What happened to The Four Tops' "Still Waters [[1970)"?

[Kraig Diesel]

I consider both the album and single to be Motown's shining hour in 1970. I am frustrated that such a brilliant and beautiful song is severely under-rated.

Why wasn't this song performed on national TV and in concert during the time of it's release? Was the arrangement too difficult for the road musicians? I mean, numerous artists created renditions of their own [[Supremes, Jr. Walker, Impact of Brass), it was a popular tune. What happened?

[thomas96]

Was the arrangement too difficult for the road musicians?

It's actually fairly simple.

[Kraig Diesel]

It's actually fairly simple.

How so? Those half-beats can throw a lot of folks off, lol

[milven]

[sup_fan]

given Diana's liftoff from the Sups, the Temps hitting big with psychedelic soul, J5 debut and Stevie's work, i think this whole set just got lost in the shuffle. i think it charted based on it's on wonderful appeal and quality production.

[Bokiluis]

That wonderful concept album, a supposed influence on "What's Going On", had 2 Top 20 hits, so I hardly consider it a failure or disappointment.

[supremester]

I didn't know it was eliminated from live performances - it's kind of hard to imagine they would eschew the biggest hit they had in over 3 years - are you certain about that?

The single was a decent hit - but not big - #11. It got minimal play here - I think I heard it once and had to hear it in the store to decide if I wanted it. The album was a relative smash for The Tops - #21 - far higher than the dismal showings for all other non-HDH collections. It IS a good album, and contains perhaps my fave 45 of theirs: it's All In The Game. Levi murders me on it still. I think it did what it deserved to considering it's no What's Going On, no big hit single, and they had been off the top of the charts for years. I think that's why they weren't doing it on TV - they were a group in severe decline with a popular, but not sizzling smash. Gladys, J5, JMC, Tempts, Ross, Marvin, Stevie, Jr Walker were all hot at the time a much more likely to get booked on TV. Had Ross hosted another Hollywood Palace, Gordy might have got them on board like he did Stevie, J5 etc. They must have done some TV in the late 60s, but look at Martha & the Marvelettes: they couldn't get on either.

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Still Water was a big hit in California in the Fall of 1970.
Released on Aug 6th, it zoomed to #8 by Sept 15th in San Francisco [[KSOL).
And #2 in late Oct. in L.A. [[KHJ).

KSOL - San Francisco



KHJ - Los Angeles


For the single release, the song was split into 2 sides; Still Water [[Peace), and Still Water [[Love). Even though [[Peace) was the B side, it actually segues into [[Love), with Levi singing at the end of [[Peace)

"Your love has brought me peace/so I want you to..."
beginning of [[Love), "Walk with me"

Listen to the heartbeat, the chorus, then Levi's incredible spoken voice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz6PZgPq4cI

[sup_fan]

i just bought the Fourever box set on ebay specifically to get the unedited Still Water song. i do like it and how it segues. the album is wonderful. love just about every moment of it. LA is, IMO, the weakest track and the one i typically skip. Bring Me Together is gorgeous - love that.

4 Tops were a top group in the hey day but even they were 2nd string to the Sups, in terms of push, publicity, tv spots, etc. i have their dvd with lots of their performances. but even in their peak they were never on tv to the degree of the Sups. however we're also said that while the Sups would rocket to #1 with many of their releases, they didn't have the lengthy chart run on some of their songs. whereas other motown tunes did - jimmy mack, tracks of tears, etc. i don't know what Still Did for number of weeks. i frankly wonder if word of mouth wasn't a huge driver for this lp. two decent sized singles off of it and then those that bought the lp early really helped get others to go get it too

[sunshineonacloudyday]

The beginning of Still Water [[Love) has a retro Doo-Wop/Group Harmony vibe, with the fingersnaps & tight harmonies. I think the Four Tops were always seen as seasoned professionals who didn't need to chase trends. As a result, most of their songs have a timeless quality, and have aged well.

[Bokiluis]

Still Water was a big hit in California in the Fall of 1970.
Released on Aug 6th, it zoomed to #8 by Sept 15th in San Francisco [[KSOL).
And #2 in late Oct. in L.A. [[KHJ).

KSOL - San Francisco



KHJ - Los Angeles


For the single release, the song was split into 2 sides; Still Water [[Peace), and Still Water [[Love). Even though [[Peace) was the B side, it actually segues into [[Love), with Levi singing at the end of [[Peace)

"Your love has brought me peace/so I want you to..."
beginning of [[Love), "Walk with me"

Listen to the heartbeat, the chorus, then Levi's incredible spoken voice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz6PZgPq4cI

1970 was a wonderful year for music for me. I owned over half of the KSOL Top 20! I loved listening to KSOL and KDIA [[until 6:00 p.m.). Even listened to KFRC and KYA...San Francisco radio was hot that year!

[marv2]

Great record. One of my favorites and it got tons of radio airplay on Soul stations in Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland and on powerhouse station CKLW out of Canada. It is a classic for sure and still gets play on oldies programs.

[RobertZ]

It is a beauty; got good airplay on the Newark NJ soul stations. I have a CD of the album and listen to it still. I think sometimes a great record just has it's time in the limelight and that's it. Perhaps the philosophical lyric was/is just not for everyone - thanks to your post SW is risen again!

[mickeymac]

The Still Waters LP is a classic. There is a reason Russ Terrana states that that was one of his favorite project during his tenure at Motown.

[supremester]

I had a very deprived childhood. The closest Soul Station was 600 miles south. In 1973, we had a soul station from 10 am to dusk in a very small part of town only. Reading about these playlists and hearing about them from friends just rubs it in.