Originally Posted by
Motown Eddie
Here's The Library Of Congress entry on 'Reach Out, I'll Be There'-
According to the Motown Museum, “Reach Out, I'll Be There” was the Four Tops’ biggest hit and is considered the vocal group’s theme song. Recorded in Studio A at Hitsville USA and both written and produced by the powerhouse team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, the lyrics grew out of their feeling that women “wanted someone to be there for them, through thick or thin.” Lamont Dozier said that he wanted to write “a journey of emotions with sustained tension, like a bolero.” To achieve that, he “alternated the keys, from a minor, Russian feel in the verse to a major, gospel feel in the chorus.” Levi Stubbs’ impassioned vocal was inspired by an unlikely source: Bob Dylan. According to Dozier, they were inspired by Dylan’s shout singing style on “Like a Rolling Stone” and wanted lead vocalist Stubbs to sing like that. To give his vocal added intensity, Holland-Dozier-Holland put Stubbs at the top of his vocal range so he would have to strain a little. The “galloping” sound, heard prominently at the beginning of the song, is a series of triplet beats struck on the plastic head of a tambourine with no jingles, played by Motown producer Norman Whitfield. Levi Stubbs improvised the lyric, “Just look over your shoulder.” It sounded good, so they kept it in
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