Motown delivered many of the most unforgettable singles of the ’60s. You have to put “Reach Out I’ll Be There” right up there with any of them. It’s the signature song of the Four Tops, the vocal group that churned out hits on the regular for the label.
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What is this song about? What did the Motown writing team have in mind when composing it? And why was Levi Stubbs, the Four Tops’ lead singer, pushed to the hilt when recording the song? Let’s get all the answers on “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”
Tops of the Charts
The Four Tops formed in the ’50s and initially scuffled about for several record companies without any real success. Motown Records chief Berry Gordy saw something in them that made them an ideal fit for his label. They possessed a smooth yet potent vocal blend, and they boasted a belter of a lead singer in Stubbs, whose gritty sound was unlike any of the other male lead singers on the label.
After initially being used as backing vocalists for other acts, the Four Tops broke big with their 1964 single “Baby I Need Your Loving,” which made it to No. 11 on the pop charts. They hit the top spot a year later with “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” thereby establishing themselves alongside The Miracles and The Temptations among Motown’s male vocal groups.
Like all Motown acts, the Four Tops depended on the stellar writing trio of Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland for their material. The trio churned out songs that balanced sophisticated melodies and arrangements with danceable grooves. As for lyrics, they managed to deliver messages that were extremely relatable to audiences, yet with a cleverness that always made each individual track stand out from others they wrote.
In the case of “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” they sat down beforehand to discuss what common qualities women wanted from men in a relationship. And they kept coming back to the notion that they’d want someone to reliably stand by them in a time of need.
Holland/Dozier/Holland also produced the track, with arranger Paul Riser helping out with the finishing touches. The latter included the high piping of piccolos and flutes in the intro, a tapping rhythm that sounded like a little like the galloping hooves of horses, and a unique little break between the pre-chorus and the chorus that lets legendary bassist James Jamerson briefly take center stage.
Calling on Levi
Stubbs’ inimitable ability to evoke desperation and urgency in his vocals came to be a little bit of a curse for him. The Motown brain trust wanted to hear him bring these qualities to the table, which meant they wrote and arranged Four Tops songs in a manner that forced Stubbs to rise to the occasion. Four Tops member Fakir Brown explained to The Guardian how this came into play on “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”
“Eddie realized that when Levi hit the top of his vocal range, it sounded like someone hurting, so he made him sing right up there,” Brown recalled. “Levi complained, but we knew he loved it. Every time they thought he was at the top, he would reach a little further until you could hear the tears in his voice. The line Just look over your shoulder was something he threw in spontaneously. Levi was creative like that; he could always add something from the heart.”
The Meaning of “Reach Out I’ll Be There”
“Reach Out I’ll Be There” displays the Holland/Dozier/Holland knack for getting right to the point of a song, so that the listener is immediately hooked. The verses set up all those times in life when it’s difficult to be alone. For example: And your life is filled with much confusion / Until happiness is just an illusion.
Each time Stubbs brings these scenarios to a fever pitch, with the Tops seconding his emotions with their response vocals, the intense verses then open up into uplifting refrains. I’ll be there to give you all the love you need, the Tops sing in glorious harmony. And I’ll be there, you can always depend on me.
It’s a master class in setup and payoff, and Stubbs ability to emote with such lived-in feeling puts it over the top. “Reach Out I’ll Be There” just might be the Four Tops’ masterpiece. And considering their output over the years, that automatically puts this song among the best the ’60s had to offer.
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