Reach Out I'll Be There

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"Reach Out I'll Be There"
Single by the Four Tops
from the album Reach Out
B-side "Until You Love Someone"
Released August 18, 1966
Format 7" single
Recorded Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); 1966
Genre Soul
Length 3:01
Label Motown M 1098
Writer(s) Holland–Dozier–Holland[1]
Producer(s) Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier[1]
Certification Gold[2]
the Four Tops singles chronology
"Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever"
(1966)		 "Reach Out I'll Be There"
(1966)		 "Standing in the Shadows of Love"
(1966)

"Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a 1966 song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland,[3] the song is one of the most well-known Motown tunes of the 1960s and is today considered The Tops' signature song. It was the number one song on the Rhythm & Blues charts for two weeks,[4] and on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, from October 15–22, 1966. It replaced "Cherish" by The Association, and was itself replaced by "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians. Billboard ranked the record as the no. 4 song for 1966.[5]

Rolling Stone later ranked this version #206 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". This version is also currently ranked as the 56th best song of all time, as well as the #4 song of 1966, in an aggregation of critics' lists at Acclaimed Music.[6][7]

The track also reached no. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Motown's second UK chart-topper after The Supremes hit no. 1 with "Baby Love" in late 1964.[8] It had replaced Jim Reeves' "Distant Drums" at number one in October 1966 and stayed there for three weeks before being replaced by The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" in November.[9]

Style

Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that straddles the line between singing and shouting,[3] as he did in 1965's "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)". AllMusic critic Ed Hogan praises Stubb's vocal, as well as the song's "rock-solid groove" and "dramatic, semi-operatic tension and release."[10] Critic Martin Charles Strong calls the song "a soul symphony of epic proportions that remains [the Four Tops'] signature tune."[11]

In 2014, interviewed by The Guardian, Four Tops singer Duke Fakir said:

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Eddie realised that when Levi hit the top of his vocal range, it sounded like someone hurting, so he made him sing right up there. 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 very creative like that, always adding something extra from the heart.[12]

Personnel

Charts

See also

References

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External links

Preceded by US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
October 15, 1966 – October 22, 1966 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"96 Tears" by ? & the Mysterians
US Cash Box number-one single
October 15, 1966 (1 week)
Preceded by US Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles number-one single
October 29, 1966 – November 5, 1966 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" by Lou Rawls
Preceded by UK Singles Chart number-one single
October 29, 1966 – November 12, 1966 (3 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Four Tops – Reach Out I'll Be There" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  15. ↑ CHART NUMBER 502 – Monday, October 03, 1966 at the Wayback Machine (archived November 7, 2006). CHUM. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5729." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – The Four Tops – Reach Out I'll Be There". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Reach Out I'll Be There". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 15, 2014. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "sc_Ireland2_" defined multiple times with different content
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – 4 Tops - Reach Out I'll Be There search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Four Tops – Reach Out I'll Be There" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1966-10-29" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending OCTOBER 15, 1966 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 4, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  25. ↑ RECORD WORLD 1966 at the Wayback Machine (archived April 8, 2004). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – The Four Tops – Reach Out I'll Be There [1988"]. Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1988-08-13" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1793." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1966 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 4, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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