Tag Archives: I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)

Let’s Take A Moment Day 303

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Shakespeare music

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Time for another mid-week Motown break. This one is extra special because it is the anniversary of the label’s launch. On January 12, 1959 Berry Gordy founded the Tamla Record Company which became Motown Records a year later. Gordy may have let his ego get the best of him at times, and perhaps he fought against his artists growing out of the mold of success he set up and he may have even over-supported some acts while ignoring others. But there is no denying the enormity of what he created by hiring some of the best songwriters, musicians & artists to bring his vision to the reality it became. This groundbreaking genre of soul music was introduced to the world through some of the greatest voices I ever heard & one of my favorite quartets of all time.

“In and out my life
You come and you go
Leaving just your picture behind
And I kissed it a thousand times“.

4 tops

The Four Tops circa 1964 (L-R): Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Lawrence Payton, Levi Stubbs and Renaldo Benson. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Four Tops: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” (1965, written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 21

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

music heart

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Motown is one of my favorite genres of music.  I cannot even imagine my life without it.  I have always believed that some of the greatest voices in music came out of Detroit and one of them belonged to Levi Stubbs.  He and the other three members of The Four Tops gave us some of the biggest hits to come out of the Motor City, thanks to their collaborations with the label’s premier songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.  The trio wrote many of the group’s biggest hits including “Baby I Need Your Loving”, “Standing In The Shadows Of Love”,  “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and today’s song.

The Four Tops had the one of the longest runs of any group in any genre of music.  They were together for 44 years before the death of one of the original singers forced them to recruit a new member.  That longevity was due in large part to Stubbs never wanting to strike out on his own once the group became successful.  That was so unlike so many lead singers from groups in all types of music who go on to make solo records during a band’s hiatus or leaving it entirely for a solo career.  Stubbs never ever forgot he was part of a group and did not want to outshine the other members of it.  He and his rich powerful baritone voice remained loyal to The Four Tops until his death in 2008.

  Levi Stubbs alone and with The Four Tops circa 1964  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Four Tops:   “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” (1967, written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.