seen him in another clip on Youtube with the Four Tops in Belgium. It's not Jamerson or Babbit, that's all I know...

[marv2]

Another great example of Levi showing his fantastic moves.
https://youtu.be/NsmWEJmpxdw

I know this was from a European tour, but was this clip from Paris?

[marv2]

Lawrence had a smooth, mellow voice. He had a great sense of humor and always nice to talk to.

[biggestfourtops fan]

I know this was from a European tour, but was this clip from Paris?

This was from the Paris concert.

[marv2]

This was from the Paris concert.

Thank you biggestfourtops fan

[biggestfourtops fan]

Thank you biggestfourtops fan

Anytime marv2.